Space Exploration & Physics
Space Exploration and Physics
By: Maximilian Muller
Physics is an important component to space travel because of the impact it has on enabling spacecraft can take off and land successfully. First it determines how a spacecraft is going to land. If the spacecraft is from Space X, it needs a rocket to activate before it lands to slow down the craft so that Newton’s third law of physics does not overwhelm it. According to Newton’s third law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If that rocket did not slow down it would be overwhelmed by impacting the groumd, causing it to explode. Rockets launched by NASA landed in the ocean since the ocean does not provide as much resistance as the ground, but the spacecraft still needed parachutes to slow down their momentum to keep them from crashing. In the past when measurement errors and other mistakes occcurred the result was catastrophic. These mistakes would cause rockets to crash which would kill the crew along with costing millions of dollars. In the 1980s the space shuttle disaster cost millions of dollars and ended up killing the entire crew along with damaging public support. The disaster was caused by the cold temperatures and the sudden heat of taking off which damaged an o-ring seal that led to destruction of the rocket. Scientists spotted the issue which prompted them to warn mission command of the possible failure, but they went on with the mission anyway. The age of the space shuttle is over and with it starts NASA’s focus on Mars as an exploration.
Many private corporations and governments have their eye on the red planet with all of them hoping to set up a colony around 2030 or later. Missions have already started trying to find an area for the settlement on Mars. The program would require many highly trained astronauts and personnel on board working on the project to get it in motion. One of the largest difficulties is how far away Mars is from Earth. This great distance means that you need a more powerful rocket engine to get there and that means needing more fuel, thereby making it more expensive and difficult. NASA, and companies like Space X, are working on creating renewable rockets to bring the costs down. Another problem is that people can mess up calculations which can lead to massive disasters that can cost millions of dollars. Considering that people are not going to land on Mars for a while, robots are the main source of exploring Mars right now, like gathering information, since they are immune to radiation and other problems that would affect organic life. The environment on Mars also makes getting to it very difficult since when a spacecraft is landing you cannot see the landing zone due to the dust swelling up. This means that it is hard to gauge how much force needs to be applied to keep the rocket from crashing. Computers play a key role in getting people around on Earth and it is the same in space.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is key in getting people to other planets since it will be able to think faster and more precisely than people. This system of programming is key to getting humans to Mars because it will allow scientists to make much more accurate decisions in a shorter period of time than other people would. This decision-making would allow spacecraft to adapt and reach the surface rather than flying by the planet and crashing. A challenge is the delay of signals getting from Mars to Earth. AI would also be crucial on the surface of the planet to help people to adapt and prepare for the challenges that face the colony. For instance, radiation, temperature, asteroids, and many other problems could be detected by the computers, could end up saving lives. AI is not a complete solution due to underlying dangers that may arise from the algorithms not obeying their human masters.
The future of space exploration will continue to grow to save Humanity or broaden its reach, but AI and Mars are limited in benefits. The reason being is that AI may become highly dangerous and and might kill off people no matter what we try to do. In the future, having a colony or people dependent on AI is dangerous and needs to be properly managed to prevent mass extinction. As for Mars colonization, there is an alternative, Venus another planet that may be a much more plausible option than Mars. It is closer to Earth in size along with being a shorter distance away than Mars. This would help make it easier for many more missions going to the planet Venus, but there are still challenges to overcome. One challenge is how thick the Venus atmosphere is, which keeps the planet so hot that it melts lead. Also, it has an atmospheric pressure so high that humans and their machines will not survive. Yet scientists have found a way around this challenge with a city in the sky. Though it might seem far-fetched, it is possible due to how dense the air is that any properly designed ship or platform would float. This option might make it a better choice for the future.
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