Mars Mission: The Human Factor
Published on Jun 22, 2007 at 12:29 pm.
8 Comments.
Filed under Mars, space exploration.
About three weeks ago, I posted about Bob Zubrin’s Mars Direct mission plans. He insists that the technology to go to Mars is either already here, or just about to be developed. However, one of the chief arguments against his Mars Direct mission is the human factor. Mars is a long way from Earth. It takes a very long time to get there. The lowest energy trip (using the least fuel) is nearly a three year round trip. That can be shaved a bit by using larger rockets and more fuel, But at the very least, the trip will still likely be more than a two year round trip.
Spacecraft are small and cramped — not at all like they appear on television shows or in the movies. So, that means that people will be cramped up in a tiny space, confined together for two to three years at a time. Worse, there is no break. You can’t take a vacation and get away from the others. You can’t even just go for a walk to get time to yourself. Most spacecraft design plans call for allowing each astronaut a small private space, but that space is still smaller than most closets here on Earth. And, could that tiny space really be private? Everyone else will know that you are in your cubbyhole, and no doubt there will not be much sound insulation, so they’ll hear you if you snore or make other noises, and they’ll hear you if you play music, and you’d hear them. It is suggested that the crews might be mixed, with both male and female astronauts. So, what if during the years together some of them get together? Again, no privacy, since everyone else will know who is in your cubbyhole with you and what you are doing. The psychological impact of being confined with the same people for so long in such a tiny space is enormous. Worse, the mission will be international in scope, so the crew will almost certainly be selected for political reasons, not out of compatibility considerations.
Adding to the psychological impact will be that water and food will be limited and rationed. The food will mostly be prepared and loaded on board before leaving Earth, so there will be nothing fresh after the first few weeks. And, there will be limited selection. The astronauts will likely be tired of eating the same handful of things over and over again for years. And water will be in short supply, so bathing will be severely restricted. There will be no shower. Astronauts will just have to wipe themselves with a damp cloth every few days.
Furthermore, communications with home will be tough. Light only travels so fast. Yes, the speed of light is amazingly fast for us Earth-bound beings. But, the Solar System is very big. As the mission progresses, it will take longer and longer for a signal to go between Earth and the spacecraft. By the time Mars is reached, it will take nearly 22 minutes for a signal to go one way. If you try to talk to someone, you say something, and then you’ll have to wait at least 44 minutes to hear the reply. Real time communications are out.
And, of course, the astronauts on a Mars mission are a very long way from Earth. There is no way at all to help them if something goes wrong. If one gets sick or injured, they are pretty much on their own with only the first aid supplies on board the spacecraft. There is no dentist if someone has a cavity, there is no optometrist is someone needs glasses (and no way to make them, either!), and there is no physician if someone needs an appendectomy or needs a broken bone set. So, perhaps the solution would be to send a doctor with the group. Great. But, what if the doctor gets seriously ill?
So, there are serious concerns about how to handle the human aspect of the mission. Zubrin knows this, and that is why the Mars Society has conducted analog missions, where volunteers have been kept cooped up in a simulated Mars habitat in the Arctic for months at a time, only venturing outside in spacesuits to explore the surrounding terrain. Now, the European Space Agency (ESA) is looking to do a similar thing, only a far more complete simulated mission. The ESA has announced a call for volunteers for a 520 day simulated Mars mission starting in early 2009. Actually, they are planning for two shorter missions, just over three months each beginning next year, to prepare for the longer one. The simulated mission will be held in Russia, and some of the volunteers will be Russian. All will need to be able to speak both Russian and English. Candidates wishing to apply must be from Russia, Canada, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, or the Netherlands. ESA has already conducted several one and two month long isolation experiments, but nothing of this magnitude or complexity.
The simulated crew will consist of six “astronauts”, with two of them apparently coming from Russia and the other four from the countries listed above. Applicants must be between 20 and 50 years old, physically fit, non-smokers, not too fat nor too thin, and not addicted to drugs or alcohol. All applicants that make it to the final selection round will, of course, be subjected to extensive medical and psychological screening. The “astronauts” will not be paid, exactly, but if they make it to the end of the study, then they’ll be reimbursed as if they had partaken in a clinical study. I don’t know how much that is, but I am sure that it is nothing like a normal salary would be. The submission deadline is September 30, 2007.
I have no intention of applying for the mission. Even if I did not live in the United States, not one of the countries listed for applicants, I have other things to do with my live for two to three years. But, I was curious, so I looked at the application form. It is nine pages long, and it asks some interesting questions. Naturally, it asks about job experience, education, medical history, family medical and psychological history, etc. But, it also asks about beer and wine consumption. Volunteers must not be addicted to alcohol according to the list of volunteer requirements. But, I wonder if the simulated mission (or even the real one) will include alcoholic beverages? Hmm. Well, they are doing this thing in Russia, after all … .
This sort of simulated mission is needed in order to work out the bugs of such a long duration confinement. We have some data from the Russians who stayed on the Mir space station for extended periods, but that wasn’t the same. This ground-based simulated mission also won’t be quite right, since the astronauts will be experiencing full Earth gravity the whole time. But, at least it will show the problems that might accompany such a long duration mission. And, that is very important.
-Astroprof
E. I. Sanchez on June 22, 2007 at 8:36 pm: 1
Astroprof, thanks for the great summary and analysis.
I agree with you that the human factor will doom the mission unless they find a faster way to get there. We, humans, are just too particular and we all want different things. Trying to be nice for 2 years, could lead to desperation, depression and/or violence - unfortunately.
Ed Davies on June 23, 2007 at 3:46 pm: 2
The human factor is very important but I don’t think it need necessarily bring doom. Consider some of the voyages of exploration in previous centuries which were successful, e.g., Magellan’s or some of the ships which over-wintered in the Arctic or Antarctic. The ships used were much more cramped than a spacecraft like the ISS or even Mir.
Some of those voyages were disasters for psychological reasons (e.g., remember why Darwin got invited on his little trip - Darwin’s captain, Fitzroy, got his job after his predecessor blew his own brains out) but a lot of lessons on psychology and nutrition have been learnt since then.
Having some communication with home, even with a 44 minute round trip delay, would be an enormous help I suspect.
I think it’s difficult and would take special people but it’s not impossible.
Astroprof on June 23, 2007 at 4:12 pm: 3
I agree. The human factor does not necessarily doom the mission. But, I think that this is rougher than past explorers. After all, the sailors could go out on deck and get fresh air. And, of course, there were occasional islands to stop at. Also, I think that the men who sailed on those missions were a bit more used to rough conditions than those of today. We have grown soft. And, that is why I think that these sort of analogy and simulation missions are important. It helps us to iron out some of the difficulties with the human equation.
billg on June 24, 2007 at 9:52 am: 4
Some semi-connected thoughts –
1. European sailors during their exploration age were very often motivated by expectations of great wealth and conquest. That will assuage a lot of discomfort.
2. Surely our Mir and ISS experience has taught us a lot about the risks of living with a few other people in very close quarters for months on end.
3. Life in submarines is also very cramped. Their crews — much larger than any anticipated Mars crew — remain submerged for great periods of time. How do they cope?
4. Why must we assume that the vehicles in a Mars mission will necessarily be all that tiny? Yes, size means more resources, but if “too small” means failure, then we have no choice but to wait until we have a propulsion system that can support larger vehicles.
Bruce on June 24, 2007 at 5:51 pm: 5
Good post. My comments got too long so I moved them to a post of my own, citing this one:
http://flyingsinger.blogspot.com/2007/06/mars-human-factors.html
A Ler…-- Rastos de Luz on June 25, 2007 at 9:43 am: 6
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Lab Lemming on June 27, 2007 at 9:09 am: 7
Will the experiment include a big slab of nuclear waste to simulate the high radiation environment of space?
Daniel on May 29, 2008 at 8:07 am: 8
The way I see it we NEED to figure out how to get people to Mars & get them there because unlike most animals (& we are animals in a sense), we tend to use up our resourses till there is nothing left & just look at the world today.Its not that happy place it may seem. Sooner or later the human race will need a new place to live & studys have shown that in the past decade there has been flowing water.I also think that we once lived on Mars but used up all the resourses there & came here..it makes sense.