POLL: Will NASA Ever Go to Mars?

[spacefire]

a long duration opens up the possibility of visits to Phobos, where astronauts can explore Mars in real time using telepresence robots. Eventually when we land on the surface of Mars it will be a one-way trip to establish a permanent colony. It doesn't make sense to send people to Mars and bring them back to Earth from that big gravity well.
And anyways,unless some new technologies that dramatically lower the cost of access to orbit and increase the speed of our spaceships by factors of magnitude appear soon, who would want to spend 3 years in zero-1/3 Earth gravity in order to return to Earth and be alienated from their loved ones and a painful physical readjustment process?
No, the first person to step foot on Mars will never leave it. The sooner we get used to this idea the faster we can get to implementing it. Human beings are just not made for extended space travel. We need planets to live on.

 

[rcsplinters]

Will NASA ever go to MARS? I don't care for that question. Will the United States or a United States led consortium ever go to Mars?

No. In fact, we will not leave low earth orbit in a US made vehicle for more than 20 years now. The current administration is just the latest to be discovered over the body of the US manned space flight program laughing maniacally with bloody dagger in hand. The prior administration also failed us but in different fashion. Where the current administration offers paltry funding with a plan that would underwhelm the likes of Bevis and Butthead and Homer Simpson, the prior administration proposed a workable viable plan and let the funding die on the vine by not championing the plan in a bloody thirsty hostile congress. So it was before, and before, etc. Going to Mars is a 20 - 30 tough and expensive project. When such a project must be remade in the image of the president du jour, it has zero chance of success.

So what's it take to succeed? Continuity. We must stop this stupid cycle of allowing each succeeding administration to re-invent the wheel. We must build something and continue to expand and exploit that. There is no magically cheaper and quicker way to lift a 100 metric tons into orbit waiting for us in the next 5 years. The administration knows that. There will be no deeper pockets ready to fund and HLV in 5 years. They know that too, particularly so, since they are driving the country into crushing unprecedented debt. So we lose our continuity. We have nothing to show for 5 years of sloth.

We must be about building something and doing it soon. We can't wait for 2015. Now we turn to Congress and hope for a rare glimpse of vision and return continuity to NASA. Spending the money should be easy for them. The need is but a scant few percent of the trillion dollar bonanza's. The challenge for them will be jumping off the self destructive path we are on regarding manned space flight for the US. I hope they are up to it.

 

[SciFi2010]

If the new NASA mission to the asteroids and mars includes asteroid mining experiments (using robots) for water, energy and building materials to colonize the moon and mars or to build giant inflatable space-stations (for example "2001" space-wheels with artificial gravity) it might not be such a bad idea. The key is the synergy between commercial aerospace and government funding/fundamental research (...in other words the synergy between capitalism and socialism LOL !!!!). How ironic most liberals want a capitalistic approach and most right-wingers want a socialistic approach. To tell you the truth I don't care about the method as long as we are to able to create thriving space colonies/stations in the solar-system and Alpha Centauri for the coming decades and centuries. If it works and is beneficial to society it is fine with me.

 

[sywuz]

When Neil Armstrong speaks out, that’s an event. This is a guy who is the most self-effacing American hero in our history. He could have been Lindbergh and he became J.D. Salinger.

And now he speaks out in an open letter together with [Eugene] Cernan, the last guy that walked on the moon, and James Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13. And they are saying that the program that Obama has abolished — has cancelled — is essentially the end of man in space. It turns NASA into an R&D agency for pie-in-the-sky ideas like having humans on asteroids and ends its role as the agency that actually gets us into space.

 

[te]

I think we as American's can get back to the moon, we can get to an astroid, and yes we can get to Mars. The problem I see is as follows:

1. politics of NASA

2. Involvement of private companies.Considering the lack of technologies in the car industry, can anyone think that putting space into the private sectors hands is anything but a disaster waiting to happen? Look at the airline industry, if the FAA did not have the regulations they have where would we be?

3. Lack of vision/lack of drive. People in the world are more worried about themselves, and less worried about the species. How would Humanity survive an impact the size of the dinosaur killer? What if we had even larger coming at us?

4. Capitalism--We as a nation, in both government and in industry, use and use and use without upgrading what we have. Look at our electric grid. Look at the conditions of our interstate system, look at the state of our air and auto industries, all of which have for years only been maintained and not improved. How are we supposed to get to MARS when the shuttle fleet was out dated over 15 years ago? How much more life would we get if we took the tech and experience from the shuttle program designs, and experiences and gradually improve the shuttle and then ultimately replace with better fleets. If we rarely replace the planes in the air what's to make us replace an aging fleet in 40 or 50 years? We as a nation always get what we want and never improve till we are on the brink of being out done.

 

[neutrino78x]

And they are saying that the program that Obama has abolished — has cancelled — is essentially the end of man in space.

I see, so if SpaceX is launching people to a Bigelow space station every week, that means there is no US Space Program? If the Bigelow space station has a big US Flag on it, and the Dragon capsule has a US Flag, and the Falcon rocket has a US Flag, it is not an American program????

Is this ship not a US ship, because she is not called USS Pride of America?

Pride of America

As the first and only U.S.-flagged cruise ship in 50 years, Pride of America offers a one-of-a-kind itinerary that visits four of Hawaii's best islands, including overnights on Maui and Kaua`i.

US Flag ship. That means, in time of war, the US Navy would control her, and she is staffed by US Coast Guard certified civilians (including the people who serve food and wash the dishes, all US citizens).

It turns NASA into an R&D agency for pie-in-the-sky ideas like having humans on asteroids and ends its role as the agency that actually gets us into space.

That's how it should be. The Navy doesn't transport passengers to Hawaii, and the FAA doesn't fly people there.

--Brian

 

[neutrino78x]

I think we as American's can get back to the moon, we can get to an astroid, and yes we can get to Mars. The problem I see is as follows:

1. politics of NASA

Agree here. That's why, in the near future, most missions will be from private companies.

2. Involvement of private companies.Considering the lack of technologies in the car industry, can anyone think that putting space into the private sectors hands is anything but a disaster waiting to happen? Look at the airline industry, if the FAA did not have the regulations they have where would we be?

So, you would rather fly from Los Angeles to New York in a C-130, instead of a Boeing 737?? The 737 is a lot more comfortable, but it isn't how the US Government gets people around. If the USAF took over the transport of civilians, instead of letting private enterprise do it, that's how you would get around. In a C-130.

Yes, the private space industry should be regulated. No one is suggesting that it should not be. But NASA can regulate without being the only entity that operates in space. Most entities operating in space should be private.

4. Capitalism--We as a nation, in both government and in industry, use and use and use without upgrading what we have.

Hmm, private companies upgrade networks all the time.

How are we supposed to get to MARS when the shuttle fleet was out dated over 15 years ago?

Yet, you don't want to use modern, Commercial Off the Shelf equipment?

--Brian

 

[Aggelos]

thw world will go..and nasa will put its part to this..

 

[vulture4]

China is not about to engage in a new space race. If they lost, they'd look incompetent. If they won, they'd irritate their biggest customer. China flies people only about once a year; just enough to satisfy their actual objective; reminding their own people and the world that they are a modern industrial nation and advertising their industrial capabilities. Their actual objective in space is to be invited to join the ISS program. They feel that this will build international trust and cooperation between the major powers, help cement world stability and increase the likelihood of the continuous economic growth their population expects.

 

[ZipWiz]

"By the mid-2030s I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth," President Obama said. "And a landing on Mars will follow, and I expect to be around to see it!"

At the rate we are slowing down it will be CHINA who claims the credit for landing on Mars. They can probably land by 2025, or even 2020. Why is that such a mystery? Even Russia has the capability.

Or, if it still is Americans, private enterprise from America (it will probably be several countries at once) will have to launch a commercialized effort, that includes selling products that come from Mars. One I can think of will be Martian Wine. It should be lined up as the FIRST Mars cash-crop. The soil appears to be excellent for it, and the taste will be the most expensive and exclusive on Earth, but it will sell and make a huge profit. There are plenty of rich folks that would pay a premium price for it. We will let the market decide the sales price. ($1000? $2000? $10,000 a bottle?) It also will depend on the grower, ya know, how much it is worth, like if its a FAMOUS winery in California already. "Martian Champagne, the finest on Earth!"

Another that comes to mind is ENERY. there is 32x more deuterium (heavy water has been discovered but is still mostly kept quiet) on Mars than occurs naturally on Earth. That stuff sells for MORE than platinum at $14,000 an ounce. We can create pulsating fusion reactors using deuterium pellets TODAY - in a magnetic bottle - the technology is 95% worked out but on hold. It just is not being implemented...yet. (They want to see how efficient the solar panels can get 1st, before introducing something that could pose a national security risk (H-bombs).

We must also realize, they just discovered LOTS of burnable methane on Mars - enough to take care of ALL our propulsion needs for the next 500 years...as long as we learn to sequester the carbon. Thanks. The trip up to establish an energy plant may pave the way to unlimited energy usage on Mars, which can also be exported. They are also discovering there is probably burnable hydrocarbons on Solar asteroids...so we ain't out of fossil fuels by a long shot, and the middle planets are chock full of methane - 100,000's of thousands of year's supply.

The latest theory? Maybe oil can be found off-planet too, as it seems to be a geological substance, not a biological as once thought. (Since they may have already discovered coal on an asteroid, could oils be far behind??? When they find some on Mars - the countries on this planet are going to go crazy, especially when it means NO MORE oil slicks in the Gulf. So - we have to keep our space program open for national economic security reasons.

But let's get back to Solar:
(Right now, we are nearing 29% on 1000w available per sq meter at noon = 300 watts.) It is possible once we get past 40% solar efficiency, the other energy sources are just tag-alongs, and the next leap will be battery technology. (Which I think will eventually lead to high tech high voltage capacitors for storage, because they recharge instantly. The only thing holding them back are the dielectrics. (membrane separation) 500,000 volts stored could power an electric car nicely for several hours, if not too much heat is lost in a voltage reducer. Well, anyway, it's loosely related (all our technology is), but back to Mars!

Another product might be Mars diamonds. Those 4 volcanoes in a triangulation just Northwest of the Solar System's biggest canyon, Val Marinarus, look like some mighty geology was going on. Diamonds are usually found at the base of volcanoes. Olympus Mons on Mars is about 75,000 feet high (15 miles). Our highest volcanoes are only 10% of that (7500 to 10,000 feet).

SIZE DOES MATTER.
If our Earth volcanoes can produce the occasional diamond the size of a football, projecting forward - it is possible there are diamonds at the base of the volcanoes the size of cars??? LOOK at their canyon 10x deeper than the Grand Canyon! If that simple conjecture is PLAUSIBLE - why the HELL aren't our corporations jumping up and down SCREAMING - WE WANT TO GO TO MARS NOW!!! - to make ridiculous amounts of money mining the planet??? Look, there's no CARBON scrubbers, pollution controls, regulations, and there is plenty of solar radiation with little cloud cover, just like California in the summertime. It's only diluted about 25%, so go for it! PLUS - every product made on Mars sells on Earth for a premium. Take about NEW jobs - there ya go! Mars has all the natural elements to BUILD cities, complete with farms, villas, and factories of all kinds. The atmosphere NEEDS to be thicker - so LOAD it up with MORE CO2 instead of chocking us here on Earth with it. Mars has enough atmosphere for AIRPLANES. the ARES project through NASA is still on the drawing boards. The first airplane on Mars, that will go sniffing for Methane. Don't they GET it???

We are overdue being a 2nd planet society.

We NEED the extra land for our food harvests when our crops on Earth start having pestilence problems, and just about everything else. We are getting dangerously close to starving more than a billion people on short notice. On Mars - there are no hurricanes, rain, Earthquakes we know about, or really super bad weather except the occasional dust-storm. (They just greenhouse it, and we eat it - simple yet elegant.) No, the soil is NOT poison. It's virgin soil, which plants LOVE to produce exquisite vegetables in, and all the CO2 we can pump in.

If we do not get a move on, we'll be begging for food for our 9 billion people by 2050. Instead of watching them die, we can start a new planet. (But we will not leave quietly, because they have waited too long - when the time comes, it will be like all hell breaking lose during the Gold Rush of the 1849'ers.) Let's hope nature doesn't bite us too hard before we are ready to start leaving the planet. If we delay much longer, we might go extinct before we make it. We need people on Mars producing food to feed an extra 3 billion just as soon as possible, and an extra 1 1/2 billion within 15 years, which indicates - we are already LATE.

We need at least 25,000 people living on Mars terraforming their area in earnest if humanity is going to survive, and be there by mid century, when Earth species are going extinct by 20,000 a year instead of 1000x a year currently. How bad is it? The UN is going to ban fishing in the Pacific for 2040.

What is more important - the science - or the humanity that generates the science to begin with?
Thanks,
ZipWizard

 

[halman]

To me, there is no reason to go to Mars right now, and certainly none that would justify the enormous expense of having NASA run the program. I believe that the first missions to Mars will be multinational affairs, put together by a consortium of countries. These mission are likely to scientific in nature, without any intent of colonization. They are likely to augment a large-scale investigation of the planet by robot probes, rather than to be our primary means of exploration.

Until there is a world state, I cannot foresee any government being willing to invest huge sums of money in developing Mars as a colony. Nor do I see any private organization having the resources to launch and supply a mission to Mars for colonization purposes. There is simply nothing there important enough to haul it up through an atmosphere before sending it somewhere else.

Space has got to pay for itself, generate some profits, create some wealth. The Moon has usable resources that can be launched without chemical fuel into orbit, or to Earth. Asteroids and comets are likely to contain resources that are valuable enough to make it worthwhile to chase them down and grab some to bring home. I would not be surprised if there were a manned mission to Mercury before there was one to Mars, simply because Mercury looks to be the mother lode of heavy metals in the Solar System, which are going to be very valuable.

I have no doubt that humans will eventually go to Mars, and I consider it likely that someday there will be a colony on Mars. But I doubt sincerely that NASA is ever going to go to Mars.

 

[WannabeRocketScientist]

Look at all this anti-American discussion! We are on the verge of an American age! China is inherintely unstable, with a controlling government that benefits those on the coast, but not the vast population in the vast interior. China will fragment in our lifetimes.

North America will remain the focal point of science and economics (no economies compare to the size of the U.S. economy), and the U.S. will remain the center of North America.

 

[Valcan]

Look at all this anti-American discussion! We are on the verge of an American age! China is inherintely unstable, with a controlling government that benefits those on the coast, but not the vast population in the vast interior. China will fragment in our lifetimes.

Dude china has ALWAYS been run like that. When democracy isnt demanded by a signifigant amount of the population that happens. And i wouldnt say america isnt on a similar path. Many things done for the inner city folk have hurt us country folk.

North America will remain the focal point of science and economics (no economies compare to the size of the U.S. economy), and the U.S. will remain the center of North America.

Of course we will dominate North america Canada only has 20 or so million people living in it.

However, south america could become a far larger economic power. Hopefully we could start getting more and more of the stuff currently made in china made to our south and here or in other more allied powers.

HINT: Sign the dang free trade agreement with Columbia Obama theyve done far more to combat drugs than we have.

Mars today just doesnt make sense. We need to build up our industrial potential in space before we do that.

 

[ZipWiz]

You'all ask - where is the economic benefits, to going to Mars, huh?

This is virtually a new frontier for humans. The mineral wealth is virgin and pristine.
They have virtually unlimited energy sources at their disposal. (Methane)
They've discovered deuterium in the water is 32x more concentrated on Mars than on Earth. It alone is WORTH $14,000 an ounce! Given the ramp up to pulsating fusion reactors (being artificially held off-line due to national security reasons), this mineral is VERY valuable.

The SOIL is not unlike the sandy soils of Northern California or the Mediterranean, is most areas. Yes, the water can be brackish, but it is also true on Earth. The first valuable agricultural product that could emerge from Mars is WINE! It will be the most prized of the ruling classes...Martian wine. The fine sandy and virgin soil will make every grape and bottle the finest in the Solar System...and make all Martian wineries very very rich.

How is all this delivered at low cost, you ask? Haven't you heard? The rail gun has ALREADY been perfected to go 13,000 mph. The Navy already has rail guns this powerful in operation. We are planing rail guns set in the ocean to off-set weight. (See Popular Science or Discovery Mag.) This is more than sufficient to escape Mars gravity and send it to Earth - with no rocketry involved. Simply setup a colony and put one together in 18 months. Everything is ready - except NASA. (This will now be taken over by private enterprise, and will be ready in 1/4th the time.) This is now a race between China-inc, Japan-inc, Russia-inc, India-inc, Europe-inc, and USA-inc. They may all arrive about the same time (7 to 10 years)...and where one lands can determine winners and losers.

OK - now let's look at the GEOLOGY on Mars, and why there is this quiet rush that is still unannounced:

De Beers finds almost all of their diamonds at the base of volcanoes. Notice that Mars has FOUR in close proximity. Also NOTICE that one is 75,000 feet high compared to the average 7500 ft high volcano on Earth. If they can find diamonds the size of a football on Earth due to volcanism - who says there are not diamonds the size of CARS on Mars in that geological area?

And do not forget the GOLD, Platinum, and other precious metals pushed up from the crust near Val Marinaris (The Great Mars Canyon.) Most of your precious minerals in America are in the area just north of the Grand Canyon on Earth. It should follow suit the same exists for MARS. And Val Marinaris is just south of the big volcanoes on Mars - so based on basic geological knowledge, I'd say Mars in that region is RICH with precious stones.

Add in the REALITY shows on the way out, plus on the planet - and you've got $$$BILLIONS upon billions$$$ overflowing for ALL networks the whole mission. Look, if Avatar can make a BILLION as a movie - imagine the REAL thing flat-out for 520 days!!! OMG is right. Imagine the paid data flows on every iPad - every laptop - two billion souls watching on the Internet and HDTV, at $5 million a minute advertising DAILY. Not just one day - but for 520 days at SUPER BOWL levels. (See experimental mission crew to Mars will last 520 days - in the news.)

The MEDIA revenue ALONE is 1/2 billion a day, at $5 million a minute advertising - 100 ads a day minimum. That is $260 billion in 18 months before other endorsements kick in!!!! More than ENOUGH to FUND this MISSION plus make a profit!!!!

Mars has SO MUCH goodwill in ADVERTISING from over 100 years of "advertising" itself - it is unbelievable the promotions and attention they will get in endorsements and sponsorships...once the private sector kicks in full-speed. No product on Earth has EVER had so much goodwill advertising going in as a mission to Mars!

The WAY I see it, there are MORE precious metals on Mars for us to exploit, than any other accessible planet in the Solar system. The relief on our agriculture (when we have droughts or bad storms) and manufacturing infrastructure will MORE than make up for settling on Mars. We will be safer from extinction, expand our technologies, and make life better on Earth. Setting up mines on Mars is not only able to PAY a corporation's way - your first trillionaires will be because of MARS.

 

[RVHM]

Finding huge diamonds (or huge amounts thereof) on Mars would be a bad idea. Bring too much of a commodity into the market and its price will come crashing down. Your idea would wreck the world's economy.

 

[vulture4]

>>Space has got to pay for itself, generate some profits, create some wealth.

Consider the curves of supply and demand. As long as the supply curve for human spaceflight is so high on the price scale price, no new product is valuable enough to shift the demand curve far enough to have a significant equilibrium market. Even diamonds on Mars cannot be returned to earth at a profit at current costs. However, a substantial shift in the supply curve (by developing technology for cheaper spaceflight) could greatly increase demand in existing markets (science, tourism) and substantially increase the equilibrium market size. That was why we built the Shuttle 30 years ago. The implementation wasn't perfect, but the logic still holds. Going beyond LEO, like going to LEO, could begin with robotic reusables rather than manned expendables.

Of course, raw metals in asteroids might be more valuable than diamonds, which are only carbon and can already be made on Earth fairly cheaply.

 

[TopNob]

unless they've worked out a way to land heavy payloads its not going to happen anytime soon.
http://www.universetoday.com/2007/07/17 ... ed-planet/

 

[ZipWiz]

RVHM wrote:Finding huge diamonds (or huge amounts thereof) on Mars would be a bad idea. Bring too much of a commodity into the market and its price will come crashing down. Your idea would wreck the world's economy.


OK. First off...it's not my FAULT if they find bigger diamonds on Mars than on Earth. I'm just the messenger.
At least I can give a heads up, so you all realize whoever gets control of the mineral wealth on Mars controls the world's economy for the next 500 years. (That's a little scary.) Why have we been so foolish as to flirt with that?

THIS IS NO LONGER A POLITICAL ISSUE, OR A SCIENCE ISSUE, OR A GLOBAL WARMING ISSUE, BUT AN ECONOMIC ONE AS WELL.

We fought WWII to save our way of life, and millions died to preserve it...now we might just give it up voluntarily. I'd say making sure our economics and way of life are secure, is the #1 reason we need to push for Mars with gusto. There are at least 100 reasons besides that, why we need to go...but by golly, if they won't because of politics...then they have to realize the economics and unknown competitions with other space faring enterprises, means this time out - we have a 6 or 7 way space race, not just a Cold War one. It could get really messy if there are not some co-ops on these matters.

If we want to maintain our economic system we've enjoyed so far...we (USA) MUST go to Mars and keep our hands in the bag if we are ever going to stay a world-class economy.
EX: If competitors, not in our best interest, get control of such huge mineral wealth...what are we to do about it? Twiddle our thumbs and say - OH well...let's close down the store...I give up?

And if you understand basic geology...if you have volcanoes 10 x bigger than on Earth, there's some really cool diamonds in there somewhere. Just one 10 pounder (especially gold) - brought from Mars, could pay for the ENTIRE trip at auction!

Since I wrote that...I also found out gold nuggets form from water. That's how they formed in California during the LAST gold rush.

Well, Mars did have LOTS of water. That means there could be nuggets on the ground near Val Marinaris as well. (I'm not alone on this. Some famous sci-fi writers have already told me I'm dead on from this past week.) So...push on by golly! Let's get this into the media! People need to know about this.

There is GOLD on Mars. We are going to find it, eventually. The question is simply - how much? As of right now - however - in my previous post I proved there is also GOLD in the advertising while on the way out and back as well. This doesn't even include the $$$billions$$$ made off the toys, the DVD's, and other merchandise!
(It REALLY does PAY to go to Mars - no matter WHAT you've been told before!) The profits in every direction are astronomical...and once you land and setup...it gets even better.

My proof of theory scenario on the gold nuggets will be found out in the open, on the ground? (Once you find a water flow.)
* They have found little solidified "blueberries" of minerals on rocks from the last Rover.
* This is an indication of evaporated sea water. It also indicates that YES, minerals ARE crystallizing as the oceans evaporated.
* It's not crystallized like the minerals - but they are ALREADY finding nuggets of almost pure IRON the size of cars.
* It's not going to be much longer (next 3-4 years?) that they bump into one that has some gold in it. (How long will they be able to keep it a secret?)

Salty water is rich in minerals. Just imagine crystallized precious metals just lying all around. They've already found deposits of "normal" compounds we have on Earth...so it's just a matter of time. OMG is right.
Wait until we explore the caves. The crystallization should be incredible.

(And we ain't even getting started yet!) There's also incredible wealth in the available energy!
Val Marinaris is approx. 30,000 to 50,000 feet to the floor of the trench, depending on your location. If you melt permafrost and feed it to a 10" pipe that goes over the cliff (you are at the top)...by the time it arrives at your turbine generators below - you are BEYOND our technological limits for generating POWER! Yep! I'm talkin' a terawatt of power per plant....as MUCH as you want! We will have to bolt them on the sides of the canyon, and lower them closer to the floor as our technology to deal with 50,000 of head pressure is eventually achieved. (This is unbelievable unlimited power both in quantity and in strength!)

We're talking 1000 times Las Vegas per plant. Our Earthly Martians go from little power plants brought on spaceships to drunk with electrical power (terawatts) virtually overnight for the industries that will follow. Val Marinaris is 3,000 miles long. Just imagine how MANY terawatt power plants we could build to power laser cannons to launch near light speed extra-solar space craft! OMG...is right! (Shouldn't we really get there 1st instead of LAST?) The idea of a terawatt laser pointed at my spacecraft is not very refreshing. Reliving Star Wars for real, is not my cup of tea. Dodging those terawatt lasers on the sides of the trench could suddenly become very real, if we delay much longer. How do you defeat an encampment with 100's of terawatt lasers pointed at you? Answer - you don't. Game over.

So...SEE...once they FIND it...they can DENY you access if they like. Are you with me on this...because producing such immense electrical power is absolutely TRUE, once those feeder pipes can be throwing water over the cliffs. And...there are other elevated places to dam up melting permafrost and let er rip as well. Mars is the Saudia Arabia of incredible hydro-electric power. We need to stay in the game.

If you read my previous post about whoever goes gets to make $500 million day on Internet advertising at Super Bowl levels...then you'll understand that whoever goes is going to get filthy rich...and if it only costs $3 billion to launch...they already got their ROI back in the 1st 6 DAYS! That is unbelievably HUGE! Is there MONEY in Mars? Ya betcha! It was ALWAYS there...they just could not SEE it! It takes guys like me to SHOW you that whoever is capable of pulling this off is missing out if they don't go for it. (We would not of had a recession if we'd left 10 years ago, already.)
--------------------------------------

To aerospace:
When discussing the possibility of $BILLIONS$ in untapped rare gems plus precious metals in the upper Val Marinaris Region...it will not be long before serious investors approach - "Can you get us to Mars? We are interested in setting up a mining operation for profit.”

How do you get such light precious cargo off of Mars economically? You use rail-gun technology. The Navy is already using 13,000 mph. That's MORE than the escape velocity needed for Mars! When it comes to cargo...making stuff on Mars is not going to be a problem once manufacturing is underway.

Look at it this way, what has worked so far?
Politics = zero
Esteem = zero
Science = diverted, near zero, can't mine w/robots very well - yet.
Moral Approach (2nd Planet Society) = Failure so far

What is left? Appealing to the Corporate R&D to expand their profitability. They need to HEAR via the press, all the possibilities that are going unnoticed on Mars.

 

[csmyth3025]

I think we ought to finish trashing the Earth to get to its mineral wealth before we start on Mars. Besides, the folks on Mars may decide there's a better market for gold and diamonds on their own planet than there is on Earth.

Chris

 

[Yuri_Armstrong]

I'd like to see the mission to mars happen in the 2030's, but with the routine of delays, budget cuts, and endless debates, I'm not so sure we'll see it happen by then. I also don't think it's going to be just NASA going, it will likely be an international effort with one astronaut representing each of the major space agencies (NASA, ESA, Roscocosmos, and perhaps JAXA, CNSA, and maybe one other if they're willing to play along)

What I'm worried though is that some other space agency will blow us right out of the water and beat us to Mars. It's important we maintain our national pride via the space program.

 

[CommonMan]

As for the question: Will Nasa Ever Go to Mars? I hope so. As Yuri-Armstrong said I'm worried that some other space program may beat them to it. I don't think it's a matter of if, but when. No one is going till they build a suitable spaceship for the trip. I do hope it's soon, who-ever goes. It will take time for man to explore the universe, but I think we better start for mankind to survive.

 

[HopDavid]

From the article:
http://www.space.com/news/obama-space-p ... 00415.html

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - President Barack Obama unveiled a sweeping new space vision for NASA and the United States Thursday, one that aims to send astronauts to a nearby asteroid and ultimately on to Mars in the mid-2030s.

Speaking to a crowd of more than 200 that included scientists, astronauts and policy makers here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, President Obama outlined his plan for NASA's future space exploration. That plan includes resurrecting a pared down version of the capsule-based Orion spacecraft initially slated to be scrapped under the president's cancellation of the Constellation program in February.

By 2025, the United States should be ready to test manned spaceships for deep space exploration, vehicles capable of exploring beyond the moon on the first-ever manned trip to an asteroid, Obama said.

"By the mid-2030s I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth," President Obama said. "And a landing on Mars will follow, and I expect to be around to see it!"

Your thoughts? Let us know!

I seem to recall the Obama and Bolden planned to finance VASIMR research. Perhaps they believed projections that VASIMR could get to Mars in 39 days.

The 39 day figure assumes a magically light power source that delivers a kilowatt electricity for every half kilogram.

I believe Bolden and Obama were trying to place their bets on VASIMR, a racehorse destined for the dog food factory.

So no, I don't we're going to get to Mars in the mid 1930s.

 

[kk434]

A very tough call. There is a paper out there that proves the impossibility to land a 1 tone+ payload on mars. The Martian atmosphere is to thin to slow down a big payload and the MSL is the largest thing possible to land. This paper is written by JPL personel and too me as an engineer it's very convincing.

 

[rock_three]

I believe it is important for humanity to go. After all what have we got to loose. What should be taken? What should
we leave behind? A little gold might help our future settlers. They may need to bring there own water from earth as
I don't beleive mars has the correct isotope of hydrogen. A bright laser to shine at earth might be nice. Probably need
to bring wood froom earth to build homes. Becuase people, have kind of been lax at setting up a tree farm on mars. And
you know how long it takes a tree to grow to muturity. Some water they need to bring. Not all, but some.

 

[csmyth3025]

I believe it is important for humanity to go....They may need to bring there own water from earth as I don't beleive mars has the correct isotope of hydrogen...

If your thinking in terms of "heavy water" (water composed of oxygen and deuterium), it wont be a problem to use Martian water the same way we use water here on Earth. We already know that water on Earth contains some deuterium. According to the wikipedia article on deuterium: "Deuterium....accounts for approximately 0.0156% (alternately, on a mass basis: 0.0312%) of all naturally occurring hydrogen in the oceans on Earth...".

Why do you think that Martian water is different than Earth water?

Chris