7 ms·

I agree with your sentiment but let's face it, sending humans to Mars is as much PR as it is scientific research (maybe even more). Look how we ended up on the

by simias 9y ago

I agree with your sentiment but let's face it, sending humans to Mars is as much PR as it is scientific research (maybe even more). Look how we ended up on the moon in the first place. If NASA wants to get the funding it has to make it as marketable as possible. If there's a big push back from the general population it will be hard to convince the politicians to invest billions in an unpopular project with no short-term dividends.

krasin 9y ago
On a related note, I very much like the fact that "The Martian" movie uses RTG as a life saving device and the best car climate control ever. It helps with the public perception that it's not that dangerous.
- nkrisc 9y ago
  Generally I agree with you, but I don't know if it's wise to promote the unintended use of a device by a fictional character as a last hope in a dire survival situation as the bar for what's "safe". Regardless of whether it's actually safe, showing me it's safe enough to sit near in a situation where one would probably die anyway isn't exactly comforting.
  - mirimir 9y ago
    Well, NORAD guards used to keep warm by standing in front of the dishes. I vaguely recall that some also figured out that doing so temporarily reduced their sperm count ;)
  - nsxwolf 9y ago
    Culture is better at transmitting ideas and changing perceptions than elitist blowhards are.
tehwalrus 9y ago
I would say, given the state of politics and the general attitude to the climate and natural resources, our first priority should be colonising another planet. Putting some scientists on Mars for a few years is step 1 in that very important insurance scheme!
- simias 9y ago
  I don't know if I agree. Creating a self-sustainable colony on Mars will take a very long time and even if we manage to do it can we really afford to "lose" the earth? Mars is an inhospitable hell for humans and practical terraforming technology is still in the realm of science fiction. Maybe if we manage to destroy earth completely out of selfishness and hate we don't really deserve to spread the virus throughout the galaxy? And running away won't solve our problems. How long until our current earthly political and environmental issues are reproduced on Mars? We have "human" issues, not "earth" issues, simply moving the problem is not a solution. If we can't sustain our development in a civilized manner on a lush and hospitable planet I don't think we'll fare much better on Dune. Not that I'm against colonizing Mars but I'd prefer if we did it out of a shared dream of a trans-planetary humanity rather than out of fear of self-destruction.
  - ams6110 9y ago
    Very unlikely that we could do anything on Earth that would make Mars look like a better place to live.
    - camiller 9y ago
      "Very unlikely that we could do anything on Earth that would make Mars look like a better place to live. " Humanity: Hold my beer....
      - vkou 9y ago
        Runaway global warming or global thermonuclear war will still leave many parts of the Earth far more habitable then Mars. Even if the biosphere were to go to hell, it would still have an atmosphere, and a magnetic field. Fantasists have wildly impractical ideas for fixing the former on Mars, but nothing for the latter.
        mLuby 9y ago
        There is a solution to both, and it's not impractical: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13796364 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13796364

by simias 9y ago

krasin 9y ago

On a related note, I very much like the fact that "The Martian" movie uses RTG as a life saving device and the best car climate control ever. It helps with the public perception that it's not that dangerous.

nkrisc 9y ago
Generally I agree with you, but I don't know if it's wise to promote the unintended use of a device by a fictional character as a last hope in a dire survival situation as the bar for what's "safe". Regardless of whether it's actually safe, showing me it's safe enough to sit near in a situation where one would probably die anyway isn't exactly comforting.
- mirimir 9y ago
  Well, NORAD guards used to keep warm by standing in front of the dishes. I vaguely recall that some also figured out that doing so temporarily reduced their sperm count ;)
- nsxwolf 9y ago
  Culture is better at transmitting ideas and changing perceptions than elitist blowhards are.

tehwalrus 9y ago

I would say, given the state of politics and the general attitude to the climate and natural resources, our first priority should be colonising another planet. Putting some scientists on Mars for a few years is step 1 in that very important insurance scheme!

simias 9y ago
I don't know if I agree. Creating a self-sustainable colony on Mars will take a very long time and even if we manage to do it can we really afford to "lose" the earth? Mars is an inhospitable hell for humans and practical terraforming technology is still in the realm of science fiction. Maybe if we manage to destroy earth completely out of selfishness and hate we don't really deserve to spread the virus throughout the galaxy? And running away won't solve our problems. How long until our current earthly political and environmental issues are reproduced on Mars? We have "human" issues, not "earth" issues, simply moving the problem is not a solution. If we can't sustain our development in a civilized manner on a lush and hospitable planet I don't think we'll fare much better on Dune. Not that I'm against colonizing Mars but I'd prefer if we did it out of a shared dream of a trans-planetary humanity rather than out of fear of self-destruction.
- ams6110 9y ago
  Very unlikely that we could do anything on Earth that would make Mars look like a better place to live.
  - camiller 9y ago
    "Very unlikely that we could do anything on Earth that would make Mars look like a better place to live. " Humanity: Hold my beer....
    - vkou 9y ago
      Runaway global warming or global thermonuclear war will still leave many parts of the Earth far more habitable then Mars. Even if the biosphere were to go to hell, it would still have an atmosphere, and a magnetic field. Fantasists have wildly impractical ideas for fixing the former on Mars, but nothing for the latter.
      - mLuby 9y ago
        There is a solution to both, and it's not impractical: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13796364 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13796364