Will you live to see the First Man on Mars?
- Thread starter Ethros
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Question- Do you think you will live to see the first man on Mars?
I'm 24, and when I was a kid I used to think it was almost a certainity. Nowadays, not so much
I'm no expert but space exploration seems to be going nowhere. And with the cost involved of sending a manned team to Mars (rather than robots/probes) I'm getting the feeling I may die and old man and still not have seen one of mans greatest achievments-to-be
What do you think?
I'm also 24 and I pretty much agree with your view on the matter.
Yes, no doubt of it (barring illness or accident). The technology already exists and is advancing, and will at some point reach a critical stage where it becomes much easier to make the leap to space (it's really the first hundred miles that's the big problem).
It's very different. A Mars mission means that man would be leaving the Earth's magnetosphere for the first time, exposing the astronauts to massive amounts of solar radiation and nasty things.
If it was just a matter of "it takes longer" then we would be doing it. Hell, Apollo failed once and that was only a 6 day round trip. Mars is 6 months away and once you're there...you're stuck there for another 6 months before you can make another 6 month trip back home. Payload size is already a huge problem with launch vehicles so how you expect NASA to send enough provisions for at least 3 men for over a year and a half is beyond me.
Surely you're only going to have 4 burns?
Unless you slingshot. In any case you can have as many tanks as you want, provided they're secure.
Don't think it'll happen in my lifetime. First, there's going to have to be some justification beyond "need to explore" or whatever.
It's also not the same as a moon-shot. Not at all. And, I don't think we could approach it with the same hubris and timetable we had when going to the moon. Even if all supply and life-support problems were worked out, if the first attempt worked, it would probably be pure luck. A failure would probably mean a decade would pass before the next attempt. They were damn lucky with Apollo 11. We tend to forget that.
We can talk our way to Mars in theory right now. Putting it into practice would take decades of tests and recovery from errors. Going to the moon was like crossing the English Channel. This is a trip across the ocean.
It's also not the same as a moon-shot. Not at all. And, I don't think we could approach it with the same hubris and timetable we had when going to the moon. Even if all supply and life-support problems were worked out, if the first attempt worked, it would probably be pure luck. A failure would probably mean a decade would pass before the next attempt. They were damn lucky with Apollo 11. We tend to forget that.
We can talk our way to Mars in theory right now. Putting it into practice would take decades of tests and recovery from errors. Going to the moon was like crossing the English Channel. This is a trip across the ocean.
I'm 35, and I think it will happen in my lifetime. Though I don't think it will be any specific nation making the journey alone but rather a joint international mission.
If anything, I like that the Chinese are ramping up their space program because the competition might encourage us to get off our asses.
If anything, I like that the Chinese are ramping up their space program because the competition might encourage us to get off our asses.
I'm 30 and I think I will live to see a man or woman on Mars.
Let's see:
Phase 1: Go to Mars
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: PROFIT!
Anyway, I don't see it happening in my lifetime and don't see the need for men to go there RIGHT NOW. Rovers do the job just fine and for less money.
Phase 1: Go to Mars
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: PROFIT!
Anyway, I don't see it happening in my lifetime and don't see the need for men to go there RIGHT NOW. Rovers do the job just fine and for less money.
Hmmmm, didn't Britain lose one of their Martian rovers? That was just a couple of million down the drain. Now, imagine spending BILLIONS to send three men who, after six months of travel, are never heard from again. The American public, as finicky and fickle as they are, would be SCREAMING for NASA to be shut down ASAP and I'll bet would succeed even though NASA's budget is far smaller than two true failures: The Department of Energy and The Department of Education.
Really? Many people questioned the purpose of manned space flight when Columbia disintegrated.
^^^ Did they question manned spaceflight as a whole or the continued viability of the shuttle program? Because I recall lots of questioning of the shuttles, but no significant movement to my knowledge that said we should forget manned spaceflight altogether.
There are some scientists who disagree with the cost of manned spaceflight and how it often makes unmanned spaceflight play second fiddle in funding, but that had nothing to do with the Columbia disaster.
There are some scientists who disagree with the cost of manned spaceflight and how it often makes unmanned spaceflight play second fiddle in funding, but that had nothing to do with the Columbia disaster.
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