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January 09, 2004
Mars Attacks
Do you have any idea how many computers around the world are getting new wallpaper this week? 23.4 Jillion. 12% of these computers are already named Mars or are serving some documents for some idiot pointy-haired boss project named MARS.
Now GWBush has had two flashy new ideas in one week. It must be a new year or something. Of the two it's difficult to determine which is more likely to get bollocksed up on the way to realization, but I'd give the critics of the manned mission to Mars a bit more credence in their opposition.
According to the Nova show I watched the other night, it takes our fastest rockets 7 months to get the 100 million miles from Earth to Mars, when they are at their closest. That's a lot of thumb twiddling.
Quite frankly, I don't think NASA is up to it. And there's nothing on Mars we need.
Posted by mbowen at January 9, 2004 05:37 PM
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Comments
There is nothing that humans could accomplish on Mars (or elsewhere in space for that matter) that robots could not do instead. Safely sending people into space is several orders of magnitude more expensive than using a robot. For about the cost of a single space shuttle mission, we can send a probe to Mars. Sending men into space is a shameful waste of tax dollars.
Posted by: John O at January 10, 2004 10:09 AM
Think what a revitalized man-in-space program would mean to the economies of Texas and Florida, the two states where NASA has the biggest investment in that aspect of the space program.
BTW, here's part of a "blue sky" report that NASA prepared over two decades ago:
http://www.islandone.org/MMSG/aasm/
I know some of the people who worked on this report. I'm not sure whether or not they were "inhaling" when they did that work.
Posted by: Bill Benzon at January 10, 2004 02:05 PM
John O, I agree with you wholeheartedly, manned missions are pointless waste of time, money and life. Robots are very capable and Sir Patrick Moore, Great Britains' elder statesman of Astronomy ( he has been hosting his Astronomy program on the BBC once a month since 1958 or something) thinks we would know about 200x more about space had the money wasted on manned 'political' missions been used on robot and telescopic exploration.
Manned missions are just food for the public and votes for the politicians.
Posted by: SJ Lock at January 14, 2004 05:34 AM