space (again)
A news story that grabbed my attention yesterday circled around (pardon the pun) a Russian cosmonaut who had returned to earth following a record 879 days aboard the international Space Station.
It's hard to believe that Gennady Padalka's two and a half years in space was anything but a mission to discover the effects of such exposure in readiness for longer term space exploration possibly culminating in a journey to and a stay on Mars.
But of course there are many unanswered questions apart from the effects on the human mind and body such a mission poses, and this got me thinking whether any parallels with past endeavours of human bravery could be drawn.
While there is no race to be the first person on Mars, perhaps there is much to be learned from the dash to be the first person to reach the South Pole.
At that time (1912), the South Pole may as well have been the surface of an alien planet. The logistics of transporting a band of men, their equipment and all their food were immensely complicated. And of course there were many unknowns, the least of which was the impact on the minds and bodies of the brave explorers. The exact same problems facing a lengthy modern day mission to outer space.
It's inevitable that we will land an astronaut on Mars. After all it was only 57 years after a man set foot on the South Pole that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon. As long as the human race exists there will be a natural desire to push ourselves to explore. I just hope I'm around to see it happen.
It's hard to believe that Gennady Padalka's two and a half years in space was anything but a mission to discover the effects of such exposure in readiness for longer term space exploration possibly culminating in a journey to and a stay on Mars.
But of course there are many unanswered questions apart from the effects on the human mind and body such a mission poses, and this got me thinking whether any parallels with past endeavours of human bravery could be drawn.
While there is no race to be the first person on Mars, perhaps there is much to be learned from the dash to be the first person to reach the South Pole.
At that time (1912), the South Pole may as well have been the surface of an alien planet. The logistics of transporting a band of men, their equipment and all their food were immensely complicated. And of course there were many unknowns, the least of which was the impact on the minds and bodies of the brave explorers. The exact same problems facing a lengthy modern day mission to outer space.
It's inevitable that we will land an astronaut on Mars. After all it was only 57 years after a man set foot on the South Pole that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon. As long as the human race exists there will be a natural desire to push ourselves to explore. I just hope I'm around to see it happen.
WOW, that's a long time in space! I wonder if we will be here when they land on Mars....... :-/
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