"John Doe" wrote in message ...
Z 1 Y 0 N 3 X wrote:

(IMHO) The ISS is a huge waste of time. Yeah, it's the first of it's
kind and it was cool for a while, but if you think about it, what the
hell are we going to do with it? Super, we have a lab in zero-g. We
would be much better off going to Mars right now.

ISS is far more useful to go to mars than CEV. Consider all the
technologies and designs that have been developped for the ISS and
which can be used for the mars expedition ship (which would be
tantamount to an ISS with big engines, and a lander ship attached to it
as well as MPLMs for stowage of consumables. (as well as shielding for
the whole complex).


Snipped for brevity.

Ok, it's simple. Any attempt to put men/women on Mars is lunacy and
suicidal. Do the research, read the material do your own thinking. The cost
alone will run into the tens of billions of dollars--the numbers are mind
numbing. The chances of the crew actually reaching Mars are slim; returning
to earth is even worse. Hell, outerspace is a dangerous place. Humans to
Mars is a wrongheaded drunken pipe-dream a fantasy that can't happen, at
least not in this century. Explore the cosmos yes, but with robots and a
mature sane plan that is sustainable. Just my two cents.