V
venator_3000
Guest
I've been reading posts and enjoying the dialogue. There seems to be much enthusiasm for a mission to mars or return to the Moon. But I don't think NASA can do this. I don't see a good deal of confidence garnered from shuttle or ISS. Perhaps with these large projects NASA is going back to the well too many times. What's the ISS budget and is it over-budget? Shuttle? This type of performance must be a big impediment whenever they deal with Congress (which is continuously).<br /><br />The two systems above were actually just portions of what was to be a large space infrastructure. That was Von Braun's (as well as many others) vision that was at one point presented to the powers that be. The vision included Moon bases and manned missions to Mars. Rather than this vision NASA was allowed shuttle and its biggest selling point seemed to be the fact that for some reason a throwaway society required a recyclable spaceship. <br /><br />That being said I think the issue is one of access. Access to orbit (which we have at great cost for varying payloads) and access to the planets (which we have if you are a robot). It might be better for NASA to step away from manned planetary landers and develop something that would allow 1-4 people the ability to visit Mars, Venus, Luna or the Asteroids. This cruiser would be a contained ship that would follow some optimal energy path (optimal being what's best for time, consumables, and crew) to Mars. Once there it would "dock" with Phobos or Deimos. No landing would be attempted. This might not be satisfying to the diehards but it would do three things:<br /><br />1. Develop the actual ability to go someplace,<br />2. Provide a close-up, human-eyed view of another world,<br />3. Be a building block for other missions. <br /><br />I think the ability to get there in one ship is crucial before the other goal (boots and flags) can be accomplished. It also lets NASA focus on developing 1 vehicle rather than 3 (cruiser, descent ship, and ascent vehicle). <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>