New US-Russian space monkey gap opens

[The Squire of Gothos]

Is that an ok title for this article?

They won't utter Yuri Gagarin's famous phrase "Let's go!" But the monkeys of Sochi have already proven their worth as trailblazers in space - and now they are being groomed for a trip to Mars.

The macaques will be the first to experience the radiation that poses a big risk to astronauts - or Russian cosmonauts - on any flight to the Red Planet.

Does Russia have the capacity to send humans so far into space any more? Are they likely to wreck their space programme by trying something so costly?

 

[anais]

Russia has large oil reserves. If they manage them well they have money coming. Don't know about the human capital though.

 

[Lindley]

The article speaks of a simulated environment, not an actual space journey.

 

[diankra]

Russia has large oil reserves. If they manage them well they have money coming. Don't know about the human capital though.

Compared with the costs of, ah, wars, National Health Services or holding Olympics and similar prestige events (I hope that's a politically neutral selection!) most decent sized nations have the resources to do a reasonable space programme - if they choose. What it takes is the political will, in the face of 'Why don't we spend it to eliminate poverty on Earth?' (Answer: 'Because you won't. It'll go on arms or pork barrel or showing-off, and space is at least reasonably useful showing off.').

On the Human reosurces question, then yep, Russia probably is drifting into the same problem that America reached, of generational issues meaning that just as the Apollo people now have to have their brains picked in retirement, the Russian engineers from the days before the post-Soviet slow-down of the Russian Space Programme will be becoming more scarce, and the blueprints and project studies may not have been properly preserved (the loss of Buran and Energiya hardware in a roof collapse is pretty clear proof of that).

 

[Meredith]

Just waht we need damned dirty apes living on mars and mucking it up.


"You blew Syria Planum all to hell, DAMN YOU!!!!!"