Packing for Mars (Part 1)

Photo credit: NASA Haughton-Mars Project/Pascal Lee 010808-0013.
  • Free Audio
  • Ad-Free Audio

About This Episode

What are the practical considerations for a manned mission to Mars? From the psychological issues of spending 2 to 3 years cooped up in a spacecraft, to the science of protecting astronauts from solar radiation, get the inside scoop on what a journey to Mars would need to succeed when astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down with NASA astronaut Mike Massimino and “Packing for Mars” author Mary Roach. You’ll learn about an actual NASA device that turns human waste into plasticized radiation shield tiles, the nutritional benefits of Mouse Stew, and which personality traits would fare best on a NASA Mars mission. Co-host Chuck Nice is on hand to offer his own outside-the-box suggestions for the flight, including Jamaican “Rastanauts”.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: Packing for Mars (Part 1).

In This Episode

Get the most out of StarTalk!

Ad-Free Audio Downloads
Ad-Free Video Episodes
Stickers & Mugs
Live Streams with Neil
Priority Cosmic Queries
Early-Access Videos
Learn the Meaning of Life
...and much more

Related Episodes

Episode Topics