GETTING THERE A LONG JOURNEY


Mars is 55 million kilometers (34 million miles) away from Earth. That’s more than 140 times farther than the moon. To send astronauts to Mars, a new kind of spacecraft would be needed. It would need to be comfortable. It would need to protect the crew from radiation. And it would need to carry supplies for a very long trip. Look at the picture below. It shows what the craft might look like.


Three vehicles in one:


will rendezvous in Earth's orbit


will rendezvous in Mars' orbit


Crew vehicle would carry the crew into Earth's orbit. It would dock with the habitat module.


Habitat module would be where the crew lived and worked during the trip to Mars.


Mars descent vehicle would be sent ahead to orbit Mars. It would carry the crew to the surface after they arrived.


2


5


1


THE HABITAT MODULE would be built in space. Astronauts would travel to it.


1 LIVING SPACE: The crew would live and work here during the trip to Mars.


2 GREEN WALLS: Crops from gardens planted in “green walls” would provide some food.


18 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER


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