[QUOTE=Stingray;167661]I'm not quite sure what getting people to Mars is going to accomplish at this time, other than to spend a lot of money for very little return on investment.[/QUOTE]
Why want return on investment at all? I buy lots of stuff never expecting for them to give me money back, why is this different?
[QUOTE=Messiah;167685]Why want return on investment at all? I buy lots of stuff never expecting for them to give me money back, why is this different?[/QUOTE]
I hate to break it to you, because Santa Claus is dead. :(
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
That doesn't exactly answer his question.
This chunk of text comes from the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_8]wiki article about Apollo 8[/url]. The original source can be found in [i]A Man on the Moon[/i].
[quote]Apollo 8 came at the end of 1968, a year that had seen much upheaval around the world. Yet, TIME magazine chose the crew of Apollo 8 as their Men of the Year for 1968, recognizing them as the people who most influenced events in the preceding year. They had been the first people ever to leave the gravitational influence of the Earth and orbit another celestial body. They had survived a mission that even the crew themselves had rated as only having a fifty-fifty chance of fully succeeding. The effect of Apollo 8 can be summed up by a telegram from a stranger, received by Borman after the mission, that simply stated, "Thank you Apollo 8. You saved 1968."[/quote]
All those three men, and the thousands supporting them, did was fly around the moon and take a few photos. The effect it had was huge.
The way I see it we need to setup a proper ISA (International Space Agency... the other ISA will appear in due course ;)). All nations who have space tech should work more closely on this goal. I think its such a waste with each grouping doing their own thing and ultimately doing the same things. Obviously its all political but its the way forward imo.
Plus getting the infrastructure together is all well and good but this shielding thing is not going to go away. I don't think our tech is advanced enough to generate some form of shielding to protect the crew on route to Mars.
[QUOTE=Stingray;167697]I hate to break it to you, because Santa Claus is dead. :([/QUOTE]
What has that got to do with anything? You dont buy stuff you cant see any financial reward anymore? Last week, I bought a boardgame, expecting nothing but fun from it. Do I believe in Santa Claus? No.
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
[QUOTE=Falcon1;167707]I don't think our tech is advanced enough to generate some form of shielding to protect the crew on route to Mars.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Messiah;167708]What has that got to do with anything? You dont buy stuff you cant see any financial reward anymore? Last week, I bought a boardgame, expecting nothing but fun from it. Do I believe in Santa Claus? No.[/QUOTE]
What does me buying anything with no financial return have to do with financing a trillion $ project?
I'm just amazed that some people think that selling $100 laptops will help people in the 3rd world get some hope, yet it's alright to waste trillions just to make a point.
Two wrongs, don't make a right. All the injustice in the world is not going to disappear just because we'll eventually land some people on the surface of Mars.
Ok, so, if we can have no major wars, because those who have the guns are bogged down with a mission to Mars, I guess, it's worth it. :D
Yep, maybe it's not such a bad idea after all... I mean if they can't buy bullets and bombs, they can't wage war, right?
[QUOTE=Biggles;167700]All those three men, and the thousands supporting them, did was fly around the moon and take a few photos. The effect it had was huge.[/QUOTE]
I do not deny the power of symbols. And probably all the byproducts of a mission to Mars will be very useful. I'm just not sure if this is really the best thing we can do now, considering that NASA is going to retire the shuttle fleet in 2010 and stop going to the ISS in 2015 to focus on the mission to return to the Moon.
[QUOTE=Stingray;167717]What does me buying anything with no financial return have to do with financing a trillion $ project?[/QUOTE]
Its still your money, the only difference is that you share it with the rest of the people in your nation. Since you decide what to do with it, you better start convincing people to see my way, or your government will start investing in something really lucrative, like war and oil.. oops too late. ;)
Im just saying its the same thing. The only reason you see a difference is because the price is higher, no? :)
Edit: just to make it clear, Im not trying to provoke anyone, just make a point.
Something that has bothered me for a while when it comes to the status of human space flight...we have zero tolerance for failure. We have become so risk adverse, that it has slowed our ability to establish a presence in space to a mere crawl.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see the loss of human life and millions of dollars and man-hours lost when the inevitable disaster happens. But it seems that every time something does go wrong, we, as a nation, recoil from the whole thought of humans in space. Instead of asking ourselves how do we do it even better/safer/more effectively next time, we lower our heads, sigh and ask, "Do we even belong out there?" Rather than view space as our destiny, we seem to be collectively resigning ourselves to prison onboard this increasing crowded rock.
Why not to our other sister planet? [url]http://www.galaxiki.org/web/main/_blog/all/did-you-know-that-nasa-planned-a-manned-mission-to-venus-in-1967.shtml[/url]
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
Because we can't land on that one yet.
An interesting thing about the Venus mission is that the planned boost was both very high-G, and had the astronauts facing backwards, leading to concerns for their ability to withstand the forces involved.
Comments
Why want return on investment at all? I buy lots of stuff never expecting for them to give me money back, why is this different?
I hate to break it to you, because Santa Claus is dead. :(
This chunk of text comes from the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_8]wiki article about Apollo 8[/url]. The original source can be found in [i]A Man on the Moon[/i].
[quote]Apollo 8 came at the end of 1968, a year that had seen much upheaval around the world. Yet, TIME magazine chose the crew of Apollo 8 as their Men of the Year for 1968, recognizing them as the people who most influenced events in the preceding year. They had been the first people ever to leave the gravitational influence of the Earth and orbit another celestial body. They had survived a mission that even the crew themselves had rated as only having a fifty-fifty chance of fully succeeding. The effect of Apollo 8 can be summed up by a telegram from a stranger, received by Borman after the mission, that simply stated, "Thank you Apollo 8. You saved 1968."[/quote]
All those three men, and the thousands supporting them, did was fly around the moon and take a few photos. The effect it had was huge.
Plus getting the infrastructure together is all well and good but this shielding thing is not going to go away. I don't think our tech is advanced enough to generate some form of shielding to protect the crew on route to Mars.
What has that got to do with anything? You dont buy stuff you cant see any financial reward anymore? Last week, I bought a boardgame, expecting nothing but fun from it. Do I believe in Santa Claus? No.
Dihydrogen Monoxide works well.
What does me buying anything with no financial return have to do with financing a trillion $ project?
I'm just amazed that some people think that selling $100 laptops will help people in the 3rd world get some hope, yet it's alright to waste trillions just to make a point.
Two wrongs, don't make a right. All the injustice in the world is not going to disappear just because we'll eventually land some people on the surface of Mars.
Ok, so, if we can have no major wars, because those who have the guns are bogged down with a mission to Mars, I guess, it's worth it. :D
Yep, maybe it's not such a bad idea after all... I mean if they can't buy bullets and bombs, they can't wage war, right?
I do not deny the power of symbols. And probably all the byproducts of a mission to Mars will be very useful. I'm just not sure if this is really the best thing we can do now, considering that NASA is going to retire the shuttle fleet in 2010 and stop going to the ISS in 2015 to focus on the mission to return to the Moon.
Its still your money, the only difference is that you share it with the rest of the people in your nation. Since you decide what to do with it, you better start convincing people to see my way, or your government will start investing in something really lucrative, like war and oil.. oops too late. ;)
Im just saying its the same thing. The only reason you see a difference is because the price is higher, no? :)
Edit: just to make it clear, Im not trying to provoke anyone, just make a point.
You are a genius!
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see the loss of human life and millions of dollars and man-hours lost when the inevitable disaster happens. But it seems that every time something does go wrong, we, as a nation, recoil from the whole thought of humans in space. Instead of asking ourselves how do we do it even better/safer/more effectively next time, we lower our heads, sigh and ask, "Do we even belong out there?" Rather than view space as our destiny, we seem to be collectively resigning ourselves to prison onboard this increasing crowded rock.
Jake
I'd rather they set up a moon base. A space elevator might work on the Moon.
An interesting thing about the Venus mission is that the planned boost was both very high-G, and had the astronauts facing backwards, leading to concerns for their ability to withstand the forces involved.