Possible breakthrough would help humans travel to Mars

Articles — By forcechange on November 4, 2008 7:58 pm

University researchers from England and Portugal put forward a theory that could greatly aid in mankind’s attempts to get to Mars.  We noted this morning that humans will have always, and will continue to need to adapt to environmental changes in order to survive.  Exploring our neighboring planets and developing the ability to travel throughout space may be one of those adaptations.

Historically, a major challenge for human space exploration has stemmed from the dangers of solar storms and cosmic rays.  On earth, we are protected from these sub-atomic particles that are capable of slicing through DNA by our planet’s magnetic field.  However, no spaceship has yet been developed that can protect astronauts in deep space, over long periods of time, from these risks. 

This is where this new theory may lead to a solution.  The researchers developed a theoretical process that would basically replicate the earth’s magnetic field around a spacecraft.  This “mini-magnetosphere” would basically form a protective bubble a few hundred meters around the ship, and allow for protection from the solar winds. 

The US and Europe aim to send a human to Mars within three decades.  The flight itself is projected to take around 18 months of flying. 

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