With current technology a voyage to Mars and back will take three years. That's a lot of time
for things to go wrong. But sooner or later a commercial enterprise will commit itself to
sending humans to Mars. How will the astronauts survive? Some things to consider are: ith
current technology a voyage to Mars and back will take three years. That's a lot of time for
things to go wrong. But sooner or later a commercial enterprise will commit itself to sending
humans to Mars. How will the astronauts survive? Some things to consider are: - Who decides
what medical resources are used for whom?Who decides what medical resources are used for whom?
- What is the relative weight of mission success and the health of the crew? What is the
relative weight of mission success and the health of the crew?- Do we allow crewmembers to
sacrifi ce their lives for the good of the mission? Do we allow crewmembers to sacrifi ce their
lives for the good of the mission? - And what if a crewmember does perish? Do we store the body
for return to Earth or give the member a burial in space? Questions like these and hundreds of
others have been explored by science fi ction but scant attention has been paid by those
designing missions. Fortunately the experience gained in polar exploration more than 100 years
ago provides crews and mission planners with a framework to deal with contingencies and it is
this that forms the core of this book. Why the parallels between polar and space exploration?
Because polar exploration offers a better analogy for a Mars mission today than those invoked
by the space community. Although astronauts are routinely compared to Lewis and Clark
Mars-bound astronauts will be closer in their roles to polar explorers. And as much as space
has been described as a New Frontier Mars bears greater similarity to the polar regions which
is why so much can be learned from those who ventured there. And what if a crewmember does
perish? Do we store the body forreturn to Earth or givethe member a burial in space? Questions
like these and hundreds of others have been explored by science fi ction but scant attention
has been paid by those designing missions. Fortunately the experience gained in polar
exploration more than 100 years ago provides crews and mission planners with a framework to
deal with contingencies and it is this that forms the core of this book. Why the parallels
between polar and space exploration? Because polar exploration offers a better analogy for a
Mars mission today than those invoked by the space community. Although astronauts are routinely
compared to Lewis and Clark Mars-bound astronauts will be closer in their roles to polar
explorers. And as much as space has been described as a New Frontier Mars bears greater
similarity to the polar regions which is why so much can be learned from those who ventured
there.
