Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2015 15:12:03 GMT
CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE
A team led by millionaire and former space tourist Dennis Tito plans to send a "tested couple" to Mars and back in a privately funded mission.
The Inspiration Mars Foundation plans to start its one-and-a-half-year mission in January 2018.
The foundation has carried out a study which it says shows that it is feasible to achieve such a mission using existing technology.
The group still has to raise funding for their mission.
Among those involved in the project is Jane Poynter, who spent two years locked away in a sealed ecosystem with seven other people in 1991 which she described as a "New Age Garden of Eden".
She told BBC News that the mission planners wanted the crew to consist of an older couple whose relationship would be able to withstand the stress of living in a confined environment for two years.
"I can attest from personal experience from living in Biosphere 2 that having somebody that you really deeply trusted and cared for was an extraordinary thing to have," Ms Poynter explained.
Ms Poynter, who ended up marrying one of those involved in the Biosphere 2 project, Taber Macallum, admitted that it could be "challenging" for the couple. But said that the selection process would attempt to find "resilient people that would be able to maintain a happy upbeat attitude in the face of adversity".
The plan was to choose a middle-aged couple because their health and fertility would be less affected by the radiation they would be exposed to during such a long space mission.
The couple would receive extensive training and would be able to draw on psychological support from mission control throughout the mission.
Ms Poynter's expectation is that a couple journeying to Mars would be "inspirational".
"We want the crew of vehicle to represent humanity," she said. "We want the youth of the world to be reflected in this crew and for girls as well as boys to have role models".
Space historian, Prof Christopher Riley of Lincoln University, believes that sending a couple to Mars might be a good idea.
"The idea of sending older astronauts on longer duration missions, after they have had children, has been around for a while. The reasoning is that such a long duration mission, outside of the protective magnetosphere of the Earth, could leave them infertile," he said.
"Married couples have occasionally flown in space before, on short flights, and it seemed to work well, so why not."
However results emerging from the so-called Mars500 project suggests that even carefully screened individuals are likely to suffer from psychological problems from a prolonged space mission.
The mission will be a straightforward flight to the Red Planet and return without landing. This greatly reduces the cost of the mission. The Mars Inspiration team believe that it is technically possible to launch such a mission in five years' time.
Meanwhile Richard and Judy have this advice for the couple.
Richard: “Firstly, you’ll need to think carefully about what to pack. In space, glare can be a real problem so I’d invest in decent shades. Judy and I bought Oakleys for going skiiing in Grenoble last year and they looked mega cool.”
Judy: “I sat on mine but they still work.”
Richard: “Good driving music is essential. Not a lot of people know this but Judy and I have pretty eclectic taste. Just last week, we listened to the Mumford and Sons CD eight times on the way home from the Lakes. Our house loves The Mumf.”
Judy: “Richard has his own name for them. But seriously, a stunning voice. So eclectic.”
Richard: “It’s important to find ways to alleviate boredom on such a long trip too. I recommend some fantasy role play to spice things up – interplantery style! Pretend you’re two strangers meeting in a classy hotel bar. Jude and I do this at the local Ibis: I like to pretend I’m Michael Buerk and – you tell them who you are, Judes!”
Judy: “Well, I like to go Cheryl Cole because I’m really good at the accent – PET!”
Richard: “Grrrr! Anwyay, let’s just say when Cheryl and Michael get together, they don’t need solar radiation to get things a little twisted!”
Judy: “Haha, yes. Quite.”
Richard: “We had to think long and hard about the effect of space radiation on our reproductive organs. Were we ready for infertility? More importantly, were we ready to spawn some mutant lizard space baby? We weighed up the pros and cons, and realised we’d probably create a superhuman, like Hayden Panettiere in Heroes. Hayden would be a welcome addition to the party, the more people there are to play twenty questions, the better.”
Judy: “Are you a black, male cookery host?”
Richard: “Not now, darling.
The Inspiration Mars Foundation plans to start its one-and-a-half-year mission in January 2018.
The foundation has carried out a study which it says shows that it is feasible to achieve such a mission using existing technology.
The group still has to raise funding for their mission.
Among those involved in the project is Jane Poynter, who spent two years locked away in a sealed ecosystem with seven other people in 1991 which she described as a "New Age Garden of Eden".
She told BBC News that the mission planners wanted the crew to consist of an older couple whose relationship would be able to withstand the stress of living in a confined environment for two years.
"I can attest from personal experience from living in Biosphere 2 that having somebody that you really deeply trusted and cared for was an extraordinary thing to have," Ms Poynter explained.
Ms Poynter, who ended up marrying one of those involved in the Biosphere 2 project, Taber Macallum, admitted that it could be "challenging" for the couple. But said that the selection process would attempt to find "resilient people that would be able to maintain a happy upbeat attitude in the face of adversity".
The plan was to choose a middle-aged couple because their health and fertility would be less affected by the radiation they would be exposed to during such a long space mission.
The couple would receive extensive training and would be able to draw on psychological support from mission control throughout the mission.
Ms Poynter's expectation is that a couple journeying to Mars would be "inspirational".
"We want the crew of vehicle to represent humanity," she said. "We want the youth of the world to be reflected in this crew and for girls as well as boys to have role models".
Space historian, Prof Christopher Riley of Lincoln University, believes that sending a couple to Mars might be a good idea.
"The idea of sending older astronauts on longer duration missions, after they have had children, has been around for a while. The reasoning is that such a long duration mission, outside of the protective magnetosphere of the Earth, could leave them infertile," he said.
"Married couples have occasionally flown in space before, on short flights, and it seemed to work well, so why not."
However results emerging from the so-called Mars500 project suggests that even carefully screened individuals are likely to suffer from psychological problems from a prolonged space mission.
The mission will be a straightforward flight to the Red Planet and return without landing. This greatly reduces the cost of the mission. The Mars Inspiration team believe that it is technically possible to launch such a mission in five years' time.
Meanwhile Richard and Judy have this advice for the couple.
Richard: “Firstly, you’ll need to think carefully about what to pack. In space, glare can be a real problem so I’d invest in decent shades. Judy and I bought Oakleys for going skiiing in Grenoble last year and they looked mega cool.”
Judy: “I sat on mine but they still work.”
Richard: “Good driving music is essential. Not a lot of people know this but Judy and I have pretty eclectic taste. Just last week, we listened to the Mumford and Sons CD eight times on the way home from the Lakes. Our house loves The Mumf.”
Judy: “Richard has his own name for them. But seriously, a stunning voice. So eclectic.”
Richard: “It’s important to find ways to alleviate boredom on such a long trip too. I recommend some fantasy role play to spice things up – interplantery style! Pretend you’re two strangers meeting in a classy hotel bar. Jude and I do this at the local Ibis: I like to pretend I’m Michael Buerk and – you tell them who you are, Judes!”
Judy: “Well, I like to go Cheryl Cole because I’m really good at the accent – PET!”
Richard: “Grrrr! Anwyay, let’s just say when Cheryl and Michael get together, they don’t need solar radiation to get things a little twisted!”
Judy: “Haha, yes. Quite.”
Richard: “We had to think long and hard about the effect of space radiation on our reproductive organs. Were we ready for infertility? More importantly, were we ready to spawn some mutant lizard space baby? We weighed up the pros and cons, and realised we’d probably create a superhuman, like Hayden Panettiere in Heroes. Hayden would be a welcome addition to the party, the more people there are to play twenty questions, the better.”
Judy: “Are you a black, male cookery host?”
Richard: “Not now, darling.
