Nick Gadbaw
ESS 102
14 October 2014
Professor Harnett
The Negative Effects of Long Term Space Travel and How to Address Them
My science fiction story will take place on Mars. The Russians have successfully landed a ship on the surface of Mars and the Americans are not far behind. The mission is to establish an oxygen rich environment on the surface of mars in small scale to test the possibilities of large-scale migration to Mars. The Russians lose contact with their craft after one day on the planet and the Americans hear of the tragedy and start to wonder as to what their fate will be. They are instructed to look for survivors when they arrive and what they find is more than they could have ever dreamed. The story will be based upon the …show more content…
Galactic cosmic rays are affecting their brain and these flashes in their eye are merely an indication of what’s going on. The fast moving rays of light expose the astronauts to ionization which can damage cells in the human body. His radiation can lead to anything along the lines of cancer, heart diseases, cataracts, and beak down of the central nervous system. Long term exposure is a factor strongly considered when thinking of sending astronauts to mars and they would be exposed for a long period of time. Suits are in the works to eliminate the risk of all the radiation. Limiting a crew’s time exposed to radiation was used in the early space programs. During the Apollo missions to the moon exposure to radiation belts was minimized but on the way to a planet like mars other factors may have to be taken into consideration such as available means of propulsion and trajectory. The most common and successful way of protecting a space crew is through shielding. Shielding is the placement of material between the human and the radiation in order to reduce the sources radiation field intensity. In theory, shielding should be able to reduce exposure by reducing the dose rate and diminishing the radiation. For deep space missions, unfortunately, shielding alone will not guarantee protection to the precious cargo which is our human beings manning the space craft. Some situations in deep space will have very high energy ions and production of secondary particles which properties can be highly penetrative. These factors would put constraints on the spacecraft and many uncertainties on the wellbeing of the biological beings onboard. There is a scientist by the name of Youngquist who is studying how feasible a radiation shield that relies on electrostatic charge would be to ward off harmful high-energy particles before they reached a manned spacecraft. Youngquist envisions a spacecraft equipped with a multiple
ESS 102
14 October 2014
Professor Harnett
The Negative Effects of Long Term Space Travel and How to Address Them
My science fiction story will take place on Mars. The Russians have successfully landed a ship on the surface of Mars and the Americans are not far behind. The mission is to establish an oxygen rich environment on the surface of mars in small scale to test the possibilities of large-scale migration to Mars. The Russians lose contact with their craft after one day on the planet and the Americans hear of the tragedy and start to wonder as to what their fate will be. They are instructed to look for survivors when they arrive and what they find is more than they could have ever dreamed. The story will be based upon the …show more content…
Galactic cosmic rays are affecting their brain and these flashes in their eye are merely an indication of what’s going on. The fast moving rays of light expose the astronauts to ionization which can damage cells in the human body. His radiation can lead to anything along the lines of cancer, heart diseases, cataracts, and beak down of the central nervous system. Long term exposure is a factor strongly considered when thinking of sending astronauts to mars and they would be exposed for a long period of time. Suits are in the works to eliminate the risk of all the radiation. Limiting a crew’s time exposed to radiation was used in the early space programs. During the Apollo missions to the moon exposure to radiation belts was minimized but on the way to a planet like mars other factors may have to be taken into consideration such as available means of propulsion and trajectory. The most common and successful way of protecting a space crew is through shielding. Shielding is the placement of material between the human and the radiation in order to reduce the sources radiation field intensity. In theory, shielding should be able to reduce exposure by reducing the dose rate and diminishing the radiation. For deep space missions, unfortunately, shielding alone will not guarantee protection to the precious cargo which is our human beings manning the space craft. Some situations in deep space will have very high energy ions and production of secondary particles which properties can be highly penetrative. These factors would put constraints on the spacecraft and many uncertainties on the wellbeing of the biological beings onboard. There is a scientist by the name of Youngquist who is studying how feasible a radiation shield that relies on electrostatic charge would be to ward off harmful high-energy particles before they reached a manned spacecraft. Youngquist envisions a spacecraft equipped with a multiple