feedback/assistance at kids4mars

[salamander]

We could use your expert assistance and feedback.<br />Kids4Mars, a project of the MarsDrive.com consortium, strives to be the premier children's and educator's site for Mars information and activities. Our goal is to assist in the education of the public on the merits of human and robotic space exploration with an emphasis on Mars. We feel that as children learn more about the benefits of leaving the cradle of Earth and become a true spacefaring civilization, support for space endeavors and settlement will increase.<br /><br />We aim to incorporate and develop activities that are aimed at students and adults of various grade/age levels and personal and professional interests. We are emphasizing new ways to use the vast array of existing materials available from NASA, ESA, and other public sources, as well as activities and materials developed and organized by and with our partner organizations. We welcome the participation of teachers, other professionals, and other organizations with an interest in space and science education.<br /><br />We are currently in need of content developers, designers and a cartoonist. If you want to assist in Mars and Space related education, please contact us via the link in the menu bar on the http://www.kids4mars.com website.<br />

 

[alokmohan]

Is mars journey feasible?Children may confuse?

 

[salamander]

Yes, such a journey is feasible. We have the plan, the hardware and even the technology to go now. Robert Zubrich developed a plan in the mid 1990s that was seriously considered but political priorities got in the way of implementation. His plan has been further developed and refined by GBonin from Marsdrive and can be found here:<br /><br />http://marsdrive.com/drm?PHPSESSID=76305196d3cabab846e5c0eef8cfb6b6<br /><br />I would recommend Zubrich's book, The Case for Mars, as a good reference or starting point for more information.

 

[qso1]

A journey to Mars has been largely feasible for about two decades. It has not happened because of the expense associated with going. Politicians and the public at large do not have the will to undertake such a journey.<br /><br />The only part of it that is still in question in my mind is food and water for the crew. Recycling has come up as a way to deal with the water supply. The food and water could be carried in bulk but that would require additional vehicle support.<br /><br />As salamander pointed out, "The Case For Mars" is a good read to get an idea of where we are at in the quest for Mars. I checked out http://marsdrive.com/drm<br />and its a nicely detailed plan. One that has traditionally been set aside by NASA in the past because HLLVs have normally been favored for getting hardware to orbit in bulk.<br /><br />Both plans have their pros and cons. The pro in this plan is reliance on as much existing hardware as possible. The con in this one so far is that we built ISS this way. ISS would ultimately have been cheaper if sent to orbit on HLLVs, at least theoretically.<br /><br />I also noted in salamanders comment "We have the plan, the hardware and even the technology to go now". I was not aware we had any hardware for going to Mars now. We have the ability to build it, but unless marsdrive has already built it, we don't have hardware as yet. Yes we do have the plans and technology.<br /><br />This is important to realize because what marsdrive folks must now overcome is not so much technological. Its economical in the form of what I call the cost barrier. The company or consortium that can overcome this will be well positioned to get humans to Mars.<br /><br />I havn't had a chance to look in detail at the marsdrive plan but when I do, I'll see hopefully how they are dealing with food and water. I did notice there emphasis on modularity, a good thing. The smaller elements means mass production which in turn means p <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>