TPO 50

The reading and the lecture are both about the feasibility of traveling of humans to Mars. The article states that it would be impossible for humans to have a trip to Mars, representing three difficulties that astronauts would face. However, the lecturer posits that despite these challenges, it is possible to travel to Mars, explains three possible solutions for each of the problems mentioned in the passage.

First, the author argues that traveling to Mars would take at least two years. According to the reading, Bringing the amount of essential supplies like food, water, and oxygen which would be enough to fulfill the needs of the astronauts for at least two years, to space, is impossible because of the limited capacity of space vehicles. With that in mind, the lecturer highlights the fact that by using a novel method, Hydroponics, which is used for growing plants in water instead of soil, it would be possible to cultivate plants in space and eliminate the need for bringing supplies to space. The plants then would provide the food ,recycle the waste water, consume carbon dioxide and produce oxygen for astronauts so they would not have any problems in this case.

Second, the writer states that experiencing zero gravity for a long time, would lead to serious medical problems for astronauts like decreased muscle mass and lower bone density. On the other hand, the professor mentions that astronauts have learned enough from their past experiences and they now can easily control this issue. He further contends that with regular training, the astronauts can avoid muscle harms and with consuming vitamins such as calcium, they will be able to prevent the reduction of their bone density.

Finally, the author mentions that the astronauts would be exposed to detrimental radiations, mostly from the sun, and if they wanted to protect themselves from these harmful radiations, they would have to build a shield for the spaceship, which is impossible now, due to the excessive weight it would add to the vehicle. On the other hand, the lecturer alleges that the spacemen would just occasionally be exposed to these radiations, not most of the time. Moreover, He mentions that by employing some devices, the astronauts would be able to detect these radiations when they were close to the radiations, So they can protect themselves by applying the shield, just when they need it. As a result, there would not be an over weighting problem at all.