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Mars is safe from radiation – but the trip there isn't

33 points| Libertatea | 13 years ago |newscientist.com | reply

17 comments

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[+] isharabash|13 years ago|reply
I opened that page and had 3 ads flying around, one that literally blocked the entire screen. what?
[+] hnriot|13 years ago|reply
I amazed that an hn reader isn't using ABP, the web is a much better place thanks to AbBlock
[+] rflrob|13 years ago|reply
"NASA estimates that a return human mission to Mars would take three years. During that time astronauts might receive more than seven times the radiation dose they get during six months on the ISS."

Maybe I'm misunderstanding (I.e. the dose per unit time is 7 times greater), but the way this is phrased, it sounds like the total dose, which isn't too surprising, because 3 years is pretty close to 7 times 6 months.

[+] iwwr|13 years ago|reply
There must be a mistake there somewhere. In a Mars-direct style of mission (the current nasa reference mission), a crew would spend 6 months in space each way and 18 months on the surface.

http://www.marssociety.org/home/about/faq

The danger of radiation is seriously overstated. Technically there is not much missing except a political will to go ahead with it.

[+] RyanMcGreal|13 years ago|reply
Notwithstanding NASA's policy on lifetime astronaut exposure to radiation, if they can reduce exposure on a trip to Mars below a lethal dose, I don't think they'd have a problem finding people who were willing to sign a waiver on that policy.
[+] nicholassmith|13 years ago|reply
I think as it stands there's probably people who'd either sign it over and take the chance on a there-and-back trip and potentially get cancer, or view it as a one way proposition. Not sure whether the ethics of sending people to their potential doom would fly mind.
[+] loceng|13 years ago|reply
Is this the big news from yesterday then?
[+] sp332|13 years ago|reply
I don't think so, it mentions the weather station and the radiation monitor being the instruments involved here, but the "big news" is from a sample collector.