NASA's mission to Mars

[Blue Shift]

NASA is looking for volunteers to fly to Mars - the snag is that you won't come back.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/nasa-mars-mission-a-one-way-trip/story-e6frf7lf-1225944877007

Would you go? I imagine the general consensus will be "no", but I think it's an interesting thing to talk about all the same!

 

[Rox_My_Sox1]

You would have to be the most INSANE IDIOTIC PERSON WHO EVER LIVED ON PLANET EARTH to go on a mission like that. Tsk Tsk NASA. Shame on you.

 

[PurpleStyle]

If I was dying of an incurable disease, I'd go. Would you call me insane and idiotic? 😉

 

[Rox_My_Sox1]

If I was dying of an incurable disease, I'd go. Would you call me insane and idiotic?

Depends on the amount of struggle you'd have to endure living on a inhospitable planet that cannot at this time sustain human life while dealing with said incurable disease.

 

[idiot756]

Never come back? At all? What, do they expect you to fall in love with the wonderful Martian nightlife? I'd love to visit Mars, but a permanent settlement may be beyond the abilities of our current generation. But in the event that I become a filthy rich old man, several decades from now, I'd join a colony (if one exists by then) on Mars.

 

[Duke Diablo]

There are no čevapi on Mars. Therefore, there will be no Duke Diablo on Mars.

 

[PurpleStyle]

Depends on the amount of struggle you'd have to endure living on a inhospitable planet that cannot at this time sustain human life while dealing with said incurable disease.

First, you will struggle with boredom over the long flight. Then you will struggle with having to snap immediately into action when you reach orbit. Landing would be a delicate process as the amount of time in space has left you more susceptible to broken bones. Then... Earth starts sending Ćevapi care packages.

 

[Tickleslave83]

I'd love to be a Martian colonist but I can't see it happening for me. Colonizing Mars will be a multi-generational effort.

 

[likeasong1]

A year or two ago, I would've jumped at this. Now I plan to stay on Earth.

 

[Slaver123]

There's also talk of "Generation ships" or "Century ships" which would travel to other solar systems- like Mars the catch is that you'll never come back.

I won't go anywhere without a Bill Of Rights and a Constitution, some very clear laws that protect my human rights. The problem with a Mars colony or a generation ship, or any colonies anywhere, is it may seem like an escape from the human system but if you bring a human hierarchy with you then you spread the bullying and exploitation to the new world.

Why do so many people want to leave Earth? Not just for the survival of the species after Apophis hits in 2019 (or 2025) but to escape all the BS. Think how much of the world's problems are totally avoidable, totally man-made? I'd rather enact decent laws on Earth to cut down on the exploitation etc but that's impossible; this rotten species is hell-bent on dominating one another, and I see no reason to continue it's survival unless there's a mass-enlightenment first.

Ask yourself; would you want to be trapped in a confined space on Mars with Captain Know-It-All hogging all the women for himself while he insists you vent your remaining oxygen out the airlock because he's drunk, stupid, and pointing a gun at you? No? Well that's gonna be the reality of it, cause that's exactly what we live with on Earth, at a much larger scale.

 

[PurpleStyle]

Apophis is very unlikely to hit. :stickout

If you don't have any confidence in people, then you're not helping the problem anymore than the fictional character you imagine pointing a gun at somebody. Think about it that way for a moment.

The point of leaving Earth isn't to ditch humanity. It's to help. When I look at Mars or the Moon, I don't just see barren rocks devoid of life. I see untapped resources.

 

[Tickleslave83]

Personally I'd love to ditch the Earth. I sometimes think my interest in space is partly a rejection of this planet. At least with those going into space right now are among the best and brightest. Starting a colony elsewhere is a good way to get a fresh start but it's true we'll bring plenty of our problems with us.

 

[the_jimmy_james]

Apophis is very unlikely to hit. :stickout

One in two-hundred-fifty thousand? Or is it one in two-point-five million?

 

[Rox_My_Sox1]

I believe it's somewhere around a 1 in 45,000 chance. Either way, I'm not going to worry about it. The best I could do if an asteroid is going to hit is bend down and kiss my glorious ass goodbye. ^_~

 

[Violetta]

If you don't have any confidence in people, then you're not helping the problem anymore than the fictional character you imagine pointing a gun at somebody. Think about it that way for a moment.

The point of leaving Earth isn't to ditch humanity. It's to help. When I look at Mars or the Moon, I don't just see barren rocks devoid of life. I see untapped resources.

This. There should never be a trend of "escaping into space" to leave behind the problems of people. Part of what humanity is is its problems, and our goal as a species is to overcome them, not simply curse them and wish them to go away. And a good portion of solving those problems is, I believe, gaining a perspective on who we are and what our place in the universe is. Branching into space is an aid in gaining that sort of perspective.

 

[PurpleStyle]

I believe it's somewhere around a 1 in 45,000 chance. Either way, I'm not going to worry about it. The best I could do if an asteroid is going to hit is bend down and kiss my glorious ass goodbye. ^_~

Not quite. According to the most recent NASA estimates, 1 in 135,000. In other words, you're looking at a over 99% (but not quite 100!) chance that Apophis will miss the Earth. :stickout

This. There should never be a trend of "escaping into space" to leave behind the problems of people. Part of what humanity is is its problems, and our goal as a species is to overcome them, not simply curse them and wish them to go away. And a good portion of solving those problems is, I believe, gaining a perspective on who we are and what our place in the universe is. Branching into space is an aid in gaining that sort of perspective.

Thank you! It seems as though you are one of the few people who speaks the same language as I. 😉 I'd like people to know that my optimism is not blind, I know most (some? maybe?) of the real and potential problems we face as a species. The fact I'm still an optimist should tell you; that I'm either incredibly stupid (this may be more likely considering the species I refer to xD), or I know we're smart enough to solve, and move beyond many of our problems. People just need to get into the right mindset. Changing one's perspective, and thus perception - is the first step.

 

[Violetta]

One may see a hint of irony in the notion that we see so eye-to-eye on this point, but I see it as an example of what we're talking about. That two people as different as you and I can agree on the potential to conquer the problems that face the species as well as on that vital step towards doing so should speak more highly of humans at large than the negativity cast by any ranting about greed or intolerance.

 

[Tickleslave83]

According to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis the current odds are 250,000 to 1. Even so it's not big enough to be a global killer though if it hit an inhabited area there could be millions of casualties.

 

[PurpleStyle]

Wikipedia's info is a bit outdated.

 

[Rox_My_Sox1]

Not quite. According to the most recent NASA estimates, 1 in 135,000. In other words, you're looking at a over 99% (but not quite 100!) chance that Apophis will miss the Earth.

Bah, stupid scientific internet articles and their outdated info. ROX SMASH!

 

[Rox_My_Sox1]

According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis the current odds are 250,000 to 1. Even so it's not big enough to be a global killer though if it hit an inhabited area there could be millions of casualties.

If an asteroid like Apophy (heheh) ever did hit, I'd imagine the death toll would exceed one hundred million and just just a few million. From pollution to the atmosphere resulting from the impact explosion itself to the heat and shock wave...it'd be pretty devestating to the entire world.

Let's not forget how much our world relies on the production of crops and livestock (which is to say we rely HEAVILY upon farms for food). Depending on the point of impact, not only could the sky, the ocean, and even a majority of the land be harmed but we'd also face major food shortages. If I'm not mistaken (correct me if I'm wrong PS) but the rock that caused the kilometer wide crater in Arizona state was only about the size of a Volkswagen. Imagine the crater caused by an asteroid more than a mile wide!

 

[Violetta]

Due to people's unwillingness to talk about the topic of this thread, I think someone ought to start a new one about asteroid collision.

 

[Bator]

There are a number of people that I would love to see go to Mars and not return. Astronauts and scientists didn,t make my list. Perhaps we should start a thread about who we would like to rid this planet of as well. Just think of it as a permanent vacation without any of the frills except for the ride there.

 

[PurpleStyle]

If an asteroid like Apophy (heheh) ever did hit, I'd imagine the death toll would exceed one hundred million and just just a few million. From pollution to the atmosphere resulting from the impact explosion itself to the heat and shock wave...it'd be pretty devestating to the entire world.

Let's not forget how much our world relies on the production of crops and livestock (which is to say we rely HEAVILY upon farms for food). Depending on the point of impact, not only could the sky, the ocean, and even a majority of the land be harmed but we'd also face major food shortages. If I'm not mistaken (correct me if I'm wrong PS) but the rock that caused the kilometer wide crater in Arizona state was only about the size of a Volkswagen. Imagine the crater caused by an asteroid more than a mile wide!

I've never been in a Volkswagen that's 130 feet long before. 😉 I can't tell you how big the impact crater will be if Apophis hits on land. If it explodes above the Pacific (asteroids don't really "hit" the Earth, they explode in the atmosphere due to the immense ram pressure of an object "falling from infinity" into the atmosphere, heating said object up several thousand degrees from the condensed gas in front of it), it will make a large hole in the ocean that will throw water up and down the coast, suck it back into itself as the water tries to fill the gap, throw it back out again, and repeat this over and over. The lucky ones will be the people close to the asteroid when it explodes, because it will probably vaporize them.

Due to people's unwillingness to talk about the topic of this thread, I think someone ought to start a new one about asteroid collision.

I've thought about it, but it's been done to death. At least for me. The only thing left to do is calculate the TNT equivalency yield of large, obscure asteroids floating around in our solar system. :stickout

 

[Slaver123]

Most of mankind's problems are self-made and totally avoidable. Disease and disasters happen; tyrannical/corrupt governments don't need to happen. Look at Haiti; a year later and people are rioting cause their government is too corrupt to fix anything, and it's BETTER than under the old Papa-Doc/Baby-Doc regimes(!)

With modern farming methods starvation should be a distant memory; yet there's always people starving or malnourished, usually because of their governments and/or the rebel factions in their own countries. War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death; of these four, two are almost entirely avoidable (War and Famine) yet they both still plague the world. Why? And why is Pestilence given free reign? I keep picking on Haiti cause I just saw a special on it; people are dying from a Cholera outbreak which could have been avoided with clean water. Foreign charities are doing what they can, but this could have been avoided if their government at all levels had been more interested in the well-being of their people than in lining their own pockets!

Do we really want to spread this sick way of life to other planets? Imagine life trapped in a Taliban-run colony on Mars; or a North Korean space colony.... Until mankind wakes up and ditches these backwards, abusive, hypocritical, sociopathic ways we have no right to survive let alone colonize the universe, and if Apophis hits it'll be doing the cosmos the greatest favor possible by wiping us out.