Focus on Putting Humans on Mars, Group Argues

space.com ^ | 11/13/08

[Force of Truth]

Some already there.

[anymouse]

Q: How do you get a manned mission to Mars funded?

A: Have GM and Ford change their incorporation registration location to Mars.

[Pelagius of Asturias]

I know who we can send to Mars. You know, the enemy we cannot name.

From Scary Movie Four via the Internet Movie Database.

Henry Hale: I fear the presence of the outsiders will attract those of whom we do not speak.

Female Elder #2: But if you talk about those of whom we do not speak, have you not spoken of that about which we do not talk.

Henry Hale: Do not speak of that of about which we talk of not speaking... about

[Pelagius of Asturias]

Obama got zero votes from Mars; there has to be intelligent life there. I am double certain because McCain didn’t get any votes either.

[Moonman62]

"The U.S. landed humans on the Moon nearly 40 years ago," said Louis Friedman, executive director of The Planetary Society. "Returning to the moon has not sufficiently excited the public

Going to Mars won't excite them either. The Moon/Mars boondoggle is another major screwup by W.

[Moonman62]

The bottom line is we need a better launch system for getting off this planet, regardless of the ultimate goal.

[equaviator]

“Returning to the moon has not sufficiently excited the public...”

Why set any mission priorities based on a less than desired factor of public excitement when there are so many out there who either can’t appreciate the mission because of their not having lived until the after the Challenger disaster or for the fact that they’ve taken on a certain jadedness towards space exploration as if they’ve “been there” and “done that”. I have a feeling that some of that jadedness stems from their being so immersed as “gamers” that they have a hard time appreciating the realities of the physical aspects of actual space exploration.

Talk to a fighter pilot (a real one) or an aeronautical engineer and I’ll bet the prospect of the NASA missions excites them. If you talk to your average stay-at-home mom or a HOOTERS-type girl, they’ll probably tell you that it’s a huge waste of time and money or even have not one iota of understanding of what NASA’s mission has EVER been.

So, why even bother with whether or not there is an ‘appropriate’ level of public excitement when by the time the technology is ready to come out of the labs and servers, into the machine tools and onto the launch pad, the population that the public would then consist of may have had an awakening to those modern marvels.

I don’t think it would wise for any administration to give up on the NASA missions, nor would it be wise to give up on public excitement for them, however jaded or unappreciative they may seem today.