Survival and Sacrifice in Mars Exploration : What We Know from Polar Expeditions

Fortunately, the experience gained in polar exploration morethan 100 years ago provides crews and mission planners with a frameworkto deal with contingencies and it is this that forms the core of this book. Why the parallels between polar and space exploration?

With current technology, a voyage to Mars and back will take threeyears. That’s a lot of time for things to go wrong. But sooner or latera 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 threeyears. That’s a lot of time for things to go wrong. But sooner or latera 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 thecrew?What is the relative weight of mission success and the health of thecrew?• Do we allow crewmembers to sacrifi ce their lives for the good of themission?Do we allow crewmembers to sacrifi ce their lives for the good of themission?• And what if a crewmember does perish? Do we store the body forreturn to Earth or give the member a burial in space?Questions like these, and hundreds of others, have been explored byscience fi ction, but scant attention has been paid by those designingmissions. Fortunately, the experience gained in polar exploration morethan 100 years ago provides crews and mission planners with a frameworkto deal with contingencies and it is this that forms the core of this book. Why the parallels between polar and space exploration? Because polarexploration offers a better analogy for a Mars mission today than thoseinvoked by the space community. Although astronauts are routinelycompared to Lewis and Clark, Mars-bound astronauts will be closer in theirroles to polar explorers. And, as much as space has been described as aNew Frontier, Mars bears greater similarity to the polar regions, which iswhy 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 byscience fi ction, but scant attention has been paid by those designingmissions. Fortunately, the experience gained in polar exploration morethan 100 years ago provides crews and mission planners with a frameworkto deal with contingencies and it is this that forms the core of this book. Why the parallels between polar and space exploration? Because polarexploration offers a better analogy for a Mars mission today than thoseinvoked by the space community. Although astronauts are routinelycompared to Lewis and Clark, Mars-bound astronauts will be closer in theirroles to polar explorers. And, as much as space has been described as aNew Frontier, Mars bears greater similarity to the polar regions, which iswhy so much can be learned from those who ventured there.