When President John F. Kennedy declared in 1962 that the United States would go to the moon, not because it is easy, but “because [it is] hard,” he had no idea how hard. Nevertheless, the success of the Apollo 11 moon landing and subsequent manned missions inspired space explorers of all stripes to justify their journeys to other cosmic outposts in the same vein: because it’s the ultimate challenge. But with each new study, the passage to Mars and other planets seems fraught with more danger than ever thought possible.
Just lifting off the surface of Earth and landing on another planet is bad enough. But how intense are the dangers of actually traveling in space? Here are five of the most dangerous threats astronauts will face when traveling to Mars and beyond.
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