On Wednesday, September 17, 2014 12:47:53 PM UTC-5, Quadibloc wrote:
On Monday, September 15, 2014 4:33:39 PM UTC-6, Uncarollo2 wrote:



This is a fun fact:



"Mars is essentially in the same orbit [as Earth]....Mars is somewhat the

same distance from the sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures

where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means

there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."



- Dan Quayle, former vice president, commenting on President George H.W..

Bush's Space Exploration Initiative as quoted in This New Ocean by William E.

Burrows.



So spelling 'potato' as 'potatoe' was not the worst of his disconnects with the

real world. Thank goodness _he_ wasn't the politician who invented the

Internet; it would never work!



John Savard

To give Quayle the benefit of the doubt, he may have meant that Mars may have water. In which case it can be split into its components of oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen can be used in an artificial atmosphere which would allow an astronaut to breathe. However, pure oxygen would be extremely hazardous and would also kill the astronaut if it does not have nitrogen mixed with it.

Uncaoxygen