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Great article. I wish it would answer this question though. If we don't someone else will. How do we prevent that. Getting to Mars seems to be a political goal

Great article. I wish it would answer this question though. If we don't someone else will. How do we prevent that. Getting to Mars seems to be a political goal not a scientific one (for most). If the USA doesn't then China will.

whatshisface 4y ago
China doesn't seem to go for the big ticket science projects, although anything can change in the future.
- WillPostForFood 4y ago
  China is doing fine with big science projects. https://www.science.org/content/article/chinese-spacraft-successfully-lands-moons-far-side-and-sends-pictures-back-home https://www.science.org/content/article/chinese-spacraft-suc... https://www.space.com/china-expanding-optical-telescope-design https://www.space.com/china-expanding-optical-telescope-desi... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-hundred-meter_Aperture_Spherical_Telescope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-hundred-meter_Aperture_Sp...
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
idlewords 4y ago
Having China divert hundreds of billions of dollars over several decades to a Mars mission would be a real win for the US and Taiwan.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- ethbr0 4y ago
  Betting against other countries' investments in exploration hasn't historically worked out well.
  - woodruffw 4y ago
    Betting upon other countries' excessive interest in tulips has, however!
  - idlewords 4y ago
    Betting against China going exploring, though, has been a sure thing through most of history.
    - ethbr0 4y ago
      There's a difference between betting China doesn't go exploring, and betting China isn't successful at exploring. Historically, they tend to either not make the attempt or go big. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_treasure_voyages https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_treasure_voyages
- yongjik 4y ago
  I'm not sure about that. America similarly diverted billions of dollars to land men on the Moon. It barely made a dent in the balance of the Cold War.
edflsafoiewq 4y ago
We must not allow a Martian gap!
chii 4y ago
> How do we prevent that. why does that need to be prevented?
linuxftw 4y ago
Nobody is going to Mars. Not now, not in 100 years. Unless we invent some kind of teleportation or other sci-fi way of traveling there, it's just never going to take place. Mars has essentially no energy sources. Everything people need to survive, and return, will have to be pre-stationed there. If the Chinese all want to move to Mars, fine by me. I don't think it's a solid plan, but they're welcome to try.
BizarreByte 4y ago
>If we don't someone else will. How do we prevent that. This thought process alone shows me that we probably aren't even mature enough as a species to go to Mars. A mission like that will likely need global cooperation, effectively dooming it. If China somehow went to Mars on their own they deserve whatever benefit they were to get from and we shouldn't aim to prevent space exploration because of who does it.

whatshisface 4y ago

China doesn't seem to go for the big ticket science projects, although anything can change in the future.

WillPostForFood 4y ago
China is doing fine with big science projects. https://www.science.org/content/article/chinese-spacraft-successfully-lands-moons-far-side-and-sends-pictures-back-home https://www.science.org/content/article/chinese-spacraft-suc... https://www.space.com/china-expanding-optical-telescope-design https://www.space.com/china-expanding-optical-telescope-desi... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-hundred-meter_Aperture_Spherical_Telescope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-hundred-meter_Aperture_Sp...
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

idlewords 4y ago

Having China divert hundreds of billions of dollars over several decades to a Mars mission would be a real win for the US and Taiwan.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
ethbr0 4y ago
Betting against other countries' investments in exploration hasn't historically worked out well.
- woodruffw 4y ago
  Betting upon other countries' excessive interest in tulips has, however!
- idlewords 4y ago
  Betting against China going exploring, though, has been a sure thing through most of history.
  - ethbr0 4y ago
    There's a difference between betting China doesn't go exploring, and betting China isn't successful at exploring. Historically, they tend to either not make the attempt or go big. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_treasure_voyages https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_treasure_voyages
yongjik 4y ago
I'm not sure about that. America similarly diverted billions of dollars to land men on the Moon. It barely made a dent in the balance of the Cold War.

edflsafoiewq 4y ago

We must not allow a Martian gap!

chii 4y ago

> How do we prevent that. why does that need to be prevented?

linuxftw 4y ago

Nobody is going to Mars. Not now, not in 100 years. Unless we invent some kind of teleportation or other sci-fi way of traveling there, it's just never going to take place. Mars has essentially no energy sources. Everything people need to survive, and return, will have to be pre-stationed there. If the Chinese all want to move to Mars, fine by me. I don't think it's a solid plan, but they're welcome to try.

BizarreByte 4y ago

>If we don't someone else will. How do we prevent that. This thought process alone shows me that we probably aren't even mature enough as a species to go to Mars. A mission like that will likely need global cooperation, effectively dooming it. If China somehow went to Mars on their own they deserve whatever benefit they were to get from and we shouldn't aim to prevent space exploration because of who does it.