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How fast do we actually need to learn about Mars? How far are we willing to go, how much are we willing to spend just to speed things up there? We don’t live i

How fast do we actually need to learn about Mars? How far are we willing to go, how much are we willing to spend just to speed things up there? We don’t live in the 1950s or the 1890s any more. We are not willing to sacrifice the lives of our explorers like we did when we went to the moon or Antarctica in the 1960s and 1900s respectively. We are not engaging in juvenile races to “get there first” which is both expensive and dangerous. The space exploration of today is more collaborative and careful then the explorations of the past. So we don’t risk the lives of our explorers nor the unnecessary expenses of getting things done 20 years when we can do it in 50 for far less money and with infinity more safety.

soperj 5y ago
The 2 Rovers from the last 2000s cost about a billion dollars. If we can get someone to moon for $2.9 billion (contract that spacex just won), I think that's worth it.
kitsunesoba 5y ago
It’s difficult to answer that question with any level of certainty. That said, there’s a line of thinking that we should do these things while we still can, because there’s no guarantee that we’ll continue to be able to do them. I tend to agree with that. So it’s not about trying to race and and get there first, but rather making sure that the opportunity doesn’t pass us by. As far as cost goes… these sorts of missions are expensive relative to the amounts of money most of us work with in a regular basis, but compared to the vast sums that get put toward far more questionable and frivolous uses it’s a drop in the bucket. If saving money or rerouting funds to more deserving causes is a goal, there’s several tens of bushels of lower hanging fruit elsewhere that should be looked at first — anything with scientific purpose should be trimmed last.
greedo 5y ago
This completely ignores the political aspects. Once China makes significant progress towards landing on the Moon, the US will definitely ramp up as fast as possible. Nationalism is a virus that's undefeated...

soperj 5y ago

The 2 Rovers from the last 2000s cost about a billion dollars. If we can get someone to moon for $2.9 billion (contract that spacex just won), I think that's worth it.

kitsunesoba 5y ago

It’s difficult to answer that question with any level of certainty. That said, there’s a line of thinking that we should do these things while we still can, because there’s no guarantee that we’ll continue to be able to do them. I tend to agree with that. So it’s not about trying to race and and get there first, but rather making sure that the opportunity doesn’t pass us by. As far as cost goes… these sorts of missions are expensive relative to the amounts of money most of us work with in a regular basis, but compared to the vast sums that get put toward far more questionable and frivolous uses it’s a drop in the bucket. If saving money or rerouting funds to more deserving causes is a goal, there’s several tens of bushels of lower hanging fruit elsewhere that should be looked at first — anything with scientific purpose should be trimmed last.

greedo 5y ago

This completely ignores the political aspects. Once China makes significant progress towards landing on the Moon, the US will definitely ramp up as fast as possible. Nationalism is a virus that's undefeated...