Mission to Mars: Sci-fi or Reality?

Until the last couple of decades, the words ‘Mission to Mars’ usually meant the plot of a pulp science-fiction novel; with evil emperors, four-armed aliens and some healthy inter-species romance involving a princess on the Red Planet.

But all that might change if the Dutch have their way.

Mars One, a non-profit organization based in Netherlands, has decided to bring Edgar Rice Burroughs’ fantasy to reality by launching a mission to Mars by 2018, followed by a human crew comprising of 4 people in 2022 and, finally, a permanent human colony by 2027.

Sounds audacious, laughable even. But if the scientists at Mars One are to be believed, a mission to Mars is quite feasible indeed. People from around the world have sent applications, and scientists have already shortlisted 100 people, who would take a one-way journey to Mars. 3 fellow Indians have also made it to the list. 

The Planet

Perhaps no other planet in our solar system has been subject to more alien-conspiracy theories than Mars, the Red Planet. That is because it comes closest to a habitable environment for sustaining life in our solar system. The presence of water in its soil, the relatively non-hostile atmosphere and its proximity to the Sun are compelling factors for theories to suggest that life in Mars could be possible. And with the resources in our own planet drying out fast, a mission to Mars is much more than just scientific curiosity. It carries with it a hint of desperation.

The Crew

Typically, to venture into outer space, you’d need to be an astronaut. But Mars One had other ideas. They put out the word that that they’d be sending ordinary people to Mars on a one-way mission with a very high chance of failure (read death). And yet, they received over 20,000 applications!

According to an MIT study, even if the human mission does land on Mars, they wouldn’t survive on existing technology for more than 68 days. Think about that for a minute. It takes some serious brass to volunteer for a one-way trip to another planet, with the likelihood of your survival being just over the average duration of school summer holidays.

The Mission

Over the years, Mars has defied more than half the unmanned missions to explore it. This is partly why many experts have dismissed the Mars One Mission as ‘absurd’.

The Mars One team’s plan is this:

a)     Send a demo mission and a communications satellite to Mars by 2020

b)     Send a rover (those cute four-wheeled trucks) and a second communications satellite by 2022

c)     Send the cargo, life supply units and a second rover by 2024

d)     The rovers get to work and build a station fit for human habitation by 2025

e)     The first crew leaves Earth in 2026, arriving seven months later on the Red Planet

f)     The second crew leaves in 2028

g)     There’s even talk of a reality TV show to be filmed around the lives of the Mars settlers

Even to the layman, there’s a lot that could go wrong with the Mars One initiative. Technical and operational difficulties aside, the issue of budget itself is a major roadblock. Some, including a few participants, are even claiming the whole thing is a hoax.

But if you check out the Mars One website, or read the interviews by its CEO Bas Lansdorp or any of the others associated with the project, you’ll be convinced of one undeniable fact: despite the miniscule chances of success that the pundits are giving them, if the Mars One mission were to even marginally succeed, it would be another ‘huge leap for mankind’.

One can’t argue with that.