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Any volunteers?

martin_h

By martin_h
in The Astro Lounge

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Beulah

Beulah

Posted
Posted

Freaky stuff, just finished reading "The Sands of Mars", by Arthur C. Clarke, and find out this may happen within my lifetime.

It's jaw dropping to read science fiction being discussed as reality.

I don't know who would honestly like to go on a one way mission - those who volunteer are either very, very hardy, have no family or close ones, or is totally nuts. (choose any two)

The psychological screening for this project would be very interesting.

Can you imagine saying goodbye to a loved one who you aren't going to see again? Would this create ethical concerns? Would "breeding" be allowed, with the chattering classes discussing whether it is acceptable to raise a child on Mars?

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James

James

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Posted
Well it could be an answer to the problem of overcrowded jails I suppose :)

There could be something in that. Many years ago Britain sent loads of criminals, ruffians and general baddies to the furthest most desolate land they could find. It seems those people didn't do too badly and many of us left here would happily follow them...

James

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Pulpstar

Pulpstar

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Hmm What would they be sent there with ?

1,000,000 tins of baked beans ? Or some plants and water and plastic to create an 'ecodome'

Why can't NASA create a spacecraft that can lift off from Mars, the apollo series lifted off from the moon which has 1/6 the gravity of earth, Mars is only 1/3 so it shouldn't be so much tougher.

Perhaps a mission to Deimos would be easier since the gravity requirement would be much less ?

A telescope on the far side of the moon would also be interesting, a man (or woman) landing on Mars with a TV camera broadcast to the whole world knowing they'll never come back would be kind of magnificent, mind blowing and eery and ghoulish all at the same time.

Decent propulsion systems should be developed in the meanwhile (Maybe Nuclear) in order to get us places quicker.

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Beulah

Beulah

Posted
Posted

A telescope on the far side of the moon would also be interesting, a man (or woman) landing on Mars with a TV camera broadcast to the whole world knowing they'll never come back would be kind of magnificent, mind blowing and eery and ghoulish all at the same time.

It would certainly make for epic television, however voyueristic it seems.

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brianb

brianb

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What would they be sent there with ?

1,000,000 tins of baked beans ?

Good idea, the methane emissions would act as a greenhouse gas & Mars could do with warming up a bit :)

Why can't NASA create a spacecraft that can lift off from Mars

They can. It's just a matter of economics. You can land 10 tons on Mars for every ton that has to come back.

the apollo series lifted off from the moon which has 1/6 the gravity of earth, Mars is only 1/3 so it shouldn't be so much tougher.

Mars is easier in some respects, it has an atmosphere so air braking can be used for the descent, saving a lot of fuel. But the life support requirements for a long trip more than offset that. The Apollo spacecraft would be lethal for a 6 month trip due to lack of radiation shielding, and you couldn't ask a crew to live in it for a long trip - surviving Apollo astronauts indicate that 2 weeks was long enough. (The living space in the commoand module is not much bigger than a phone box, if you can remember what one of those looked like.)

Perhaps a mission to Deimos would be easier since the gravity requirement would be much less ?

Yes but there's no way a permanent base on Deimos could be self sustaining.

In terms of two-way trips, expedition to near earth asteroids would be more sensible, not much different in required technology / fuel budget but a much shorter trip in terms of elapsed time.

a man (or woman) landing on Mars with a TV camera broadcast to the whole world knowing they'll never come back would be kind of magnificent, mind blowing and eery and ghoulish all at the same time.

There's one trip we've all got to go on, we go alone and take nothing with us. What difference does it make which planet we start from?

Don't forget that, only 100 years ago, people who went on Antarctic expeditions cut themselves off from the rest of the world, contact only by (paper) mail at yearly intervals by supply ship. A Mars colony would have access to the Earth's communications net with only a few minutes delay - no live phone calls but e-mail etc. would be essentially unaffected by the distance.

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PeterM

PeterM

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If I wasn't married with family and they were looking for people with almost no useful skills I'd definitely volunteer. In fact, and I understand this might make me sound a little deranged, even if it was a one way trip with only enough food and oxygen to last for a few days I'd likely do it just for the chance to set foot on Mars.

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Quatermass

Quatermass

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Not being able to come back to earth would be like a death sentence there is no way I would wish that on any one. But then again there are those that would be happy to leave earth I guess, but I think being cut off from your home planet forever would drive anyone crazy in the end.

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