Mars the ultimate travellers guide

[bigjoe]

SBS THUSDAY NIGHT..on SBS in Oz...All the Documentaries on Space on SBS so far, have been thought provocing and educational for the general public..This should be just as good.

And more documentaries on Mars starts Saturday on SBS.
bigjoe.

[Wavytone]

Gawd.. the last thing we need is more media promoting Mars as if its a holiday destination.

We can't even terraform arid areas on earth, never mind Mars.

Oh.. and don't mention:

a) the radiation exposure en-route;
b) the atmosphere is unbreathable, ie. when you run out of oxygen you're dead AND you will need a space suit;
c) the climate is subzero; year round; the cold will get you next;
d) there is no water, run out of that and you're dead soon after;
e) the available energy from sunlight does not meet the demands necessary to keep a human alive (ie produce oxygen, water and heat);
f) "Terraforming" is a fantasy - run out of food and you’re dead;
g) there's no help forthcoming, nor is it possible to return to Earth.

Reality check, pullease.

[bigjoe]

Believe it or not there are plenty of paying nutters lining up to go to Mars one way ..never to return and pining for it.
This lady is already preparing by eating juicy insects ..crickets ants etc.. a Fine life indeed.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/melbourne-woman-dianne-mcgrath-prepares-for-life-on-mars/news-story/aadee5f69421e8e389350fd60137b15e
bigjoe

[Wavytone]

Oh I’m quite sure there are plenty who will volunteer.

Darwin was right but he omitted several corollaries:
- the least fit will not survive long enough to reproduce,
- the most stupid will make the most stupid decisions,
- humans don’t possess skills they don’t use, daily;
- skills acquired but no longer used are lost.

The last applies equally to mental capacity as well as physical capacity.

[Boozlefoot]

I'd go, but I've just splurged my readies on another mount. So it will just have to wait for the next ship, I s'pose!:question:

[bigjoe]

Seems like we should have sent the Rovers to Terra Sirenum ..where the briny deposits and salt is...(but who would have known); for the greatest chance of finding life there, a lot of digging may be involved.

Robots will be needed anyway to prepare structures, so a lot of the one way nutters can start digging.
A lot of their protein will come from dried insects.
Dried crickets and ants anyone?
They won't be able to wash it all down with a nice Chianti.

PS:Its hard not to be cynical but good luck to them..theyll need it.
bigjoe

[doppler]

There is life on mars, it came from earth though. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/meet-the-martians

[mr bruess]

the chances are high of first astronauts dying because of some technical mishap. just ask elon musk

Elon Musk says to go to Mars you must be prepared to die

[bigjoe]

And die they will ..too many things to go wrong; brave but foolish...This could be tragic!
Lets not forget they need Robots there first.
bigjoe.

[bigjoe]

Good article Rick..Our forward Contamination in the form of bacteria hitching a ride..what happens if they drop in the briny?
bigjoe

[panicp]

I certainly wouldn't say foolish - unless you consider the Apollo program foolish. (And we know what happened there).
I wouldn't call astronauts who end up on the ship to Mars nutters, anymore than the big shot fighter jet pilots who climbed over each other to get an Apollo mission were nutters.

Given the research, which is ongoing, into the many technical, physical and psychological problems that will need to be overcome before any meaningful missions takes place (I have been lucky enough to have been privy to some of the data already gleaned) - but - there are clearly significant hurdles we need to overcome. And lie Apollo, it's unlikely every single one of those potential problems will be solved prior to launch.

I certainly wouldn't call a Mars project foolish. But it will of course be dangerous.

Brave, dangerous and inevitable.

btw - I personally think rather than targetting Mars directly, it would be an important (yet maybe prohibitively expensive) test of technology to go via the moon.
It's extremely likely that there will now have to be a 1G gravity simulator (AG)on the craft - the sheer physical decimation of 16 months (return trip) in microgravity will be terrible - the comparatively good gravity on Mars may turn out to be just enough to sustain bone and muscle mass to preserve function along with exercise - but clearly, we can't know that yet. Either way, the 16 month return trip would be prohibitive without AG.
Finally, come guys - I think it's really quite apparent that probably the most stringent testing for crew will be the psychological testing. I.E. someone saying "want to go to Mars because earth is ****" is just not going to cut it. There are now some interesting data from the experiment which I've heard anecdotally - but we will have to await the publication of the data: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/hi-seas-team-completes-8-month-isolation-mission/