tpo 50 the trip to Mars

The material discusses the possibility of the trip to Mars. While the reading mentions three problems of this approach, the listening suggests a solution to each problem in the reading passage. First, the author states that the trip to Mars will take too long, so the crew should take a lot of food, oxygen, and water, and the cargo capacity is limited. One the other hand, the professor challenges this and posits that the crew could use a special technique called the hydroponic. The lecturer explains that this approach can grow plants in water instead of soil, so they can cultivate their food. Furthermore, they can use it to recycle wastewater and collect clean water for drinking. Moreover, the speaker adds that these plants can absorb the carbon dioxide and release oxygen, so this approach can provide the crew with all essentials for the trip. Second, the writer points out that Mars has zero gravity, which has a negative effect on the human body, given that it reduces muscle mass and bone density. On the contrary, the professor opposes this and contends that astronauts can use several techniques to manage this problem. The lecturer explains that they can do regular exercises, which prevent the decreasing of the muscle mass and increase the absorption of vitamin D into the bone. Third, the reading states that solar radiation is very high on Mars, and they cannot take the materials that protect them from this radiation because they are too heavy. Conversely, the professor counters this and brings up that solar radiation is not dangerous all the time, but it happens occasionally. According to the listening, the spaceship can stay in the unshelled area whenever it is safe and moves to the shelled area until the danger will pass.