For the past four billion years, life on Earth has been endless. But now on Earth there are only nearly 10 million species of creatures, this number is only 1% of the total number of species that have ever lived on Earth, the remaining 99% has disappeared in the long river of the Earth. Although our planet is a vibrant planet, it is very difficult for any living species to survive long on Earth. Over time, the Earth’s climate will continue to change and some ancient species have been unable to adapt to this change, leading to extinction. In addition, life on Earth could also be threatened by deadly threats from space. For example, a gamma-ray burst from a supernova could destroy Earth’s atmosphere and cause deadly cosmic radiation to reach our planet’s surface. Most life on Earth wouldn’t be able to withstand this. 450 million years ago a supernova caused the first mass extinction of the space threat on Earth. On the other hand, the impact of a giant asteroid falling to Earth will also cause drastic changes in climate, disrupt the food chain and cause mass death for life on Earth. The fifth mass extinction 65 million years ago was probably also caused by an asteroid collision. In addition to the threat from space, on Earth there may be superbugs that humans can’t fight off. Humanity also possesses nuclear weapons capable of destroying all life on Earth. Although humanity has enough intelligence to create such a powerful weapon, it is not known if humanity is intelligent enough to not use nuclear bombs on a large scale. And also for various reasons, Hawking believes that in order to continue to exist, humanity must expand its habitat into space in the future. Only by taking precautions and leaving Earth before disaster strikes and colonizing other planets can humans better cope with unknown disasters. So which planets should humans migrate to? Is there a “Second Earth” in the universe? Proxima b’s host star is Proxima Centauri – part of a trio of strange stars that scientists are still studying. The other two stars are binary – meaning they orbit the same center of gravity and are collectively known as Alpha Centauri. Although this “Second Earth” has similar properties to the Earth – where we live, Proxima b is still a mysterious and alien world. In the solar system, although life can exist on some satellites, but apart from Earth, there are no planets suitable for human existence. To achieve the goal of space colonization, we can only look beyond the extent of the familiar solar system. Current statistics show that almost every solar system has planets, and there are hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way, so there should be multiple targets to choose from. People need to choose rocky planets that are in the habitable zone, because only when the distance between the planet and the sun is neither too close nor too far can liquid water exist on its surface. Proxima b exists right in the middle of the habitable zone of stars, where water could theoretically exist in liquid form. Compared to our sun, Proxima Centauri’s habitable zone is very close to its host star. Scientists once believed that red dwarf stars like Proxima could not exist on habitable planets that were orbiting so close. But now, scientists think red dwarfs might be the best place to look for other habitable planets. And recently, astronomers discovered that Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our solar system, has a planet called Proxima Centauri b. This planet is a rocky planet the size of Earth and it is also in a habitable zone. Although Proxima b is the closest exoplanet to the solar system at a distance of only 4.2 light-years, humans are currently not capable of flying to this planet. Even with today’s fastest spacecraft, if we want to set foot there, it will take us tens of thousands of years to fly to Proxima b. However, humanity has never backed down from difficulties, we have been able to cross the ocean, as well as cross the distant interstellar space to reach the strange world, so it is very possible in the future , people will set foot here.

Due to the presence of minerals and other resources on the Red Planet, in the future, Mars could be an abundant source. All in all, the initiatives in this direction are impressive, but as always, there are nuances attached to them. Traveling to Mars on 1,000 rockets and creating land for 1 million earthlings as Elon Musk suggests is an extremely expensive and technologically difficult task. It is not necessary to list all the problems that arise when massive scientific works are devoted to this, just to mention the main “knots”. First, There is no technology that allows the creation of spacecraft with the ability to send people into distant space without having to receive a lethal dose of cosmic radiation. This problem could be solved by wrapping lead plates, but would lead to a proportional increase in the mass of the ship and a decrease in its carrying capacity. New engines were needed, but they are now beyond production. Monday, Solar radiation will remain a problem on the Martian surface. The Red Planet, unlike Earth, does not have a magnetic field that protects us from ionizing radiation. Astronauts will not have to walk on red sand dunes like in the movie “Total Recall”, but have to hide in bases hidden deep below the surface. Tuesday, Mars on Mars is cold and has practically no atmosphere, but the radiation background is 2.5 times higher than what astronauts on the ISS can tolerate. It is impossible to live in such conditions without a special space suit. There are also many other problems, but it is clear that expanding living space is an extremely important task for all of humanity, requiring accumulation and huge investments in technology. For this reason, scientists are seriously skeptical of Elon Musk’s initiative, especially when he proposes to carry out thermonuclear bombardments at both poles of the Red Planet. This will lead to higher temperatures, melting glaciers, the formation of liquid water and the release of greenhouse gases, which will create the atmosphere on Mars. After that, the settlers could walk on the surface without the spacesuit. But there is another way of looking at this “terrain” approach. Mathematician Robert Walker calculates that in order to carry out the first part of the plan, which would require at least 1 million nuclear bombs with a capacity of 100 megatons, they would have to be sent to Mars 3,500 a day for seven weeks to achieve. desired results. There are no such large numbers of nuclear weapons on Earth and the lack of means to deliver them to another planet. This is the first thing. Carbon dioxide reserves on Mars would not be enough to create a suitable atmosphere, even if the first problem were solved. Since the Red Planet has no magnetic field, solar radiation will gradually “suck” in the already formed magnetic field. This is the second thing. And finally, for some reason, Elon Musk doesn’t take into account that after so many nuclear explosions, the surface of the planet will be radioactive for a long time, you can’t walk there with a mask oxygen and plant trees. “Nuke Mars” is just a cover for the US to send nuclear weapons into space? In general, Elon Musk’s initiative is a nonsense and he himself cannot help but understand this. But why is this smart man promoting it? The head of Roscosmos – Mr. Dmitry Rogozin tried to answer the question: Anyone who calls for the “terrain” of Mars or other planets is well aware that this is just an excuse for launching nuclear weapons into space, which, if useful, is just to “terrain”. our “Earth. But it’s true, you can’t just send nuclear warheads to Mars. First, they will need to be put into orbit and accumulate somewhere along with the means to send them in large batches. Where is that? Suppose that a circular orbit station, which the United States and its allies are building, will be adapted for this case, with China and Russia as targets. But will the nuclear bomb then make its way to the Red Planet? It’s long been no secret that Elon Musk is working closely with the Pentagon on the space program and satellites. So why not try with the best cause, Mars exploration, to advocate for the idea of ​​​​putting a US nuclear arsenal in space, Mr. Rogozin concluded.

The idea of ​​​​conquering Mars has been a dream of mankind for many years, this could be the first step towards realizing the dream of many science fiction scientists that is to explore outer space. Sending humans to another planet, even within the solar system, has the effect of reducing the risk of a global catastrophe that could destroy life, such as a large asteroid impact or nuclear war. Even in the future, the Red Planet could be an abundant source of resources. Obviously the ambition to travel to Mars is impressive, but there are many doubts and obstacles attached. Tech billionaire Elon Musk put forward the idea of ​​humans traveling to Mars on 1,000 rockets and creating land for 1 million inhabitants, this is clearly an extremely expensive and technologically difficult task. major barriers have been listed. First, Earth science has not yet been able to create spacecraft with the ability to send humans into distant space that is “immune” to deadly cosmic radiation. The solution to this problem could be to wrap lead plates, but that would increase the weight of the ship and reduce its carrying capacity. Engines for spaceships are now well beyond construction. Second, solar radiation is a big problem, the Red Planet is different from Earth in that it doesn’t have a magnetic field protecting it from ionizing radiation. Astronauts will have to hide in bases hidden deep below the surface, not be able to walk freely on the surface. Third, Mars is cold and has no atmosphere, but the radiation background is 2.5 times higher than that of astronauts on the International Space Station ISS. It is impossible to live in such conditions without a special space suit. There are many other problems as well, but it is clear that expanding space into outer space requires accumulation and huge investments in technology. Before this fact, scientists expressed doubts about Elon Musk’s initiative, when he proposed to carry out bombardments with thermonuclear warheads at both poles of the Red Planet. A “fusion attack” would cause glaciers to melt, forming liquid water and releasing greenhouse gases, which help create the atmosphere on Mars. Then the “reclaimers” could walk around without a spacesuit. But mathematician Robert Walker calculates that to carry out the first part of the plan requires at least 1 million nuclear bombs with an explosive yield of 100 Megatons, must be assembled on Mars 3,500 a day for 7 weeks to achieve desired results. There are no such large numbers of nuclear weapons on Earth, and the lack of means to deliver them to another planet, is the first hurdle. CO2 reserves on Mars would not be enough to create a suitable atmosphere, even if the first problem were solved. Since the Red Planet does not have a magnetic field, solar radiation will gradually “suck” the gas that has already formed, which is the second barrier. Finally, Elon Musk does not take into account that after many nuclear explosions, the surface of the planet will be radioactive for a long time, people cannot walk with oxygen masks and plant trees. Elon Musk’s initiative is clearly impractical and perhaps the billionaire himself understands this, but what is his meaning. The head of Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos – Mr. Dmitry Rogozin made a remarkable remark. “Anyone calling for the reclamation of Mars or other planets is well aware that this is just an excuse for launching nuclear weapons into space for military purposes on Earth.” “It’s true, you can’t just put nuclear warheads on Mars. They need to first be put into orbit and assembled somewhere with the means to send them in large batches.” “Assuming an orbital station being built by the US and its allies will be tailored to target China and Russia. Will nuclear warheads reach the Red Planet then? “It is no secret that Elon Musk is working closely with the Pentagon on the space and satellite program. So why not experiment with the best cause of Mars exploration, to advocate for the idea of ​​​​putting US nuclear weapons in space,” concluded Mr. Rogozin.

The main difference between these three types of hydrogen lies in the number of neutrons in the nucleus. Protium is the default type of hydrogen in our natural habitat, which consists of a proton and an electron, while deuterium has an extra neutron when compared to proti and tritium with two more neutrons when compared to proti. . Most of the hydrogen in nature exists in the form of proti, with a relative abundance of 99.9844%, while deuterium abundance is relatively low, at about 0.0156%. For tritium, since abundance is less than 0.001% it is usually noted as a trace amount. During the recent nuclear wastewater incident in Fukushima, Japan, tritium content was a major issue being discussed. Tritium is radioactive and undergoes beta decay with a half-life of 12.43 years. It is often thought that it was caused by the interactions of cosmic radiation and hydrogen in the atmosphere. Since the introduction of nuclear technology, humans have produced 5 times more natural tritium (about 7.3 kg in nature). Although proti (H2O), deuterium (D2O), and tritium (T2O) differ in atomic composition, the differences in their chemical properties are very small (D2O and T2O are commonly known as heavy water and super heavy water). Also because many of the three properties are similar, tritium is also one of the most difficult to separate and remove substances in nuclear wastewater. However, non-radioactive heavy water is much more interesting than super heavy water. Since the density of heavy water is 10% greater than that of water, heavy ice can sink to the bottom in the water. In 1931, the American scientist Harold Clayton Urey discovered the isotope of hydrogen, deuterium and he also received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934. In 1933, Urey’s mentor Gilbert Newton Lewis produced 0.5 ml of heavy water by electrolysis of water, with a purity of 65.7%. Harold Clayton Urey However, deuterium in natural water does not always exist in D2O form, and it is more likely to exist as HDO (half heavy water). During the production of heavy water by electrolysis, when the HDO molecules reach a certain rate, there will be an exchange of hydrogen ions between the water molecules, and the ratio of D2O also increases accordingly. . When the method of producing heavy water by electrolysis appeared, it quickly applied in practice. The year after Lewis produced high-purity heavy water, Norway built the Venmork hydroelectric plant in 1934, which uses nature’s abundant water to electrolyze water, creating hydrogen for production. Nitrate fertilizers. Norway’s Venmork hydroelectric plant. However, the manufacture of chemical fertilizers requires hydrogen from electrolytic water, and does not use the heavy water remaining in the electrolysis cell. So after a period of operation, the plant analyzed the residue of electrolysis and found that the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen (protium) was 1:48, much higher than the natural ratio 1. : 6400, though most of them exist in semi-HDO form. So the Norwegian Hydropower Company accepted the request of the person in charge of the hydrogen plant to produce heavy water from the byproducts of electrolysis. Therefore, it can be said that Norwegian Hydropower has become the earliest heavy water supplier in the scientific community. However, the story of heavy water has only just begun. In late 1938, the Germans discovered that the bombardment of a neutron on uranium could cause nuclear fission. In late 1939, the Soviet Union concluded that heavy water and graphite were the only viable regulators for uranium reactors, and each of these reactors required about 15 tons of heavy water to function. So heavy water then became a strategic substance because it can slow down the neutrons produced by chain nuclear reactions, and all nations take it seriously. From 1940 to World War II, the Norwegian heavy water plant was under Nazi control and bought nearly all of the heavy water in bulk. Allied forces crossed the mountain plateau to destroy heavy water factories under Nazi control. In short, when heavy water first appeared was associated with nuclear reactions, many people’s first impression of it was extremely dangerous, but it was not. Right after the discovery of heavy water, scientists were curious about it, so someone drank heavy water right after the discovery of deuterium. GeorgeCharles de Hevesy and Harold Clayton Urey, who discovered the deuterium, were good friends. In 1934, Hevesy asked Urey to get several liters of heavy water with low purity, only 0.6%. Hevesy then drank this heavy water to use deuterium as a marker, studied the water metabolism of the human body, and eventually concluded that the average residence time of water molecules in the muscle. human body is 13 ± 1.5 days. But if absorbing the amount of heavy water with a higher purity, it will have a significant effect on the body of animals and plants. Plants will die in high concentrations of heavy water. Animals such as mice and dogs will become infertile if D2O reaches more than 25% in the body, and fish will die rapidly in water that is more than 90% heavier. Mammals will die about a week after being given about 50% heavy water. In fact, humans and animals can hardly be exposed to such high purity heavy water, except animals raised for research purposes.