Will the mission be harmful to Mars’ environment?
Mars One will take specific steps to ensure that the Mars environment (which we will study, and on which we will depend) will not be harmed. The Mars base will be forced to recycle just about everything, and pay close attention to its energy use and minimize the leakage of materials and energy. Nutrients are scarce on Mars. They either need to be imported from Earth, or extracted from the ground or atmosphere. Solar panels, which will also be launched from Earth, will generate the settlement's electricity. All of this means that a Mars resident will have a much smaller ecological footprint than that of the average person on Earth.
What will the astronauts do on Mars?
During their working hours, our astronauts will be busy performing three main tasks: construction, maintenance and research. Besides work, they will also have time to relax.
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Construction
Construction involves working on the settlement. The first crew in particular will need to devote a lot of time to the settlement, to make their new home into a comfortable place to live. They will install the corridors between the landers, they will deploy extra solar panels, and they will install equipment, such as greenhouses, inside the habitat. They will spend time on the crops and food preparation. They will also prepare the hardware for the second crew: the second crew hardware will be delivered with the first crew astronauts.
As soon as possible, Mars One will try to supply the settlement with methodologies to produce habitable volume from mostly Martian materials, in order to significantly expand the settlement. Our goal is to enable them to construct a space 10 meters wide by 50 meters long. This will be a spacious environment in which to live, where they can also grow trees. Such a large living volume will make Mars a much nicer place to live.
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Maintenance
Maintenance will be crucial to ensure long-term functionality of all systems. The astronauts lives depend on the technology present in the settlement. All these systems need to be checked and maintained regularly.
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Research
Research is also an important part of work on Mars, especially when the settlement is fully operational. What is the history of Mars? Did Mars have a long wet period, or just a few wet years every now and then? When did the dramatic climate change take place? Is there life on Mars now? The astronauts will do their own research, but will also collect data for other researchers, and transmit it to Earth.
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Leisure and personal time
Our astronauts will also find time to relax. They can do most of the indoor activities that people can do on Earth: read, play games, write, paint, work out in the gym, watch TV, use the Internet, contact friends at home and so on.
Is it safe to live on Mars?
Living on Mars cannot be considered entirely risk-free, in particular during the first few years. There are a number of elements that could pose a problem:
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An essential component of the settlement could be affected
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There is a chance that an astronaut might not survive if his or her Mars Suit were to become seriously damaged during a mission outside of the habitat
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Certain medical conditions are not treatable on Mars
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Obviously, Mars One will extensively examine and trial-run all elements of the mission beforehand to pre-empt any mishaps – especially the settlement's critical parts.
Living on Mars is comparable to getting by on i.e. Antarctica, and provides similar challenges. However, the South Pole now has a number of very advanced, large research stations that boast a great deal of modern facilities that provide a good quality of life. On Mars this development still has to be kick started.
How long does it take to travel to Mars?
The trip takes around seven months; a bit longer than astronauts currently stay on the International Space Station.
The precise duration of each journey depends on when it is taken. Because both Mars and Earth's orbits are not perfectly circular, the time it takes to travel between them varies from six to eight months.
How safe is the journey?
The trip to Mars cannot be called risk free. Like any venture in any means of travel, there are always things that could go wrong. In the case of Mars One, the following risks are conceivable:
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Accident(s) during launch
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Vital components could malfunction during the journey there
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A number of issues might present themselves when entering Mars' atmosphere
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There could be problems when landing
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Mars One will take every possible precaution to make sure the mission is as safe as can be:
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The rocket will be tested unmanned dozens of times before the astronauts so much as see it.
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Mars One uses technology that has been operating on the International Space Station for years, and have already planned for important components to be meticulously tested before use.
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By the time the astronauts start their journey, the process of entering Mars' atmosphere will already have been performed eight times by unmanned capsules.
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Although traveling to Mars will evidently bring risks, if you were to compare our mission to the first Moon mission in 1969, it quickly becomes apparent that this mission is much safer. At the time of Apollo 11, there was a great deal of pressure to rush proceedings, and was therefore never properly tested. For example, the lunar lander hadn't even been tested once.