When are MEN going to Mars?

[ldyaidan]

You might check into your local Civil Air Patrol. This is a civilian branch of the Air Force, and they can help you make AF contacts, as well as to help you get your pilot's license. They have AF instructors to teach you. Sometimes there is some problems with budgeting, but in many cases the instructors simply love teaching people to fly, and will take you up and teach you if you'll pay for the fuel.<br /><br />Rae

 

[centsworth_II]

<font color="yellow">"Sorry for stealing the spotlight Fatal291, it is not my intention to move focus from the original topic"</font><br />Your post should have <b>been</b> the original topic. You have a plan, Fatal seems clueless. Whatever path someone takes to becoming an astronaut, it's safe to say they must be in the top few percent in terms of commitment to their endevour. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[rosiegh]

<font color="yellow">"Astronauts are required to have a specific number of flightr hours on high performace jet aircraft."</font><br /><br />I think you mistake me. I do <i>not</i> want to be a pilot. I want to become a mission specialist, a scientist. Getting my private liscence is just a first step, someting to improve my application. Plus its something I've always wanted to do. <br /><br />I want to be accepted because of my knowledge and experience as a bioeengineer. I do appreciate your advice, but trust me, I'm not clueless.

 

[rosiegh]

<font color="yellow">"You might check into your local Civil Air Patrol. "</font><br /><br />Thanks for the advice. Ill look into this.

 

[fatal291]

Not a day goes by that i don't think about tuching the ground on the very top of Oympus Mons , and I (who started this thread) want to be an Astronaut

 

[erioladastra]

"Actually, Astronomy is normally a graduate level degree. I don't know of too many schools that offer it at the undergraduate level. "<br /><br />Actually there is a very large number of schools that offer BS in astronomy. Now in general, you can't do much with out an advanced degree in the field. Go to the library and look up in the reference area. I am an astronomer and it help me get to NASA, but today I sure don't use any of it. But math is critical - even if you don't use it, you use the concepts of (e.g., just think about thrust - I bet most astronauts couldn't tell you the equation but I can bet you they know all about it! <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> ).

 

[erioladastra]

MikkelRJ,<br /><br />Only, only if you really want to do that. What makes a good astronaut is someone is good at what they do and do what they are good at. Dont do anything for the sake of the resume. But as to living in Russia, I really don't think it will help you much - at last how you think. Russia will not likely be a big player in CEV. It might help for ISS but that is too specialized then and that is not what they like. Now, general world breadth will help, as will foreign languages and sacrifices. That would be very helpful. But for all this thread, it really is too hard to predict what they will look for. The first selection (i.e., the next one) will likely be more along the lines of the current corps.

 

[llivinglarge]

First man on moon: "That's one small step for a man...*inaudible swearing*...One giant leap for mankind.<br /><br />First man on Mars: "At long last, mankind has returned home..."

 

[fatal291]

Well I live in Richmond Virginia, and a lot of colleges here deal with BioTechnology, Like VCU

 

[baktothemoon]

"Not a day goes by that i don't think about tuching the ground on the very top of Oympus Mons"<br /><br />Glad to know that people like me are not alone, I think about strapping myself into the rocket that will send me into space, saying the first words from the moon in decades, and seeing what another planet really looks like all the time. I too want to be an astronaut, always have since before I knew why I wanted to. I'm around 16 right now, and am planning on getting a degree in aerospace with a smaller one in chemistry or physics and becoming an aerospace engineer. I plan to be an aerospace engineer for a while and then apply at NASA. Hopefully I'll make it there after they are back on the moon. I'm glad to know that there are people like you and RosieGH who also are aiming to become astronauts. It will be hard for all of us, but I don't think that any of us are going to give up. Hopefully we all meet at NASA in a decade or two. Godspeed and goodluck to both of you. <br /> <br />"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." John F. Kennedy

 

[JonClarke]

With luck someone's space program will have people on Mars within 30 years. No necessarily yours of course <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> .<br /><br />I can't think of any relevant technology that is going to need more than 15-20 years to develop provided sufficient resources are provided. That of course is the catch.<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

Me too. I dream about that goal every day and what I can do to advance it. One reason why I hope it will happen inside 30 years (otherwise I might not be here to see it).<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[anoolios]

This idea of launching cumbersome bags of bones and salty water into space is <i>so '60s</i>. Remote sensing is where it's at, baby!<br /><br /> Just this morning I rolled around near "Home Plate", scanned the dunes of Meridiani, and viewed the slopes of Olympus Mons. My senses are not so great with the present instruments at Mars but that will only improve. IMO, the capabilities of robotic explorers will approach or surpass that of humans in almost every way before we are ready for a manned Mars mission.<br /><br />When are humans going to Mars? We're already there! In other words, if I were you, I'd be more interested in developing robotic space exploration hardware than launching my pathetic body into space. <br />

 

[fatal291]

Yeah I was looking at this show and this guy said he was new and she asked how old was he and he said he was 40, and she was like WOW Your Young and I didn't know what to think at that point..

 

[JonClarke]

"This idea of launching cumbersome bags of bones and salty water into space is so '60s. Remote sensing is where it's at, baby "<br /><br />Actually, it is the idea that remote sensing eliminates the need for people on the ground that is so 60's. Remote sensing (generally restricted to data collected by satellite and airborne platforms) need ground truth for correct interpretation. Ground truth can be collected by surface robots, but these are very limited in capability.<br /><br />Mike and and Ken Edgett of Malin Space Systems and Steve Squyres, PI of the MER missions are among the leading exponents and practioners of exploring Mars by remote sensing and robots. This is what they have said about human missions:<br /><br />MIKE MALIN AND KEN EDGETT<br /><br />National Geographic, Feburary 2001.<br /><br />"We are constantly aggrevated by the fact that all the questions we have about Mars could now be answered by Ken and me if we could just walk around on the planet for a few days.<br /><br />"It's unusual to hear people like us argue for manned space exploration. But for about two years now Malin and I have been absolutely convinced that we're going to have to send people there."<br /><br />STEVE SQUYRES<br /><br />Discover magazine interview June 2004<br />http://www.discover.com/issues/jun-04/departments/discover-dialogue/<br /><br />"Q: Can we answer all our questions about Mars with unmanned robotic missions, or do we need to send people?<br />"A: We need to send people. There is nobody who is a bigger fan of sending robots to Mars than me. That is what I do. But I believe firmly that the best, the most comprehensive, the most successful exploration will be done by humans. Maybe you can argue that if you spend enough time and effort and money on robotics, eventually they’ll be able to mimic human capability, but I think we are so far from that that ultimately sending humans would be <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[fatal291]

Well i cant wait to go there

 

[anoolios]

I've been aware of Squyres, Malin, JonClarke, et. stance on manned vs future robotc exploration capabilites. I admit it might be silly to argue against such an esteemed crowd on opinion alone. I was kind of taken aback by how adamant Squyres is on the subject, I'm defintely arguing against the prevailing consensus.<br /><br />However, if we look at the pace of development of robotics and AI over the past 30 years the amount of progress is astounding. This progress will continue and may even accelerate. The "Moores Law" that describes a doubling in computing power every 18 months has held remarkably consistent over the past 20+ years. Sensing, AI, virtual reality, and robotic tech has seen similar advances. I think there will be some really astounding advances 30 years from now. Maybe we will have exquisitely sensitive whole body virtual reality suits that will operate a Mars explorer robot...<br /><br />The argumets on both sides of the human vs robotic exploration issue are fairly weak for the most part though. To a great extent it comes down to opinions. My opinion (it aint worth much!) is that if all available funding were put into robotics, that 30 years from now we would have a far greater net scientific gain than if we go with the present course.<br /><br />Do you really need to go there in person? If so, then go human spaceflight, do everything you can to become an astronaut! Go for it! My guess is that humans will get there within 30 years. I'm just sayin'... give robots a thought. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br /><br />