Mike
Wall’s article chronicles the Curiosity Rover’s new findings relating to
radiation on Mars. According to Curiosity’s sensors, a 180-day trip with a
500-day stay and the 180-day trip back would expose astronauts to 1.01 sieverts.
However, the European Space Agency generally limits its astronauts to a 1-sievert
radiation dose for their entire
career. The trip would contravene NASA’s current radiation limits, but they are
working with the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine to decide what the
limits should be for missions going further into space. NASA hopes to achieve a
manned mission to Mars by the mid-2030s. The data gathered on radiation shows
that microbial life is unlikely on Mars at this point in time.
Before
reading this article, I hadn’t thought of how many things the radiation levels
on Mars could tell us. It’s very exciting to know that there could be humans on
Mars in about 20 years. This time period seems so small, but huge advancements
could be made in science during this time. However, I do worry about astronauts’
safety in the mission. Hopefully, further advancements will be made in
shielding radiation so the astronauts that make the mission will have lower
risks. I am very excited to see what we can learn about our solar system from a
manned mission to Mars.
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