Mission to Mars

Mission to Mars

Alex Moon, Journalist

Alex Moon

12/19/18

Journalism

Space exploration is something humans have always sought to do. For example, we know more about what’s in our galaxy hundreds of thousands of light years across, than we know about  what’s in our very own oceans. SpaceX claims to accomplish the goal of getting humans out of our planetal region. 

SpaceX is a company that designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. Their goal is to land people on different planets in the hope of them being able to live there. As well as to land the big red falcon on the red planet before 2022. As you all know, Elon Musk is the head of this company. If not, now you know. SpaceX is not a government company; it is private. It has surpassed many historic milestones. For example it is the only private company in the world capable of returning a spacecraft from low earth orbit. This basically means that when the rockets propel the spacecraft once it pulls out of the Earth’s atmosphere then the sub rockets detach and fall back to their landing platforms without being damaged. Also, it was the first commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to and from the International Space station. Over the next few years to a decade, SpaceX is working on a new generation of Spacecraft that will transport humans back and forth to mars, as well as to other planets in the solar system.

Going into a little bit more detail about the Big Red Falcon, is it a system to reach Mars. This system has two main rockets called the Falcon-9 and the Falcon heavy. Their  ship that carries cargo back and forth to the International Space Station is called the Dragon. The Falcon-9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Falcon Heavy is the last ship in their arsenal. It can carry twice as much payload as the next operational vehicle.

Why would SpaceX be this important? Well think about it. This company could be sending humans to other planets and colonizing them. The moon landings were such a big deal for people in the world and that was 50 years ago. I guarantee that if there is a broadcast on T.V. for the mission to Mars, everyone would watch it.

The first mission is to send cargo to Mars. There website says, “Our aspirational goal is to send our first cargo mission to Mars in 2022. The objectives for the first mission will be to confirm water resources, identify hazards, and put in place initial power, mining, and life support infrastructure. A second mission, with both cargo and crew, is targeted for 2024, with primary objectives of building a propellant depot and preparing for future crew flights.” For the entry of Mars “The Starship will enter the Mars atmosphere at 7.5 kilometers per second and decelerate aerodynamically. The vehicle’s heat shield is designed to withstand multiple entries, but given that the vehicle is coming into the Mars atmosphere so hot, we still expect to see some ablation of the heat shield (similar to wear and tear on a brake pad).” They’re basically saying that when they enter Mars’s atmosphere, due to speed the molecules will move so fast around the ship that it will be super hot in the front.