The Future Is Female: New Study Suggests All-Women Crew Is Key to a Successful Mars Mission
A new study shows that an all-female crew might be the key to a successful Mars mission. As space exploration continues, the concept of an all-female crew is revolutionary.
In 2030, NASA will launch a human mission to the red planet. A European Space Agency (ESA) study found that women consume less oxygen. They also need less food and emit less carbon dioxide than men.
The researchers replicated a mission for 1,080 days on which four women astronauts found that they required 3,706 pounds less food. This could save up the Mars mission over $158 million.
Travel time to Mars is nearly seven months from Earth. The study suggests that space agencies should probe the findings to lessen the volume and mass of food the space crew must store.
The new study also suggests that space agencies, including NASA, should focus on utilizing an all-female astronaut crew, particularly on long space explorations.
Check out this amazing news from the European Space Agency! As it turns out, female astronauts might just have a leg up on their male counterparts when it comes to space exploration. When it comes to conquering the final frontier, it seems like women might just have the edge! pic.twitter.com/RXzkoNxeOV
— MoneyLion (@MoneyLion) May 9, 2023
The Results of the Study
The simulation of the 1,080-day Mars mission with an all-female crew proves that the space in the capsule would have an extra eight cubic feet due to their smaller figures. This is almost 4% of a ‘Gateway’ HALO unit in NASA’s proposed lunar orbit space headquarters.
Scientists from the ESA studied the total energy cost, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide, water requirements, and heat emission of females and males on more extended space missions to check what the average astronaut would look like.
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As a result, they found that female astronauts have much better records on all aspects as their body size grows. The most affected figures show a 30% reduction rate.
While male astronauts show a total energy consumption increase of 30%, an increase in oxygen consumption by 60%, and an increase in carbon dioxide buildup by 60%, their water demands also increase by 17%.
NASA scientist Geoffrey Landis had long concluded that females are more suitable for space travel. He said, “Women are on average smaller than males: women use less oxygen, consume fewer consumables, produce less carbon dioxide.” He also cited that with women astronauts, there would be considerable savings.
Women Taking the Lead in Space Missions
Almost 622 individuals have been to space, but only 72 are females. Overall, NASA has sent 355 people to space, and 55 of them are females.
It has also launched a mission to the moon with 24 people who orbited and one who walked on the surface. This mission was all men.
In 1937, Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first ever woman to depart the Earth’s atmosphere. It was not until 1983 that another brave female followed suit.
Opinion: Female astronauts Sally Ride and Ellen Ochoa paved the way for women to soar into space [Opinion] https://t.co/J4Gh2ACzwM
— The San Diego Union-Tribune (@sdut) May 5, 2023
Sally Ride was launched to the International Space Station, and she was the first American woman to explore the final frontier.
Recently, NASA’s Christina Koch will be the first woman to ever step on the Moon at NASA’s Artemis II mission next year. The 44-year-old Michigan native also holds the title of the longest time a woman explored space.
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In 2019, Koch was in outer space for 328 days and participated in the first all-female spacewalk.
Furthermore, the space agency launched an empty Orion capsule near the Moon last year. If this recent mission succeeds, there will be another moon flight by 2025. All of these efforts are part of testing ahead of transporting humans to Mars
Men and women are vital in space explorations. Both will also be needed when the time comes that humans conquer the red planet.
With the growing potential of a manned Mars exploration, the results of this study may have a meaningful impact on future space missions.
