...If You Were Given a Ticket to Mars, Would you Go? ...Not me!

There's still more to discover on Earth, then there ever
will be on Mars, or any other planet for that matter.

All the reasons to go I can think of, aesthetics, discovery
to find riches or truth, fail to convince me it's worth it.

Some of those reasons are for vanity. Some are a pipe-dream.
The only rational reasons are, at heart, selfish.

It's not worth the risk, time or effort.


Jonathan

s

Dear jonathan:

"jonathan" wrote in message
...
....
It's not worth the risk, time or effort.

It is not worth the risk, time, or effort to stay. If mankind is
worth saving, it won't be staying on one rock that will do it.
We need a frontier, and we need to be out from under the
flyswatter when it comes down. Besides, all work is for the
benefit of mankind, and what better way than lifting one another
to the stars? Simply feeding the teeming masses only tends to
make the masses larger...

I just wish astronauts could be a little taller... my kids might
not get the opportunity to go.

David A. Smith

jonathan wrote:
There's still more to discover on Earth, then there ever
will be on Mars, or any other planet for that matter.

All the reasons to go I can think of, aesthetics, discovery
to find riches or truth, fail to convince me it's worth it.

Some of those reasons are for vanity. Some are a pipe-dream.
The only rational reasons are, at heart, selfish.

It's not worth the risk, time or effort.


Jonathan


You could argue successfully that we need to go to Mars because we are
natural explorers to see what's there, to learn how our Solar System
was created or we could go to find out if life ever existed there at
some time in the past, that alone could answer the question if we are
alone in the Universe or not. Or we could go as a stepping stone to
mine the Asteroids, these are just a few reasons to send humans to
Mars, there are many more reasons to go and perhaps we should go for
all of them ... but the underlining reason to send humans to Mars is
for the sake of our own survival. We have to go because we cannot
survive here forever. Perhaps we won't perish in our generation or
the next but the time is fast approaching when this planet will just
not be able to support all of us.

Stephen Hawking once wrote:
"To ensure the survival of humans, efforts must be made to colonize
other planets."
"... unless the human race spreads into space, I doubt it will survive
the next thousand years."

Hawking actually only gives us about 600 years but it will take many
years to learn how to do the things necessary to get to Mars and
survive there and hundreds of years to terraform Mars into a much more
Earth like planet. Because of this we have got to start soon.

I believe that we belong on the Moon and Mars. I don't think that
the Moon or any other celestial body is "forbidden terrain" for
mankind, they are just the next places for us to go. I believe that we
must move out and colonize, first our solar system and then the stars.
It's widely accepted now that we are not alone in the universe, us
moving out into space may well be just another matter of the
"survival of the fittest", just like what has been happening on
this planet, among the animal species, for thousands of years. This is
no different except this is for the survival of our species, in the
Universe.
The question is: Do we have what it takes to survive?

Does anyone really believe that we can stay on this planet forever
without ever moving out into space?

Are we to just stay here on this planet and perish as we overpopulate
and over pollute ourselves when we can clearly move out to other
worlds? The Apollo program proved that we could travel to distant
worlds and survive.

Walter Cunningham of the Apollo 7 mission writes:
If we consciously decide not to go to Mars, our generation will truly
achieve a first in human history. We will be the first to stop at a
frontier, to draw a line and say to our children, "This far, and no
farther."

Colonizing Mars is the only way for the human civilization to be truly
guaranteed of not perishing in some single horrific event of one type
or another, it's the only way to guarantee our immortality. With the
terrorist events of the last few years can we really feel safe that we
won't annihilate ourselves? It seems to me that we're trying to.
For the first time, we truly hold our survival in our own hands.
Again, the question is: Do we have what it takes to survive?

Mars is just the first step in our becoming a permanent space faring
civilization, It's out there for us, waiting ...

Henceforth I spread confident wings to space
I fear no Barrier of crystal or of glass;
I cleave the heavens and soar to the infinite.
And while I rise from my own globe to others
And penetrate even further through the eternal field,
That which others saw from afar, I leave far behind me.
------------- Giordano Bruno
"On the Infinite Universe and Worlds" 1584

"jonathan" wrote in message
...

It's not worth the risk, time or effort.

your opinion, and thats fine.

but it aint my opinion. and my opinion matches enough of others opinions
that the government believes that funds should be directed into the research
of the technology of doing so.

note: NASA is not in the trasportation biz, as most people think. research.

and this fine country allows us to have differing opinions on the subject,
in fact it promotes the ability to have such opinions.

so please, accepth that my opinion doesnt match yours, and let me get back
to building my rocket ship.

wrote in message
oups.com...

jonathan wrote:
There's still more to discover on Earth, then there ever
will be on Mars, or any other planet for that matter.

All the reasons to go I can think of, aesthetics, discovery
to find riches or truth, fail to convince me it's worth it.

Some of those reasons are for vanity. Some are a pipe-dream.
The only rational reasons are, at heart, selfish.

It's not worth the risk, time or effort.


Jonathan


You could argue successfully that we need to go to Mars because we are
natural explorers to see what's there, to learn how our Solar System
was created or we could go to find out if life ever existed there at
some time in the past, that alone could answer the question if we are
alone in the Universe or not. Or we could go as a stepping stone to
mine the Asteroids, these are just a few reasons to send humans to
Mars, there are many more reasons to go and perhaps we should go for
all of them ... but the underlining reason to send humans to Mars is
for the sake of our own survival. We have to go because we cannot
survive here forever. Perhaps we won't perish in our generation or
the next but the time is fast approaching when this planet will just
not be able to support all of us.



I wasn't really asking if humanity should go. But would ...you...go?

Would you spend years busting your tail, redo your entire life, for that
precious seat? And why?









Stephen Hawking once wrote:
"To ensure the survival of humans, efforts must be made to colonize
other planets."
"... unless the human race spreads into space, I doubt it will survive
the next thousand years."

Hawking actually only gives us about 600 years but it will take many
years to learn how to do the things necessary to get to Mars and
survive there and hundreds of years to terraform Mars into a much more
Earth like planet. Because of this we have got to start soon.

I believe that we belong on the Moon and Mars. I don't think that
the Moon or any other celestial body is "forbidden terrain" for
mankind, they are just the next places for us to go. I believe that we
must move out and colonize, first our solar system and then the stars.
It's widely accepted now that we are not alone in the universe, us
moving out into space may well be just another matter of the
"survival of the fittest", just like what has been happening on
this planet, among the animal species, for thousands of years. This is
no different except this is for the survival of our species, in the
Universe.
The question is: Do we have what it takes to survive?

Does anyone really believe that we can stay on this planet forever
without ever moving out into space?

Are we to just stay here on this planet and perish as we overpopulate
and over pollute ourselves when we can clearly move out to other
worlds? The Apollo program proved that we could travel to distant
worlds and survive.

Walter Cunningham of the Apollo 7 mission writes:
If we consciously decide not to go to Mars, our generation will truly
achieve a first in human history. We will be the first to stop at a
frontier, to draw a line and say to our children, "This far, and no
farther."

Colonizing Mars is the only way for the human civilization to be truly
guaranteed of not perishing in some single horrific event of one type
or another, it's the only way to guarantee our immortality. With the
terrorist events of the last few years can we really feel safe that we
won't annihilate ourselves? It seems to me that we're trying to.
For the first time, we truly hold our survival in our own hands.
Again, the question is: Do we have what it takes to survive?

Mars is just the first step in our becoming a permanent space faring
civilization, It's out there for us, waiting ...

Henceforth I spread confident wings to space
I fear no Barrier of crystal or of glass;
I cleave the heavens and soar to the infinite.
And while I rise from my own globe to others
And penetrate even further through the eternal field,
That which others saw from afar, I leave far behind me.
------------- Giordano Bruno
"On the Infinite Universe and Worlds" 1584

Tater Tot wrote:

"jonathan" wrote in message

It's not worth the risk, time or effort.

Or money, considering we don't have enough rocket engines to go around.

your opinion, and thats fine.

but it aint my opinion.

You need to work on the ignorant northwoods redneck lingo :

"It taint my pinion neither" seems more appropriate.

and my opinion matches enough of others opinions
that the government believes that funds should be directed into the research
of the technology of doing so.

note: NASA is not in the trasportation biz, as most people think. research.

Actually, they appear to be in the 'administration' business.

and this fine country allows us to have differing opinions on the subject,
in fact it promotes the ability to have such opinions.

As long as that opinion can be closely monitored without legal warrants,
apparently.

so please, accepth that my opinion doesnt match yours, and let me get back
to building my rocket ship.

I don't recall him asking you to quit working on your rocket ship
in order to comment on his comment on the usenet.
That appears to have been your 'choice'.

However, as soon as you've got something to show us,
we'd all love to see it, provided it's not classified.

The National Security Agency already knows
all about it, of course, as does NASA.

It's that silly TCP/IP thing.

http://cosmic.lifeform.org

Sure I'd go ... Why ?? Because I would be helping to save humanity ...
how could I say no ??

"jonathan" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
oups.com...

jonathan wrote:
There's still more to discover on Earth, then there ever
will be on Mars, or any other planet for that matter.

You could argue successfully that we need to go to Mars because we are
natural explorers to see what's there, to learn how our Solar System

I wasn't really asking if humanity should go. But would ...you...go?

Would you spend years busting your tail, redo your entire life, for that
precious seat? And why?

umm, I am not busting my tail, nor redo-ing my entire life.

but ont the other hand, I plan on piloting the ride, not just being a
passenger.

aside from the nutball aspect of it, yeah, I am building my own ride to
space. been looking at plans, building a nd flying scale prototypes. real
rocket science.

but i know tht i'm not "normal" in that aspect, so changing of my life style
aint an issue.

it's not a matter of would I, but a matter of when will I.

jonathan wrote:

I wasn't really asking if humanity should go. But would ...you...go?

Haven't you heard? Tater's got a million dollar solid fueled solution
to the problem of Mars space flight. Unfortunately, it's classified.
National Security, that Iran thing, and all that nonsense.

If only Iran would see the cryogenic ultraviolet light!

http://cosmic.lifeform.org

" wrote:

Sure I'd go ... Why ?? Because I would be helping to save humanity ...
how could I say no ??

Unfortunately, NASA can't see Mars, because apparently the moon is in the
way.

It makes a whole lot more sense to go directly to Phobos and Deimos.

http://cosmic.lifeform.org