SimVig Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Peregrine, you misunderstood me. I meant the Russians had a lot of accidents.Also, Pack Rat, I don't mean to put them out as failures. Instead, despite all those accidents, they accomplished what they wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 It's hard to say if this proposal will actually play out the way President Bush described it. The plan was conveniently delivered at the start of an election campaign and is perhaps as much politically motivated as it is based on real scientific needs. It makes Bush and his administration look a bit more visionary and imaginative, and not only interested in tax-cuts and national security. Several presidents have made similar initiatives during the past years. If I'm not mistaken Bush the elder also spoke of a base on the moon and manned missions to the red planet, which never realised. Taking in to account the budget deficit that haunts USA at the moment that sort of grandiose plans seems a bit shaky. In addition the proposal has to be signed by the senate before anything can happen. One might also question the significance of putting people on Mars, when most research can be done by robotics. Perhaps NASA should follow the example of our European Space Agency and focus on much cheaper, miniaturized probes. But I don't want to sound like to much of a pessimist. It would have course be nice to see some folks waving to the TV-cameras from outer space again :) . Cheers!Polyphemos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaiv Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 I don't agree with it.... I doubt that we will colonize the moon anytime in the next 20 years. And yet another billion dollars used by Bush....He's going to royally screw our nation. While I believe that Bush was a much better option than Gore, I don't believe in his crazy motives and extensive debts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albareth Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 For what purpose? Sure, it must eventually be our target. But imo we should be aiming at one thing and one thing only in regard to space travel - and that is to enhance the technology we have, especially in regard to the development of the bacterial algae(sp?) that can possibly start the process of terraforming mars. Logically speaking making the moon a habitable place would be a LOT more difficult than Mars. The moon has no sign of water or the chemicals needed for such bacterias to start terraforming - as well as lacking the gravity needed. A moon base may be a good thing to have regarding the problem of getting shuttles out of the athmosphere - but really, it's just another place to pay for keeping supplied and ready for no specific reason. I say continue working on the technology - and when we can, start terraforming Mars. Hold the manned space trips until these planets are actually something we could live on without needing tremendous support back from earth for keeping it there. That's the reason we're after this after all isn't it - to prepare ourselves for having to migrate off Earth due to lack of space, resources and possible climate problems and catastrophes we're making for ourselves. So work on that - preparing Mars for what will be needed, instead of continually spending all this money on manned flights here and there out of whim just to say you've done it. Just my two cents... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 It's not only the U.S. that has an ambitious space plan. I think it will be interesting to follow the Chinese space program as well, which is based on older but perhaps safer Russian technology (mainly the Soyuz-rockets). After the launch of Shenzhou V and its taikonaut China is the third nation in the world to send a man into space, and rumour says they are aiming for some sort of space station in 2008. The Chinese program is still in its infancy but will perhaps be able to compete with ESA and NASA in the future, or hopefully work together with them. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohGr Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 just one thing about the cinese in space, now read at your own risk if you take offence to jokes imagine rice in space...i guess chopsticks would be useless :blink: ...that actually sucks...i never got to learn how to use them.. on topic i agree with albareth, let it happen, in mars its been shown, that theres a possibility of life there, their plans to melt some ice or something like that there, is by using sattelites, using the sun to melt them, the oxygen and all spreads around, they go on, see if its safe without a mask (doubtful) and start terraforming, then what do you know, when earth burns up, we'll be on mars. because the sun keeps getting hotter and hotter or moving closer or something like that, eventually, itll move closer and closer to us, burning up the planet, to earth will be no more eventually, but when that happens, we will be past mars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveme4whoiam Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 I'm pretty sure that the NASA data on the Sun melting us all won't happen until something like a couple million years, so lets not get panicy just yet. The same could be said of the Andromeda galaxy; in about 200 million years the two galaxies (the Milky Way and Andromeda) will collide. To move slightly back onto topic, if major colonisation does happen then it should be a global effort. Everyone has played all the games of "the colonists take the fight to space". If we have random countries carving up the Moon or Mars into chiunks of land, pretty soon we'll have a serious war on our hands, because thats ust human nature. I'm hoping Albareth can elaborate on this: Sure, it must eventually be our target. But imo we should be aiming at one thing and one thing only in regard to space travel - and that is to enhance the technology we have, especially in regard to the development of the bacterial algae(sp?) that can possibly start the process of terraforming mars. I' dlike to know more about this, sionce its the first i've heard of it but seem like a important part of the space programs development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albareth Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 I'm hoping Albareth can elaborate on this: Sure, it must eventually be our target. But imo we should be aiming at one thing and one thing only in regard to space travel - and that is to enhance the technology we have, especially in regard to the development of the bacterial algae(sp?) that can possibly start the process of terraforming mars. I' dlike to know more about this, sionce its the first i've heard of it but seem like a important part of the space programs development.Here are a few links I dug up with a few searches: -- http://www.users.muohio.edu/lindemlt/Mars/mars.html Another idea would be to introduce the bacteria Cyano to Mars. It contains chlorophyll that is used to carry out photosynthesis and these bacteria would be useful in the same way plants would be. -- http://science.howstuffworks.com/terraforming2.htm Another option for thickening the atmosphere of Mars, and, in turn, raising the temperature of the planet, would be to set up solar-powered, greenhouse-gas producing factories. Humans have had a lot of experience with this over the last century, as we have inadvertently released tons of greenhouse gases into our own atmosphere, which some believe is raising the Earth's temperature. The same heating effect could be reproduced on Mars by setting up hundreds of these factories. Their sole purpose would be to pump out CFCs, methane, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These greenhouse-gas factories would either have to be ferried to Mars or made out of materials already located on Mars, which would take years to process. In order to transport these machines to Mars, they would have to be lightweight and efficient. These greenhouse machines would mimic the natural process of plant photosynthesis, inhaling carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen. It would take many years, but the Mars atmosphere would slowly be oxygenated to the point that Mars colonists would need only a breathing-assistance apparatus, and not a pressure suit as worn by astronauts. Photosynthetic bacteria could also be used in place of or in addition to these greenhouse machines -- There were a lot more but I got bored searching... just searched google for ---> bacteria, "terraforming mars" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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