Humanity’s challenges in inhabiting the Red Planet

The closest distance between Earth and Mars is 54.6 million km, their furthest distance is 401 million km, and their average distance is 221 million km.

But the second most important factor is technology. NASA’s fastest probe, the Parker Probe, broke speed records as it approached the Sun. On November 21, 2021, this probe reached a high speed of 163 kilometers per second, which is equal to 586 thousand kilometers per hour. According to estimates, when the Parker probe approaches the distance of 6.2 million kilometers from the surface of the Sun in December 2024, its speed will reach 692 thousand kilometers per hour. Now suppose we send such a probe from Earth to Mars, in this case it will take an average of 16 days to reach Mars.

Life on Mars

Fortunately, insulated suits with specific pressure that can circulate oxygen are suitable for astronauts; But how is this oxygen supplied? It would be very expensive and impractical to transport it from Earth, but how do we get oxygen from the planet Mars, which has a small amount of it? NASA is working on this problem with the Perseverance rover in a project called MOXIE. This project could provide a way to extract oxygen on Mars. In this case, one of the biggest challenges of space exploration will be solved.