Mars has long captured our fancy. One hundred times farther from Earth than the moon, the Red Planet remained unexplored until the 1965 Mariner 4 mission. Photographs revealed a scarred wasteland hardly hospitable to life. But the pictures weren’t enough to dampen our enthusiasm for such shows as My Favorite Martian or the dream of one day colonizing the planet. More recent explorations have suggested Mars may be home to life, further fueling the desire of some to travel there. Aerospace engineer Bob Ash (Old Dominion University) outlines what it will take to get to Mars and survive. Also featured: Should colonization of Mars occur, we’ll need building materials that can withstand the harsh Martian environment. Chemist Richard Kiefer (William & Mary) is working with NASA Langley researchers on developing a brick that could shield Mars colonizers from dangerous radiation.
Find the audio for part one here.
Find the audio for part two here.
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