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Human Spaceflight: Milestones in Exploration Beyond Earth
In Human Spaceflight: Milestones in Exploration Beyond Earth, learn how sending a crewed flight to Mars requires a large cargo and even larger rocket power. To overcome the difficult initial part of the journey, NASA is building the largest rocket ever. Explore how the challenges of launching a mission to Mars are being addressed by organizations like NASA and SpaceX, including innovative approaches to rocket design and space travel logistics. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Big Thinkers, Should We Go to Mars?, where Dr. Kevin Fong explores the complex scientific and technological hurdles of space exploration.
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Q: What is the greatest challenge of sending a crewed flight to Mars?
A: The greatest challenge is the enormous rocket power required to send the heavy load into space, especially during the first 250 miles, when breaking through Earth's atmosphere is most difficult.
Q: What approach is SpaceX using to solve this problem?
A: SpaceX uses light, reusable rockets to shuttle cargo into space, rather than sending everything through the atmosphere in one large load.
Q: How is NASA tackling the challenge of sending humans to Mars?
A: NASA is developing the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever built, and plans to launch seven of these rockets to assemble the Mars spacecraft in space.
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