5 Reasons Going To Mars is a TERRIBLE Idea | Answers With Joe

With both SpaceX and NASA ramping up plans to go to Mars, maybe it's time to consider the other side of the discussion - that traveling to Mars might be a terrible idea.

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Astronaut Cardiovascular disease study

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Issue number one: Radiation.

Outside our protective magnetic sphere, space is a shooting gallery of solar radiation and cosmic rays that would wreak havoc on our bodies to a level that right now we can only speculate.

And then there’s the 18 months you would spend on Mars, which doesn’t have a magnetosphere and a very thin atmosphere.

Humans have never been exposed to this type of radiation for this long. It’s a problem we’ve never dealt with before, and it’s going to be a huge challenge to overcome.

Number two: Extremely low air pressure.

The Martian atmosphere has only 1% of the air pressure of Earth.

Walking outside on Mars is not that much different from walking on the moon, from a life support systems perspective.

The thin atmosphere is also a nightmare for landing on Mars.

That’s why smaller rovers like Spirit and Opportunity used bizarre air bag systems to land and Curiosity, which was much heavier, had to use a combination of parachutes, thrusters, and a cable system to get there safely.

So SpaceX’s vertical propulsive landing option is probably best for Mars, but this is something that’s never been done up to this point, so it’s hard to know what challenges there are in attempting this with the thinner atmosphere and lower gravity.

Number 3: Perchlorates in the soil

In the Biosphere 2 project, they grew their own food and struggled to have enough for everyone to eat. When they emerged at the end, many were malnourished and emaciated.

In 2008, the Mars Phoenix lander found significant quantities of perchlorate in the Martian soil.

Perchlorates are salt compounds that are often used in rocket propellants and they’re extremely harmful for humans.

They interrupt the thyroid gland and prevent the body from absorbing iodine, which leads to aplastic anemia.

That’s when your bone marrow can’t make new red blood cells. Red blood cells are what carry oxygen through the body. Minor problem.

Or, if aplastic anemia isn’t your thing, you might get agranulocytosis, which prevents your body from making white blood cells.

Chris McKay at the Ames Research Center said that if your backyard had this much perchlorate in the soil, it would be considered a superfund site.

Basically Mars is a giant toxic waste dump.

Number 4: The gravity problem

Mars is smaller than Earth, with gravity only 38% of that you’re used to here. An average 150 pound person on Earth would weigh only 57 pounds on Mars.

We do have some idea of what to expect from long-term zero gravity thanks to astronauts like Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko, who just this year completed a year-long space mission.

Although the record was set in 1995 by Valery Polyakov, who flew on the Mir space station for 437 days.

And last but not least, number 5: The Contamination Problem

We’ve talked in videos about the Fermi Paradox and the Drake Equation in the search for intelligent life in the universe.

Because if life could form twice in one solar system, the potential for life in other solar systems, and intelligent life, becomes very significant.

So one of the biggest problems when it comes to traveling to Mars is that we’re not just bringing ourselves… We’re bringing our microbes.

The second we land on Mars, we have contaminated it.

[cristiandemirel]

let's go to Sun! We will land at night to avoid getting burned.

[HeiBao]

Venus. Another superfund site. Pros: Gravity. Cons: Yes.

[barnabyaprobert]

Short version: we learned a TON from this experiment, which is what experiments are for.

[bradcolman]

Easy solution:

Send Flat Earthers first, as test subjects.

[gdenslicer]

You and I may not want to be on that first trip to Mars, but the beautiful thing about living on a planet with 7 billion people is that you’ll always find someone crazy enough.

[ZeusKyriacos]

worst conditions on earth are 1000 times better then on mars

[izzycurer]

I appreciate how cynical he looks while he filmed himself sitting there in silence for the bit with Counter Argument Joe

[othellosmistake]

Top 5 reasons why going to Mars is a good idea.

1.) In-laws



That's all I got.

[LoVeLoVe-birq]

13:29 Well, actually... we have since discovered that the radiation in space also causes brain damage.

[jedidiahuchenna]

A wise man once said, There known knowns, there are known unknowns☝🏾and there are UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS👽

[marcpadilla]

Space stations, a Moon base, are imperative to begin Space exploration including a colony on Mars.

[gearbow]

Finally someone tells the truth about Mars. And just in case you're wondering, NO, it can't ever be teraformed. EVER!!

[patrickboucher]

This was no failure IMO. We learned a great deal in a short time covering many foreseen and unforeseen problems. This was a first! What would of happened if we did this onMars? We learned a great deal in a short time.We need to do the same again for this and other projects!

[chriskelleher]

" they looked like they worked in a coal mine " . Those moon dust covered astronaut photos are hard to come by. Wish they'd show more. It was played down by NASA. They must have inhaled the dust back on the Lander.

[treesurgeon]

I blame the failure of the biosphere project on Pauly Shore.

[Yosetime]

Great sketch at the end! Nailed it!! lol
I'm so glad I discovered this channel. It's been roughly 2 weeks. I can safely say that I've done a bit of binge watching in that time. Absolutely fabulous work!
Even though I am not always excited about online social media and such, I do recognize that channels like this not only allow ordinary folks (with great ideas and even greater personalities) to make a living off of this. And that benefits everyone. It opens the door for the spread of information that is of our choosing. It broadens our perspective and throws off the restraints of our previous 'norms'. Of course, there is bad information out there. But, by far, the opportunities created by platforms like this are immeasurable. Now all we need to do is work around those undesirable algorithms.
Thank you Joe!

[shanec]

Ali G: Can we land on the sun in the winter, when the sun is cold?

Buzz Aldrin: The sun is not cold in the winter...

[davidamador]

You know that the first colonies in the new world failed as well? You do not stop because a few or many die. Success cost lives. Just saying. We are so damn risk adverse. I would give it a go.

[williamgreene]

I'm just going to throw something out there that you may not have considered. I admit that I could be wrong but I have seen statistics used to come up with the wrong answer. When you compared the heart disease of several groups and attributed the heart disease to radiation exposure I see a flaw. First consider the difference between early astronauts and low earth astronauts. Modern low earth astronauts are chosen for intelligence, and a calm disposition for being in a can for months with others. These people would have a lower cardiovascular risk by their very nature.
Early astronauts were test pilots and high risk takers. The stuff me in a metal can, light my pants on fire, and fire me out of a cannon type of people. Or in an actual quote from an astronaut when there were launch delays " let's light this candle" in an agitated voice.
These people by their nature would have a much higher cardiovascular risk than modern astronauts.
That's just my thoughts on how data can be misread and like I said at the beginning, " I could be wrong. Nice video though.

[geoden]

I agree with Joe entirely, Elon Musk's plan to colonise Mars is doomed to failure very early for many reasons. We have evolved to live on
this planet, nowhere else. Humans are a very diverse species with differences in intellect, character and skills etc, etc. This worked when
we lived in small groups with plenty space between us, the necessity of personal space was critical. We won't have this on Mars. A
multitude of other factors will combine to make the whole enterprise fail miserably. I will be surprised if we even land safely on Mars!