TPO50-integrated writing

The article primarily introduces the topic of a project of sending humans to Mars and asserts
that there are plenty of difficulties that scientists have to consider. While the author presents
three seemingly plausible problems, the lecture provides a compelling counterargument by
elaborating three corresponding solutions and uses specific reasons and details to support his
points.

First, the reading makes clear that one challenge is that it will take at least two years to get to
Mars and back, which makes it impossible to bring enough food, water, and oxygen. The
lecture, however, argues that a technique called hydroponics can grow plants in the water
instead of soil, which requires comparatively little space. This technique allows astronauts to
cultivate food crops in the spacecraft. In addition, hydroponics can recycle some wastewater
into clean water vapor, collecting to get the drinking water. Also, the plants will absorb carbon
dioxide and release oxygen, which provide adequate oxygen for astronauts to breath.

Furthermore, according to the passage, another problem is that the zero-gravity environment
of space that astronauts will stay for many months would have severe adverse effect on the
human body. On the contrary, the listening disputes this notion as well, contending that there
are already several space stations orbiting the earth and lots of astronauts have already stayed
in a zero-gravity environment for several months. He asserts that they’ve already learned some
techniques to manage the effect, for instance, they will do some regular exercise to maintain
the muscle mass and eat some vitamins and minerals to slow down the decreasing of bone
density. Therefore, the explanation and problem stated in the reading is not cogent and
rational.

Lastly, the author explicitly points out that astronauts will be exposed to dangerous levels of
space radiation and constructing a protective shield is impossible at present, whereas the
professor find the point indefensible because the radiation won’t be at dangerous level all the
time. Instead, it only appears occasionally when the sun is active. Additionally, there is a special
instrument in the spacecraft to monitor the dangerous radiation and a small shelter to shield
against those radiation with little mass. As a result, astronauts can easily carry out their normal
business and only protect themselves into the small shield when the instrument detects the
dangerous radiation.