Curiosity

[DarkstaR]

Less than 24 hours before the Curiosity attempts to land on mars. Unlike all previous rovers, which were the size of small children's play cars, it is larger than most SUV's. Looking dead in the eye at the sub-30% success rate of mars craft landings and the enormously more challenging decent process, it's gonna be one hell of a night. Due to data latency from Mars - even with data traveling at the speed of light - it will take 14 minutes before we know how it ends up (with a its decent period, this means that the Curiosity has been either a success or failure for 7 minutes before we even see it touching Mars' atmosphere). For those of you who are having trouble comprehending this, NASA - or, better yet, the fully autonomous systems developed by NASA - have to slow a SUV sized vehicle, falling from the sky, from an excess of 30,000 miles PER HOUR down to a speed zero in 7 minutes (That's a deceleration of 4285 miles per hour per minute). This is the pinnacle of modern science. Scientific research, software engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace, mechanics, astrophysics, nuclear physics, biology, artificial intelligence, and more all applied to solving a problem. I'm confident it will land and I'm excited to watch it (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/).

Now for some discussion - what are your thoughts on this issue? The issue of space exploration as a whole, even? I personally attribute further longevity of our species to a future-tense universal expansion in the sense that we are rapidly overpopulating the Earth. We will either expand outwards and populate elsewhere or ultimately collapse all of our resources on ourselves and burn out. We have 900 million people starving (That's nearly 3 times the worlds population in the year 1350 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population#cite_note-5)), a population of 7 billion (that's DOUBLE what we had in 1967 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population_milestones)), and a planet unfit for the sustainability of it all. Cultivating Mars to be a livable planet would take 100 years using current science (Actually, using the same greenhouse effect that is harming our human-friendly atmosphere, even (http://nova.stanford.edu/projects/mod-x/id-green.html)) and turning it into a green self-sustaining planet like Earth would take a few hundred more - and it might nullify the effects we will see of outgrowing our little blue dot. While, with current knowledge and technology, Mars is the only planet in earshot which we are able to even perceive doing this to, it will pioneer our existence as an interstellar society. Interplanetary exploration is the new frontier.

[Ungoliant]

The amount of time needed to see any relative advancement in technology needed for humans to travel and live there just seems so far off that it seems pointless for our generation to really get involved.

The real issue, governments do not see this as a priority as they should.. They need to being back the vigor of the applo programs and apply it to space exploration.

By the time were nearing retirement we may have found a Sutible planet, we may or may not have started to colonize mars... Regardless, us normal people will just be here on earth still looking up at the sky. :/

[DarkstaR]

The amount of time needed to see any relative advancement in technology needed for humans to travel and live there just seems so far off that it seems pointless for our generation to really get involved.

With this attitude we will never start and it will never happen. On the other hand, if we did begin this process, the people involved would be heroes for years to come.


The real issue, governments do not see this as a priority as they should.. They need to being back the vigor of the applo programs and apply it to space exploration.

There was a huge documentary on this.. Starting back in the 80's till now, a team with a plan called Mars Direct trying to get NASA to do it. Failed multiple times. I wish I could find that link.


By the time were nearing retirement we may have found a Sutible planet, we may or may not have started to colonize mars... Regardless, us normal people will just be here on earth still looking up at the sky. :/

The problem is Mars must come before any suitable planet. We've found suitable planets before but they're hundreds of lightyears away and it will be thousands of years to even get to them (not to mention if we can get to a planet 15 lightminutes away, how do we expect to go 100 light years?). Mars is something close. Also, there is a mission starting in 2023 sending people to mars, permanently, to start the colonization process. It's being supported by hundreds of independent companies delving where governments will not - I've seriously considered signing up (anyone can!).

[2202267]

With this attitude we will never start and it will never happen. On the other hand, if we did begin this process, the people involved would be heroes for years to come.



There was a huge documentary on this.. Starting back in the 80's till now, a team with a plan called Mars Direct trying to get NASA to do it. Failed multiple times. I wish I could find that link.



The problem is Mars must come before any suitable planet. We've found suitable planets before but they're hundreds of lightyears away and it will be thousands of years to even get to them (not to mention if we can get to a planet 15 lightminutes away, how do we expect to go 100 light years?). Mars is something close. Also, there is a mission starting in 2023 sending people to mars, permanently, to start the colonization process. It's being supported by hundreds of independent companies delving where governments will not - I've seriously considered signing up (anyone can!).

I think all this effort is in vain, most likely humanity will errase it self from the face of earth long befor we find a suitable planet thats somewhat "close".

Considerating signing up for a one way ticket to Mars... u crazy??

The overpopulation will not keep on growning as u might think since ppl in well developed countries makes 1,8 babys per person. if we put half of the recourses that goes in to space science and deliver it to africa we might get a better tellus fir long term useage :)

[Ungoliant]

I think your the ones who's crazy, the ability to leave this planet is my life goal. ;)

People think way to small, give it that week minds or power hungry individuals are what form our government.. We need to do more. We ow it to our species.

I would love to get some links from you dark, anything invoking space exploitation.. Or even bright minds talking about it makes me hard. Haha.

[2202267]

I think your the ones who's crazy, the ability to leave this planet is my life goal. ;)

People think way to small, give it that week minds or power hungry individuals are what form our government.. We need to do more. We ow it to our species.

I would love to get some links from you dark, anything invoking space exploitation.. Or even bright minds talking about it makes me hard. Haha.

Then i suggest that u start developing some sort of brain transplation surgery method since "normal" ppl won't leave earth in a long time.
if u wan't to join the mars project u may wan't to do some intence college studies, i doubt that the'll send upp anyone even though anyone can apply.

Don't missunderstand me i'm curious and even facinated of the space like alot others... i'm just a bit sceptic or maybe rationall in my thinking.

[Ungoliant]

Don't assume I'm normal.

I'm not completely serious about traveling in space... But there's nothing Wrong with setting your goals high.

[DarkstaR]

Then i suggest that u start developing some sort of brain transplation surgery method since "normal" ppl won't leave earth in a long time.

SpaceX offer private space flights for normal people who have the money to pay. The Mars missions let anyone sign up, granted they are intelligent enough to be useful to the effort. The USA is contemplating a moonbase, at least in some political circles. This puts citizens, scientists, military and other "normal" people in space. Oh, did I mention some of the richest people in the world (founder of SpaceX, Google CEO's, B-Gates) are going asteroid mining sometime in the near future? Wake up and smell the coffee, bro. Space is happening.

Also, as previously stated, Mars can be made habitable. Its average temperature is 32F keeping ice frozen instead of liquid. 100 years of endued global warming will heat it up to 50F on average, melting the ice and refilling it's rivers and oceans. The warmer atmosphere will also thicken the air and pressurize the environment, making it possible to leave spacecraft suitless with old oxygen tanks. This is where the couple hundred year process of cultivating greenlife comes in, as plants would take the air - a majority CO2 - and start producing oxygen from it, as they do here on earth. After a few hundred years of intense gardening, we would be able to breath on Mars.

[Ungoliant]

I guess thats the downside .. like you said "A few hundred years". Its hard to look at it as anything else but a fantasy.

[DarkstaR]

Landing confirmed. Congrats goes out to NASA and all of those involved in the project.

[Dizix]

This is a major breakthrough, the whole idea of space has always been exciting to me. The fact that we are so tiny in the big picture makes you wonder what's beyond our galaxy. It's just too bad I won't live to see how far they will go in making Mars a new home for humans. Science have evolved rapidly and it's far from impossible to make that happen.

[2202267]

SpaceX offer private space flights for normal people who have the money to pay. The Mars missions let anyone sign up, granted they are intelligent enough to be useful to the effort. The USA is contemplating a moonbase, at least in some political circles. This puts citizens, scientists, military and other "normal" people in space. Oh, did I mention some of the richest people in the world (founder of SpaceX, Google CEO's, B-Gates) are going asteroid mining sometime in the near future? Wake up and smell the coffee, bro. Space is happening.

Also, as previously stated, Mars can be made habitable. Its average temperature is 32F keeping ice frozen instead of liquid. 100 years of endued global warming will heat it up to 50F on average, melting the ice and refilling it's rivers and oceans. The warmer atmosphere will also thicken the air and pressurize the environment, making it possible to leave spacecraft suitless with old oxygen tanks. This is where the couple hundred year process of cultivating greenlife comes in, as plants would take the air - a majority CO2 - and start producing oxygen from it, as they do here on earth. After a few hundred years of intense gardening, we would be able to breath on Mars.

When i wrote that normal ppl won't leave earth i was was speaking in more permanent terms. and i don't consider insanely rich ppl to be normal.

I'm very excited about this space exploration aswell and i think that my id, ego and super ego are having a subconsios battle on wheather(?) my intresstid in space is ethical accepted when there are so many flaws on earth, maybe those flaws justify the research even more?

[Hendy]

Just shows we can and will eventually accomplish more extensive space exploration, granted this is actually just a small step in the overall picture of cultivating other planets and space exploration, but it is still a big accomplishment and its a start.

[viser14]

In light of this thread, i think a fitting quote mark's this milestone for all generations up until this point in time.

"We were born too soon"

[2202267]

In light of this thread, i think a fitting quote mark's this milestone for all generations up until this point in time.

"We were born too soon"

Or too late.. imagen experiance the first monnlanding or the discovery of the dark side of the moon...... or the invetion of the wheel :p