“Imagine the carnage”: Sophie Adenot explains why human travel to Mars is currently out of reach

Human journey to Mars – His observation is based on this experience of the return to gravity. Sophie Adenot quickly compared her condition to the obstacles that would await a crew at the end of a journey to the red planet. In particular, it identifies two necessary advances: shortening the journey and maintaining a form of gravity on board.

A return to Earth revealing physical limits

After opening her capsule, Sophie Adenot suffered from the movement of the sea and from discomfort which made her wish to go back into space. This reaction preceded a reflection on the ability of astronauts to withstand an arrival after several months of travel.

According to RTBF, the astronaut recalled that more than 50% of his colleagues present symptoms such as great weakness or vomiting upon their arrival. These manifestations vary depending on the person, but also between two missions carried out by the same astronaut.

The Frenchwoman had spent 235 days aboard the ISS. The first twenty-four hours after his return were difficult, before his condition improved. His testimony thus focuses on the immediate consequences of the journey, at the moment when a crew must regain its capacity for action.

Six to nine months of travel in a smaller space

The duration of a trip to Mars is currently estimated at between six and nine months, an order of magnitude comparable to its orbital stay. But this proximity in duration does not mean that the conditions would be equivalent for travelers.

In the ISS, Sophie Adenot had space to maintain her physical condition. A transport ship would provide a more restricted environment. She highlights this difference to explain why her experience constitutes a warning, even though she benefited from more favorable conditions.

“With the technology we currently have, a very long-term mission, a journey of several months to go to Mars, imagine the carnage,” she said. The risk she describes concerns physiological incapacities likely to complicate even basic movements after the journey.

Artificial gravity among the avenues considered

Sophie Adenot first mentions the need to speed up the journey. Reducing its duration is one of the technological breakthroughs that it considers essential before considering a human mission to Mars in better conditions.

She also cites a rotating space vehicle, which would expose astronauts to a form of artificial gravity. In this configuration, she considers that a trip could become possible. His remarks therefore distinguish the current limits from the possibilities opened up by new technologies.

However, these solutions remain steps to be taken, and not capabilities that it presents as already acquired. “But today, indeed, we still need a few key steps,” she stressed, placing the physical preparation of crews at the heart of the requirements of a future mission.

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