The first crewed mission to Mars is often imagined as the beginning of humanity's journey to another world. But getting astronauts there is only half the problem. Can we actually bring them home? Mars has fascinated humanity for centuries. From the canals imagined by nineteenth-century astronomers to today's robotic explorers, the Red Planet has gradually changed from a distant point of light into a destination. But there is a question that receives surprisingly less attention than the journey there: If humans eventually land on Mars, will they actually be able to come back? A mission to Mars is not simply a longer version of a trip to the Moon. The distances are enormous, launch windows are limited, communication is delayed and returning a crew safely requires spacecraft, fuel, power and life-support systems to work hundreds of millions of kilometres from Earth. And unlike the Apollo missions, astronauts travelling to Mars could be away from Earth for years. Mars Is a Long Wa...
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