Voyager3 on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/voyager3/art/Mars-245091415Voyager3

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Mars

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Reverse engine to full throdle. One minute till max Q.

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Don't ask me what max Q means. I don't know.

Just another day on Mars. It's no wonder Mars is so attractive set foot on. The days are only 37 min longer than on Earth, on the equator temperatures can reach just above 0 °C and it even has seasons. There are far more difficulties to overcome than during our sightseeing tour on the Moon, though.

To give an example, at the speed of the Apollo mission in the early 70's, it would take a year and a half to get to Mars, even with the most optimal positioning (compared to three days to the Moon).

Even worse, to reach Mars, astronauts must abandon the protection of Earth's magnetic field for two years (at best). This could well result in the death of the entire crew, not shielded from the Sun's output of highly energetic particles (even at a solar minimum), as this would tear their DNA to tatters.

On Mars itself they would not not be shielded either. It has no magnetic field and its atmosphere is negligible. There is a common misconception on this, in the perspective that Mars has cooled down to fast to sustain a molten core, it solidified. However, it is probably the lack of a solidified inner core that is impeding the magnetic field.

Picture by Rosetta.
Image size
2205x2205px 1.22 MB
© 2011 - 2024 Voyager3
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FlakyEspurrPin144's avatar
Actually, this picture is from Rosetta, in its 2007 flyby and gravity assist.