Will humans ever go to Mars?
Nuclear rockets are always a risk to their environment.
The problem with that kind of journey is that Mars is not the Moon. The distance to that planet is extraordinary for our rocket technology. For that journey, we require nuclear rockets, and there is a lot of political resistance against nuclear engines. It's possible to make lightweight nuclear reactors that use plutonium at the weapon enrichment level. But making that kind of reactor safe, requires a Moonbase.
The plutonium pellets will transported to the Moon in the form of uranium. Then the nuclear reactor transfers that uranium into plutonium. Then the interplanetary craft's reactor will be loaded with plutonium. For making that process safe the operators must send uranium to the Moon in very small transport batches. The nuclear rocket will launch from the Moon orbiter because in the case of an accident. Radioactive debris drops on the Moon.
This kind of project is huge. There is lots of money that is needed. And there are billions of other targets for resources that manned Mars missions require. But many other things can cause end-of-manned Mars programs. And one of them is that Mars can be polluted if there are humans on that planet.
Above:) Artist's impression of NASA's nuclear-powered spacecraft project called "Draco".
Artist's impression of Von Braun's wheel.
If humans go to Mars too soon with non-completed technology. There is a possibility that the organic material that comes from Earth will pollute the entire Mars.
There is the possibility that once in history there were tiny lifeforms on Red Planet. There could be DNA or RNA remnants of those bacteria that could be procaryotes. But the main reason why Mars station is not possible is that Mars is not safe. There is carbon dioxide ice under the shell, and that can cause dangerous collapses. Things like dust storms cause problems for antennas and power supply.
For making some space missions safe. There is a need lot of information about the targeted planets. Before humans can enter Mars. There could be space stations that orbit the Red Planet even decades before humans can land on Mars. There is a need for a large space station that could be Von Braun's wheel. That space station or group of space stations can be used to remote control robots on the Mars surface.
The mission of those robots is to search for lifeforms or lifeform remnants. Another mission of those space stations is to offer a safe place for astronauts in the case of accidents. The space stations offer sterile and isolated platforms for planetary operations.
Before astronauts can land on other planets they must know if there are some kind of active lifeforms. Maybe that thing is not a problem on Mars. But on icy moons like Europa could be primitive lifeforms. Another risk on those icy moons is that the ice shell collapses.
https://www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/will-humans-ever-go-to-mars/
