4 ms·

Report: Mars is Only Justification for Human Spaceflight Beyond Earth Orbit

6 points by cryptoz 12y ago

ianstallings 12y ago
It's a shame the report is myopically focused on the bean-counting aspect of the prospect and ignoring the obvious benefit to the human spirit, and in turn society as a whole. Just as we spend on monuments, we should spend on adventures that ring throughout history. People remember explorers and they give us hope. I know that sounds whimsical but I really believe it.
- InclinedPlane 12y ago
  Indeed. Perhaps the most significant problem with modern civilization is not anything like hunger or poverty or even war, it's pessimism. I see it all the time among the "intelligentsia", the idea that human civilization is a blight more than a wonder, that the same applies to human population even more so, and that it would be more or less best if humans could please just stop doing things and leave stuff alone, really. This reflects a hugely negative attitude about humanity as a whole and our prospect for the future. I believe we have a future full of wonder, adventure, cultural enrichment, self-discovery, and so much more ahead of us. But it won't come for free, we have to work for it, and we're much less likely to put in the work if we waste our efforts feeling defeated and sorry for ourselves.
pavelrub 12y ago
That's a very weird headline. The report doesn't question the importance of "human spaceflight beyond earth orbit". It surveys possible destinations and concludes that mars and its moons are the only places in the solar system we have any hope of reaching within the foreseeable future (does that surprise anybody?), and therefore that's what NASA should focus on. The report's main point is that a major increase in NASA's funding, as well as an increase in political support and international cooperation, is required for this to happen.
ufmace 12y ago
The capabilities they outline seem to vary widely in potential difficulty. I think 3 of them are clearly the most difficult: Mars landing tech - we've never landed any really large weights on a planet with gravity on the same order of magnitude as Earth and no atmosphere. This is gonna be tough to build and expensive to test Liftoff from Mars - What kind of craft will we need to get the crew back to Mars orbit from the surface? Will we be able to land it ready for launch, or will it have to be partially constructed and fueled on Mars? How will we build the infrastructure needed to do that? Technology for living on Mars for an extended amount of time - if people are going to be living on Mars for months or more, as seems likely, then we're going to need to build a much more substantial habitat on Mars than anything we've ever built before. How will we go about transporting and constructing that? Everything else sounds like something we've already done, just expanded a bit, like bigger rockets, nicer space suits, better radiation shielding for the interplanetary craft, etc.

6 points by cryptoz 12y ago

It's a shame the report is myopically focused on the bean-counting aspect of the prospect and ignoring the obvious benefit to the human spirit, and in turn society as a whole. Just as we spend on monuments, we should spend on adventures that ring throughout history. People remember explorers and they give us hope. I know that sounds whimsical but I really believe it.

InclinedPlane 12y ago
Indeed. Perhaps the most significant problem with modern civilization is not anything like hunger or poverty or even war, it's pessimism. I see it all the time among the "intelligentsia", the idea that human civilization is a blight more than a wonder, that the same applies to human population even more so, and that it would be more or less best if humans could please just stop doing things and leave stuff alone, really. This reflects a hugely negative attitude about humanity as a whole and our prospect for the future. I believe we have a future full of wonder, adventure, cultural enrichment, self-discovery, and so much more ahead of us. But it won't come for free, we have to work for it, and we're much less likely to put in the work if we waste our efforts feeling defeated and sorry for ourselves.

pavelrub 12y ago

That's a very weird headline. The report doesn't question the importance of "human spaceflight beyond earth orbit". It surveys possible destinations and concludes that mars and its moons are the only places in the solar system we have any hope of reaching within the foreseeable future (does that surprise anybody?), and therefore that's what NASA should focus on. The report's main point is that a major increase in NASA's funding, as well as an increase in political support and international cooperation, is required for this to happen.

ufmace 12y ago

The capabilities they outline seem to vary widely in potential difficulty. I think 3 of them are clearly the most difficult: Mars landing tech - we've never landed any really large weights on a planet with gravity on the same order of magnitude as Earth and no atmosphere. This is gonna be tough to build and expensive to test Liftoff from Mars - What kind of craft will we need to get the crew back to Mars orbit from the surface? Will we be able to land it ready for launch, or will it have to be partially constructed and fueled on Mars? How will we build the infrastructure needed to do that? Technology for living on Mars for an extended amount of time - if people are going to be living on Mars for months or more, as seems likely, then we're going to need to build a much more substantial habitat on Mars than anything we've ever built before. How will we go about transporting and constructing that? Everything else sounds like something we've already done, just expanded a bit, like bigger rockets, nicer space suits, better radiation shielding for the interplanetary craft, etc.