Russia, US can collaborate in Mars exploration: Putin

AP ^ | 1.27.04 | AFP

[zarf]

Did you say something or was that a fart?

[FreedomCalls]

Give the entire planet to the first person to live on mars for a year (privately) and return to earth alive to collect.

Who's going to "give" it? Does it belong to anybody now? It would seem your statement is already true. The first person there can claim it and who will dispute them? All they have to say if someone disputes their ownership is: "Well then come and get it."

[CasearianDaoist]

Except New Jersey. I won't go if it includes New Jersey. Will not go I tell you.

[FreedomCalls]

They [the Russians] have a better safety record than we do, thats a fact!!

It is?

Number of U.S. astronauts killed in, going to, or coming from space = 14
Number of Russian cosmonauts killed in, going to, or coming from space = 4

[RightWhale]

make spaceships that can (Safely) travel much faster than the speed of light.

Nine minutes to Mars is just too darned much time to waste.

[NeonKnight]

Yup, the private sector could definatel help. I wouldn't have a problem with a McOrbiter. Thats where you go before transfering down to the Wrigleys bubble dome and entering the Phillip Morris decontamination chambers...which btw, is the only place under the dome that smoking is allowed.

[RightWhale]

OTOH, spaceport security delay would cancel out the advantages of instantaneous travel.

[Prime Choice]

I'd rather disband NASA and use the money for Tax Cuts.

So you'd like to effectively kill the bulk of R&D in aerospace and throw the economy into a rapid tailspin with the immediate loss of highly-skilled workers in the science and aerospace industry. Nice move.

You think the private sector is going to fund R&D? Guess again. The private sector can't see beyond the next two quarters. NASA, on the other hand, plans at least a decade in advance.

And while we're on the subject, perhaps you should spend a little time learning about how NASA Spinoffs benefit business and consumer alike.

Space travel won't really be profitable until somenone figures out how to make spaceships that can (Safely) travel much faster than the speed of light.

What you're talking about is space travel via teleportation using coherent light as the means of transmission. We can't do that...yet. But that doesn't mean we should just sit on our thumb waiting for the canonical Holy Grail.

As for going faster than the speed of light, there's chatter about such things, but it's still in the realm of fanciful theory. And even if we did manage it, the whole issue of relativity that sci-fi shows conveniently ignore would become manifest in short order.

[anobjectivist]

The private sector can't see beyond the next two quarters.
Right, and when the fate of your project is set upon the whim of politicians and not the success of your idea, good ideas aren't ignored. /sarcasm

[Prime Choice]

Number of U.S. astronauts killed in, going to, or coming from space = 14
Number of Russian cosmonauts killed in, going to, or coming from space = 4

Number of U.S. manned missions utilizing a reusable space vehicle (STS): 113.
Number of Russian manned missions utilizing a reusable space vehicle (Buran): 0.

If you mean to make comparisons, then it should be between comparable vehicles. A more accurate representation would consider Apollo capsules versus their Russian counterparts. In which case -- even if one includes the non-flight test which claimed the lives of Grissom, White and Chaffee -- the casualties are still lower on the American side of the equation.

[Prime Choice]

Right, and when the fate of your project is set upon the whim of politicians and not the success of your idea, good ideas aren't ignored. /sarcasm

Which explains why we currently don't have two successful rovers on Mars at this very moment.

Oops. We do. Fancy that.

[Husker24]

With Russia's safety record, Major Tom will have some company

I hate to say this, but im willing to bet that we've lost more austronauts than the Russians, 14 since 86.

[Chris Tucker]

LOL! I loved that movie!!

[FreedomCalls]

Why do you want to be selective to your comparisons to make the U.S. safety record better? How about these statistics? Not a single American on the list.

Top Ten Astronauts by total space flight time:

• Avdeyev - 747.6 days - 3 flights
• Polyakov - 678.7 days - 2 flights
• Solovyov - 651.0 days - 5 flights
• Krikalyov - 624.4 days - 5 flights
• Afanasyev - 555.8 days - 4 flights
• Usachyov - 552.9 days - 4 flights
• Manarov - 541.0 days - 2 flights
• Viktorenko - 489.1 days - 4 flights
• Budarin - 444.1 days - 3 flights
• Kaleri - 437.4 days - 4 flights

Top Ten Single Flight Durations:

• Polyakov - Mir LD-4 - 437.7 days
• Avdeyev - Mir EO-26/-27 - 379.6 days
• Manarov - Mir EO-3 - 365.9 days
• Titov Vladimir - Mir EO-3 - 365.9 days
• Romanenko - Mir LD-1 - 326.5 days
• Krikalyov - Mir LD-3 - 311.8 days
• Polyakov - Mir LD-2 - 240.9 days
• Kizim - Salyut 7 EO-3 - 237.0 days
• Solovyov Vladimir - Salyut 7 EO-3 - 237.0 days
• Atkov - Salyut 7 EO-3 - 237.0 days

[Phil V.]

If you'd like to be on or off this MARS ping list please FRail me

[Prime Choice]

Why do you want to be selective to your comparisons to make the U.S. safety record better? How about these statistics? Not a single American on the list.

Once again, you're comparing apples and oranges.

If you're so impressed with the Russian space program, perhaps you can regale us with tales of their manned lunar landings, Phobos missions to Mars and the stellar flight record of the Buran.

As for the number of flights, NASA has a standing policy of rotating crews and retiring them to train other astronauts. That means our pool of qualified talent is larger than that of Russia. Hence our lack of repeat missions by our personnel is by no means some kind of badge of shame.

Moreover, the Mir project (by which your much-vaunted human-in-space records were accomplished) was little more than an endurance record issue. Not exactly what I call an astounding space-faring achievement.

[Frank_Discussion]

Not if you include the Nedelin disaster - Kinda puts the poor guys way ahead...

[FreedomCalls]

If you mean to make comparisons, then it should be between comparable vehicles. A more accurate representation would consider Apollo capsules versus their Russian counterparts.

Let's look*:

Comparable vehicles:

Apollo missions: 16
Total dead: 3
18% of the missions killed their crew.

Soyuz T/TM/TMA missions: 89
Total dead: 3
3% of the missions killed their crew.

Am I being too specific? OK let's compare all capsules:

Mercury/Gemini/Apollo missions: 32
Total dead: 3
9% of the missions killed their crew.

Vostok/Voskhod/Soyuz missions: 101
Total dead: 4
4% of the missions killed their crew.

*All numbers are approximate -- I couldn't find the exact totals.

[FreedomCalls]

Not if you include the Nedelin disaster

Was anybody at the Nedelin disaster in, going to, or coming from space at the time?

[roadcat]

Mr Putin said that Russia "has noted with interest President Bush's ambitious plans for the conquest of Mars," the Interfax news agency reported.

Conquest of Mars? Wait till the ACLU hears about this! Where are we going to imprison the Martians? Isn't Guantanamo getting rather full? Or are we building prisons on the Moon? Let's conquer the mexicans first! ;)