If we consider today a human journey to Mars, can we imagine a crew one day to Jupiter or Neptune? Under what conditions would these missions be feasible and what questions would these explorations by humans raise? With Stéphanie Lizy-Destrez, teacher-researcher in space systems design at Isae-Supaéro.
Could we consider sending humans beyond the planet Mars? This is no longer science fiction for Stéphanie Lizy-Destrez, teacher and researcher in the design of space systems at Isae-Supaéro. “Our technologies have evolved a lot, improved, miniaturized and that means that the films of the 70s could one day take shape and have missions to distant destinations”she believes.
The technological barriers are the same as for going to Mars: long flight times, confined crews for a long time, exposure to radiation… “When we have solved this problem, going to Mars or going further, finally, it’s the same thingaccording to the teacher-researcher. It remains technological obstacles which do not seem insurmountable, which are interesting, on which there is research, there are ambitions and dreams.
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Find a planet B?
If we do not yet have the technical means to go there, we are already thinking about all the consequences or all the questions that may arise. One of the springs that is sometimes disputed or decried is the idea of telling yourself that you have to find a planet B. “Mars being a little further from the sun, we can imagine that settling on Mars will save life as we know it on Earth.recognizes Stéphanie Lizy-Destrez. What bothers me with this ‘planet B’ side is to say: if we have a backup, we can do anything on Earth. And that would be a real shame. So no, it’s rather on the contrary to go further to always remain animated by these scientific questions (…) To try to understand the evolution of the Earth, with Mars which corresponds a little to our past, but with Venus which corresponds rather to our future, namely that Venus is hell. In terms of temperatures, it is an increase in the greenhouse effect, so we can imagine what the Earth could become as it warms up. Going to explore these planets also means better understanding, anticipating what the Earth could become.”
“Mars, the new odyssey: beyond the red planet”, a franceinfo podcast by Olivier Emond, in partnership with the Cité de l’espace, to be found on the franceinfo site, the Radio France application and several others platforms like Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, Spotify, or Deezer.
Directed by: Clotilde Pivin
Coordination: Pauline Pennanec’h
Sound recording: Julien Girard
Mixing: Raphael Rasson
Sound design: Bruno Carpentier, Hervé Bouley