The peripatetic adventures of Curiosity as it makes its meandering way over the martian landscape has given rise to much speculation about putting men on Mars. After all its been a long time since men went to the moon and while we have a number of people out in space on a regular basis on the International Space Station, its not the same thing as having a man on another celestial body.

We already have proved our ability to reach the red planet by landing the space rovers on it, so why shouldn’t we use the same to put men there? The reason lies in the fact that man is far more delicate when it comes to survival conditions compared to a computer led machine. The conditions to be faced are extremely harsh. The cosmic radiation in the so called atmosphere of Mars would be like exposure to 50 simultaneous CT scans.

This high level of radiation is likely to cause brain damage and increase the risk of developing cancer for any human being exposed to it. While going to Mars is the next big thing waiting to happen in space travel, currently scientists are working on science projects designing ways and means to protect men from radiation once they land on the red planet. It will take some time before man is ready to reach Mars.