Can We Make it to Mars?: Nova ScienceNow (0:52) 2011

After watching The Pluto Files with Neil deGrasse Tyson, I came across Can We Make it to Mars? and decided to watch it. I was laughing at the title, we are wondering if we could travel to Mars and back successfully. I was watching this as the traffic outside my house was nonstop. There was a roll over of a gasoline truck on I-91 N on the North Haven/Wallingford line shutting down traffic for a predicted eight hours. We are going to Mars and we are having trouble getting out of town? Hmmm, interesting. This documentary takes a look at the dangers of a long flight to Mars on humans. Since the round trip would take about 3 years, more than 7,000 meals would have to on board. The shelf life of most meals is about two years. Cosmic rays, which are a cause of cancer, is dangerous for the crew. Bone loss due to weightlessness is also a problem. The problem for the spacecraft is being hit by space matter even minuet pieces. This turn out to be an interesting hour. I learned about the problems man will face in traveling to Mars, and as Tyson commented "We don't even know the unknown unknowns."