Should NASA Go to Mars? (1 Viewer)

[BHM]

Seems to me that you're presuming that we cannot attain information about Mars without actually putting a man on the planet. I don't think Columbus is a good analogy - 15th Century Europeans had no way of discovering what was out there, sailing west. We, however, have landed several Mars lander missions that have gathered quite a bit of data, taken images and video, and brought back samples. I'm just wondering what it is that a manned mission is going to "figure out" that we can't otherwise do. If there's something, then perhaps it's worth it. I just don't see it at this point.

(I'm not questioning your conclusion - it's a matter of choice. I'm only questioning the premises stated).

If we are going to survive on Mars, we must have somebody be the first to go. Why wait? Can humans survive that long of a trip? What ill effects will they suffer? What unforeseen obstacles await us? And darn it, it will just be cool to be the first country to put a man on Mars.

Most importantly, how will Google make a complete street view map of Mars without a human there driving the camera car around?

 

[HennessyRob]

That money would be better spent making the Levees in New Orleans the best in the world, paying School Teachers atleast $60,000 a year,etc

 

[KardiacKat]

Yeah, Bush proposed a moon station that could be a springboard to Mars and I like that idea. I have wondered often why we have an orbiting space station when it seems to me that a space station on the moon would be more stable. Am I the only person to think this, or has this theory already been debunked by some snotty scientist dude? Anyhow, moon then Mars seems awesome. The technology invented in the process would be worth it.

 

[BHM]

That money would be better spent making the Levees in New Orleans the best in the world, paying School Teachers atleast $60,000 a year,etc

Some might argue that would be just as much a waste of money. Who knows when a 200mph hurricane hits NOLA and will paying a teacher $60,000.00 really improve test scores? there is always something "better" to spend the money on. Just depends on who you are asking.

 

[Superfan]

If it is lighter, faster, stronger or more powerful now than it was in 1960, you can trace that improvement back to the space program.

We accomplished a lot.

And, one way or another, we absolutely must get off this rock. Heinlein Base on the moon and a manned mission to Mars (I might suggest Valentine Base there) will be the first steps.

Asteroid mining, wild physics experiments with limitless solar power (or nuclear), perfectly round ballbearings, a host of advancements we haven't even dreamed of yet await.

And they belong to whoever gets there first.

 

[BHM]

And lets not forget this...

 

[Sandman]

If it is lighter, faster, stronger or more powerful now than it was in 1960, you can trace that improvement back to the space program.

We accomplished a lot.

And, one way or another, we absolutely must get off this rock. Heinlein Base on the moon and a manned mission to Mars (I might suggest Valentine Base there) will be the first steps.

Asteroid mining, wild physics experiments with limitless solar power (or nuclear), perfectly round ballbearings, a host of advancements we haven't even dreamed of yet await.

And they belong to whoever gets there first.

lus-un2: I couldn't say it any better.

Plus, we have to be ready for space combat for when the alien hordes begin their attack. You will be wishing that we spent money on Mars when they are eating your brains.

 

[Saintman2884]

Sandman, our brains would be practically useless to them and what's the real worth of enslaving the entire human race like a cattle of pack mice if we really aren't threat to them or even worth the effort and time put in to even conquering us? More advanced alien civilizations more then likely exist and their numbers are far beyond count, and we as human beings speculate if these more advanced civilizations exist or how further along they have advanced as a civilization and as a volk, the German phrase for a people of distinct culture, belief systems, and complicated perhaps more advanced social identities.

Would it be too much of a stretch to just consider at some point what they may think of us, as a whole species or even the inhabitants of the Planet Earth? I'm sure at some points they've been in the neighborhood of this planet, checking in on us maybe every 2 to 3000 thousand years or so, seeing how far we've come along and see what if or anything that we may have changed ourselves on?


Sometimes to even be viewed as a threat, you have to come within distant range of even possibly causing trouble for some other nation or nations or other civilizations, IMO we haven't come close to reaching that level for much more advanced distant lifetimes who feel more sorry for us then feeling threatened by us? It probably works that way with them just as much as we as Americans think it applies to certain Third World countries like North Korea or even Yemen?

 

[Utah Saints]

Citizen in 15th century europe : Why do we have to spend all this money going to the New World? We have things to pay for here in Europe.

In a thousand years, no one is going to care about your religion, your hippie culture, your gun culture, your football team, the wars of the day. What they will know is who landed on the moon, who went to Mars, and beyond. These are achievements for the entire human race. We have to explore and understand. Its what we do. If anything ever wasnt pointless, its this.

I really do not understand people that dont see the benefits that exploration and science discovery has brought to our lives. As you sit there arguing against it, using the internet, watching your satellite televisions, vaccinated from diseases, taking medication developed from rare hard to find plants, taking trips in vehicles developed and made better by space exploration research...

99.999999999repeating% of the universe as we know it will kill a human being instantly. The only place we know that allows us to live is our one planet. What happens if and when something happens to it? How can developing the science and tech for long manned spaceflight and survival in inhospitable conditions be considered unimportant? Eventually, if we make it that far, itll be the only important thing.

 

[GeauxSaints53]

How ironic would it be if we ended up being more civilized than the aliens?

 

[KardiacKat]

How ironic would it be if we ended up being more civilized than the aliens?

We're easily more civilized than the Klingons, but probably not as much as the Vulcans.

 

[mikaloyd]

Eventually the sun will use up its fuel then rapidly expand and engulf the Earth ridding it of all life. So for life to go on we eventually need to expand and explore and migrate from mother Earth. But we still have a billion years to go before that happens so maybe it might be better to put off making progress on the project until economic times are not as tough as they are right now. A decade or too of wait wont make any difference and Mars isnt going anywhere. This is one of those things that can wait awhile on the back burner without hurting anything.

 

[Comus]

Mars? Yes
Manned? No.

 

[redlandssaintsson]

On the 40th anniversary of the moon landing a quick question?

Do you think we should try to attempt a manned mission to Mars? And if so do you think it will happen in our lifetime, next 20-40 years?

It would be massively expensive but I think it would be exciting as well. The sci-fi fan in my would love it.

I remember reading an article years ago about all the technology that came from the space program in general and the moon missions in particular. it was really mind boggling. i think that mars missions would provide similar new tech

thoughts?

a few years back it was proposed we could do it for 55 billion, and in less than 10 years. It was a great plan involving sending supplies off first striaght to Mars, sending men to build a launch pad on the moon, and then shipping a transport system to the moon. Good stuff when you watch NASA's tv channel...

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[BooBirdSaint]

Why go to Mars and beyond. There will be some 100 million kids in U.S. schools over the next 10 years. If a Mars program were to inspire just an additional 1% of them to pursue scientific educations the net result would be 1 million more scientists, engineers, doctors ect.
Between 1961 and 1973, with the impetus of the moon race, NASA produced technological innovations at a rate several orders of magnitude greater then that it has shown since.
Director James Cameron said
"We're really at a turning point: We either go forward or we go back. By stopping and stagnating, we actually go back. I look around at the turn of the millennium and I see a prosperous, powerful, technologically unparalleled society, which collectively has no purpose but to feather its own nest. It's a goal-less, rudderless society dedicated to increasing security and creature comforts. Our children are raised in a world without heroes. They are led to believe that heroism consists of throwing a football the furthest, getting the most hang time during a slam dunk, or selling the most movie tickets with your looks and your boyish charm.
This is not heroism, and these are not the valid tests of our mettle as an intelligent race. Young kids need something to dream about, something to measure their value system again. They live in a sea of mind numbing affluence, a point-and-shoot video game world where it's hip not to care, where death and violence have no meaning, where leaders are morally bankrupt, and where the scientific quest for understanding is so not cool. Going to Mars is not a luxury we can't afford. It's a necessity we can't afford to be without. We need this.
We need this, or some kind of challenge like it, to bring us together to all feel a part of something and to have heroes again. The problem is there's no challenge on our horizon like Mars. If we rise to a challenge, we're gonna redefine ourselves, and we're gonna ratchet ourselves up another notch in the evolutionary ladder. In return, Mars will reward us with answers to profound questions and with a renewed sense of self-worth as a species."
http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/cameron_why_mars_825.html