Earth in the window: what awaits man on Mars
A flight to Mars will be a serious challenge for humans. The crew will have to spend several months in zero gravity, withstand radiation exposure and work in a confined space without the usual support of loved ones. After landing, the body will have to adapt to a different gravity, and the astronauts themselves will have to cope with medical and technical problems on their own. Experts interviewed by Izvestia consider such an expedition to be potentially possible, but note that the current experience of space flights does not yet allow us to fully prepare for all the risks.
How weightlessness will change the body
The first test will begin long before arrival on the Red Planet. During the flight, a person will have to adapt to weightlessness, and after landing, they will have to learn how to act under load again. To make matters worse, the journey to Mars will take several months. Alexander Belyavsky, Professor of the Department 614 "Ecology, Life Support Systems and Life Safety" at the Institute No. 6 "Aerospace" of MAI, explains that adaptation to one state becomes a source of difficulties during the transition to another.
Diving of an astronaut into a swimming pool during a training session in a hydro laboratory
In the absence of habitual support, the spatial orientation and operation of the vestibular apparatus change. Fluids are redistributed, and more blood flows to the upper body. Reduced mechanical stress affects muscles and bones. Therefore, surviving a flight and being able to do difficult work after landing are two different tasks.
— If a person spends six months in zero gravity during a flight to Mars, then once on the surface of the planet, he will encounter an effect that is essentially a mirror image of falling into zero gravity, — said Alexander Belyavsky.
In this case, six months is the flight scenario considered by the expert, rather than a single period for any future mission. However, the need for repeated adaptation remains with different versions of the expedition. After arrival, the crew will need to assess their condition before starting workloads. Belyavsky notes that astronauts, based on their experience of returning to gravity, consider it reasonable to set about a day before the first actions. It is important that this is a practical guideline, not a proven recovery period after landing on Mars.
Some effects of orbital flights are measured in months. As part of a study by University of Calgary scientists and their colleagues published in Scientific Reports in 2022, experts observed 17 astronauts after missions lasting from four to seven months. After a year, the mineral density of the examined tibial region did not return to its original values in nine of them. Longer flights were accompanied by worse recovery.
All this cannot directly indicate the violations that should be expected during an interplanetary expedition. Nevertheless, it shows that the return of the load by itself does not guarantee a rapid recovery of the musculoskeletal system. This is essential for the Martian crew, since after the flight they will have to work, maintain equipment and act in emergency situations.
According to Belyavsky, MAI is developing approaches to comprehensive medical support for long-range flights and a platform for training the vestibular apparatus. But readiness needs to be checked not only for staying in zero gravity: you will also need to work out the transition between different gravitational conditions, including returning home.
How to protect yourself from cosmic radiation
Another group of risks is associated with leaving the protection of the Earth's magnetosphere. Hundreds of days on an orbital station and an equally long interplanetary flight are unequal in terms of exposure conditions, explains Vyacheslav Shurshakov, an expert at the IMBP RAS on the radiation safety of space flights.
To illustrate, he gives an estimated dose in low—Earth orbit of about 0.6 millisieverts per day. If this level is conditionally maintained during the year, approximately 220 millisieverts will be obtained. For interplanetary space, the expert considers the value of 1.4 millisieverts per day to be more than twice as high.
— The duration of the flight by itself does not allow us to compare the orbital and interplanetary expeditions. We need to look at what dose a person gets," Shurshakov emphasized.
Radiation protection does not have one universal solution. Galactic cosmic rays contain high-energy particles. A simple thickening of the metal skin does not necessarily have the expected effect. Secondary particles can form when radiation interacts with the material. Therefore, the composition of the protection, its thickness and location relative to the crew are important.
Solar activity creates additional complexity. According to Shurshakov, its cycle is approximately 11 years. During the maximum period, the effect of galactic rays can be about twice as weak as during the minimum period. But at the same time, we have to take into account the danger of solar proton events, during which the particle flux increases dramatically. Choosing the launch time changes the balance of risks, but it does not eliminate the need to protect the ship.
As the expert explains, you can hide from solar particles in a specially equipped compartment. Strengthening the protection of the entire ship is equally too expensive in terms of mass, a radiation shelter allows you to concentrate suitable materials around a relatively small space. It may take about a day to wait out the dangerous period there, depending on the specific event.
Some of the protection can be combined with the supplies that the ship already has to carry. Shurshakov told about an experiment on the ISS, where packages of wet hygiene products with a high water content were placed along the cabin wall. According to him, four layers of such styling reduced the measured dose by about 30%. This is the result of a specific orbital experiment that cannot be automatically transferred to all types of interplanetary radiation.
"Food, water and other suitable supplies can be placed so that they simultaneously act as additional protection," the expert noted.
From the point of view of radiation safety, Shurshakov considers a flight to Mars and back possible with a well-thought-out protection system. However, this does not solve the issues of landing, take-off and long-term operation on the surface. Each stage requires its own calculations. One successful material will not replace dosimetry, warning of dangerous events, and a crew action plan.
How to survive months in a confined space
If physical exertion requires simulators and medical supervision, then psychological stability also depends on how everyday life is organized. Yuri Bubeev, MD, Deputy Director for Scientific Work at the IMBP RAS, an expert at the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, believes that prolonged isolation is tolerable with proper selection, training and crew support.
"The human psyche is plastic and adapts even to extreme isolation, but the price of this adaptation strongly depends on the conditions," he explained to Izvestia.
One of the most famous examples is the Mars 500. Six volunteers spent 520 days in a 550 cubic meter surface complex. In a study published in PLOS ONE with the participation of scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and IMBP RAS, it was noted that all completed the experiment, there were no serious unresolved conflicts or behavioral emergencies. However, the participants' resilience varied.
Participants of the Mars 500 project Alexey Sitev, Wang Yue, Diego Urbina, Alexander Smoleevsky, Roman Charles and Sukhrob Kamolov answer questions from journalists
It is this difference that is more important than trying to deduce the general "limit of patience" from the experiment. The successful 520 days confirm the possibility of a long stay of a specific trained crew in the specified conditions. They do not prove that any person can withstand the same amount or that after a certain period of time, a breakdown will inevitably occur.
Bubeev notes that monotony and lack of personal space can gradually combine with homesickness and the experience of being unable to change the situation. Therefore, days when there is nothing to fill the time are especially dangerous.
— Diverse, meaningful work with a clear structure is the main shield against burnout. Empty days are often more dangerous than heavy ones," the specialist emphasized.
The load also manifests itself in measurable regime changes. In the Mars 500 study, one participant developed a sleep-wake cycle lasting about 25 hours. Another developed difficulty falling asleep and decreased alertness while performing the test. Only two out of six showed no behavioral disorders or reports of psychological distress.
An access hatch between compartments in the Mars-500 research complex
This does not mean that the others were unable to continue the mission, it is necessary to distinguish between individual symptoms, deterioration of performance and loss of the opportunity to work. But the data explain why lighting, sleep patterns, and load metering should be designed as carefully as technical equipment.
How to choose a crew and take the risk
The portability of cramped spaces does not guarantee the ability to work in a team. The expedition will need to find people who can discuss mistakes, share responsibilities, and maintain trust even after many months of living together.
According to Bubeev's observations, a small group can become a powerful source of support. But her closeness reinforces the consequences of disagreements.
— Compatibility of people is often more important than outstanding individual qualities. An outstanding loner in a poorly compatible team is worse than the average professional in a well—coordinated group, the expert believes.
Therefore, the selection should not be completed by checking each candidate individually. Joint training allows you to see how people share responsibility, who needs help and who is able to support others in a difficult situation. Bubeev highlights self-organization, a common goal and an understanding of the characteristics of colleagues.
The question of risk appetite in such a flight cannot be reduced to the search for the most fearless participant. The expedition requires a willingness to act with incomplete information, but the cost of error concerns the entire crew. According to the training measures proposed by specialists, the ability to correlate an action with available resources and consequences is important, as well as to abandon it if conditions have changed. This is the conclusion of the requirements for autonomous and teamwork described by them.
The opposite extreme is also dangerous, the desire to avoid disputes at all costs can make it difficult to notice the problem in a timely manner. Bubeev warns about the risk of "groupthink", when a team reduces criticality for the sake of calmness and stops discussing disagreements. The commander will need to maintain order, while maintaining the ability to object and report problems.
How to live and be treated without the quick help of the Earth
Autonomy is a separate test that combines medical, technical, and psychological challenges. According to Bubeev, the delay in interplanetary communication can reach more than 20 minutes in one direction. Under such conditions, it will take dozens of minutes just to send a question and get an answer, and that's before discussing the details.
— In acute conditions, ground specialists will not be able to intervene in time. The crew has to rely only on themselves," said Bubeev.
This does not mean a complete abandonment of support. Its form is changing: instead of continuous conversation, structured messages, video messages, pre—prepared instructions and self-help programs are used. The specialist suggests working out scenarios in which it is impossible to immediately ask the Earth what to do, including conflict resolution and overload detection.
A similar problem arises with medicine. Belyavsky emphasizes that equipment, medicines, and self-care skills are needed, including preparation for situations where surgery may be required. It is important to simultaneously monitor the body and the environment: air composition, pressure, pulse, and other indicators.
The scale of such provision affects the design of the ship. Belyavsky said that according to his team's calculations, the life support system, together with medical and technical support, could make up 38% of the ship's mass. This is an expert assessment related to the calculations carried out, and not a universal share for any Mars mission. But it illustrates how significant the amount of resources needed to preserve the health of the crew can be.
However, the ability to complete a task does not always mean that there is no overload. According to Professor MAI, high motivation allows a person to act successfully even at the limit of the body's capabilities. Therefore, monitoring should detect unfavorable dynamics before it leads to job abandonment. It is important not only the current speed of completing tasks, but also the price that the body pays for it.
"Ground—based experiments and platforms under development help to simulate individual flight conditions and work out the body's reactions, but there is no comprehensive solution that covers all risks yet," concluded Alexander Belyavsky.
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