By Dr. Alexander Kumar, BBC News, 09.21.12 In the first
installment of a two-part feature, Dr Alexander Kumar - who has
been overwintering at Concordia Station, Antarctica - examines
what it would take to send humans to Mars, and what lessons we
can learn from similar environments on Earth. Just how far are
we from mounting a crewed mission to the Red Planet? It's a
question I ponder as I stare into a powerful telescope and see a
reddish hue in the surrounding darkness. I have been
overwintering at the French-Italian outpost of Concordia station
in Antarctica, which is also used to study how humans might one
day survive a trip to the Red Planet. My eyes begin to freeze
and my eyelashes become matted together with ice. I dig my hands
deeper, further into my pockets seeking warmth. It strikes me
that it's a good metaphor for the astronomical amounts of money
that would be required to finance the planning and preparation
of such a mission. And that is only the first of many difficult
challenges. I bounce back ac