Over the last few years, scientists have been dallying with the idea of sending humans to the Red Planet. But only the USA, Russia, and China have landed a rover on Mars while Indian space agency, ISRO, has successfully sent a spacecraft to Mars orbit.
But colonizing the Red Planet is still a distant dream!
Deadly space radiation is putting a hard limit on colonizing Mars!
To realize this dream, scientists will have to tackle several technical and biological challenges since astronauts won’t have Earth’s magnetosphere to protect them. While space can kill in all sorts of ways, the risk of space radiation is one of the most crucial concerns.
Now, a new study has revealed that to protect humans from radiation from the Sun and other planets, the missions to Mars should not exceed four years.
The research was carried out by an international group of space scientists. Scientists from Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Russia), University of California (USA), University of Potsdam (Germany), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) came together for this study. The study was published in the science journal Space Weather.
Another key finding of the study was around the thickness of the spacecraft’s protective shielding. As per the study, that thick shielding would protect the crew to a point only. The shielding will amplify the incoming radiation beyond the threshold.
