Christopher wrote:

Thanks for that-and the other posters-looks like it'll be 2050 at
least before we go, and I'll probably be dead by then.

Why 2050? One of the reasons, the manned missions to Mars have taken so
long to materialize, is that evolution in space travel has largely been
seen as "automatic". In the sixties, we thought we'd probably have lunar
bases around 1980 and manned Mars missions around 1995. Why did we think
that? In 1985, we thought we'd have manned missions to Mars by 2000.
What did we base that on? Now you say 2050, but based on what?

Nothing happens by itself. Nothing just comes into being. Someone has to
say "let's do it!" and then do it.

(This isn't meant as an advertisement, but seriously: support the Mars
Society. As I view it, it's our best chance to show the politicians that
we think something ought to be done.)

--
Steen Eiler Jørgensen
"No, I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande.
Those wounds run...pretty deep."