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Sending 100 people at a time to on a near suicide mission is quite a dumb thing to do. You realize that bringing them back might turn out to be very difficult,

by petre 8y ago

Sending 100 people at a time to on a near suicide mission is quite a dumb thing to do. You realize that bringing them back might turn out to be very difficult, that is if they survive the trip to Mars and the landing. Also the infrastructure to do so will be quite expensive. We've sent robotic gear to Mars and most of it has failed. Gear that doesn't require air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat and that can be just abandoned there.

jimnotgym 8y ago
> Sending 100 people at a time to on a near suicide mission is quite a dumb thing to do. Tell Elon, not me > We've sent robotic gear to Mars and most of it has failed. Gear that doesn't require air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat and that can be just abandoned there. Whilst humans appear squishy and delicate compared to a robot, unlike machines they are very adaptable. For instance a robot that is a million miles away with a broken power supply lead is lost because even a simple repair is impossible. An air supply unit that breaks to a room with humans in has a much better chance of being repaired by the humans. The humans could abandon that room, wear space suits for a while, fly home or fix it with duct tape. There is no reason top believe it is harder for humans to survive, just because the robots find it hard.
- lttlrck 8y ago
  A broken power supply lead might not be the best example given what happened to the human on Hawaii.
skissane 8y ago
> You realize that bringing them back might turn out to be very difficult Maybe that's the point, the "emotional blackmail" approach to space funding? Apollo could be cancelled because cancelling Apollo didn't involve abandoning anyone to death. If people are stuck on Mars with no way to return, then indefinite regular resupply trips will become necessary and it will be politically impossible to cancel the budget for them. The space program ceases to be discretionary spending. (Even if it is a private mission, e.g. SpaceX–if US citizens on Mars are reliant on a private corporation for their continued life, then the US Congress may find irresistible the urge to provide public support to that corporation or to have NASA take over its resupply functions.)

by petre 8y ago

jimnotgym 8y ago

> Sending 100 people at a time to on a near suicide mission is quite a dumb thing to do. Tell Elon, not me > We've sent robotic gear to Mars and most of it has failed. Gear that doesn't require air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat and that can be just abandoned there. Whilst humans appear squishy and delicate compared to a robot, unlike machines they are very adaptable. For instance a robot that is a million miles away with a broken power supply lead is lost because even a simple repair is impossible. An air supply unit that breaks to a room with humans in has a much better chance of being repaired by the humans. The humans could abandon that room, wear space suits for a while, fly home or fix it with duct tape. There is no reason top believe it is harder for humans to survive, just because the robots find it hard.

lttlrck 8y ago
A broken power supply lead might not be the best example given what happened to the human on Hawaii.

skissane 8y ago

> You realize that bringing them back might turn out to be very difficult Maybe that's the point, the "emotional blackmail" approach to space funding? Apollo could be cancelled because cancelling Apollo didn't involve abandoning anyone to death. If people are stuck on Mars with no way to return, then indefinite regular resupply trips will become necessary and it will be politically impossible to cancel the budget for them. The space program ceases to be discretionary spending. (Even if it is a private mission, e.g. SpaceX–if US citizens on Mars are reliant on a private corporation for their continued life, then the US Congress may find irresistible the urge to provide public support to that corporation or to have NASA take over its resupply functions.)