Posted on 04/27/2017 2:29:39 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
American astronauts may be walking on Mars in the next eight years, or ideally the next four, if President Donald Trump has his way. But the new timetable has baffled experts in space travel.
(AUDIO-AT-LINK)
The surprise announcement — or rather instruction — took place this week during a live video conference between President Trump and veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson, who is currently aboard the International Space Station.
During the conversation, Trump asked Whitson when it would be possible to send a human to Mars. She gave a careful and detailed answer explaining that a trip to the Red Planet might be possible sometime in the 2030s.
Not good enough for the White House. "Well, we want to try and do it during my first term or, at worst, during my second term, so we'll have to speed that up a little, OK?" Trump replied. There was awkward laughter from outer space. "We'll do our best!" Whitson promised, grinning.
According to Professor Tom Pike of Imperial College London (who worked on the 2008 Mars Phoenix Lander), the NASA timetable cannot easily be shortened. "I wasn't quite sure whether [Trump] was mis-speaking. Maybe he meant the moon, [not Mars]?" Pike says. "He's got to do it on a realistic timescale, and with the budget that gives it the funding that it would require."
One of the biggest constraints is the return journey, according to Pike. Compared to the Moon, Mars has much higher gravity, and a substantial atmosphere. So a rocket for the return will probably need to be sent to Mars well in advance. That plan is still at an early stage.
That is not the only matter to be overcome. "The issue is not just sending a man or woman to Mars," Pike says. "[Currently] even the space station is out of reach. The American astroanauts now there are there courtesy of the Russians, since the end of the shuttle program. So to go from essentially zero [to Mars] — this is a stretch."
guess they are baffled because they were hired to perform mooselimb outreach, not perform extraordinary feats of science, engineering and exploration like real astronauts would do.
The only places I have visited in the last couple years that are not overrun with illegal aliens are the Poconos in Northeast PA and WV.
Why should I have to move to get away from people who should not be here?
Most of the technology you enjoy today came, directly or indirectly, from our going to the Moon. You knew that, right?
...
I wonder how that can be when our Moon program relied on Nazi rocket scientists and ICBM technology.
I’m sure that was a joke. In any case, Pres. Trump likes to think big; that’s one reason many people voted for him—his unshakable faith in American ingenuity and dedication.
Anyway, isn’t NASA’s main mission to engage in Muslim outreach? Apparently the president didn’t get the memo. ;)
I remember that - they went at night, didn’t they?
Yes and that tech was developed at less than one cent of every tax dollar. Now you have things like AGW studies and the horribly overbudget JWST. Not your fathers agency
Back then my late father was working on the frame at Southern Bell in Miami. We don’t want to go back to that technology and monopoly, do we?
Tell Mexicans there’s free stuff on Mars
And what if the martians have already stripped it before the earthlings arrive?
So how we gonna pay for this with all these illegal aliens?? what about getting them out? And how do we explain this after making the much needed tax cut? Just curious.
Elon Musk says he’ll send people to Mars in 6 years.
He always does what he says he’ll do.
Having bi-lingual signage on all spacecraft will add so much weight that the spacecraft won’t be able to get off the ground. That’s why NASA will never send people to other planets.
With the Orion we could be mining the asteroids much less going to Mars.
Maybe Trump has some inside knowledge of the ES drive.
There are rumors that both China and the US are now doing space testing.
If it is real, walking on Mars in 4 years could be doable.
There is a website and a publication called Spinoff that answers your question, as to what NASA has contributed to science and technology. If you think that today’s rockets have much in common with th rockets of Nazi Germany, you are horribly misinformed.
Semiconductor, satellites, microcomputers, software, medical sensors, shatter proof glass, silicon rubbers, microwave ovens, implantable plastics for surgery, optics, plastics, carbon fiber, ultra sonics, infra-red camera, color TVs, memory metals, anti-glare coatings, anti-corrosive additives, finite elemental analysis, auger analysis, spectral analysis to name just a microcopic number of fields.
This statement you made is so utterly and staggering misinformed, as to be almost unbelievable. NASA has a return of over $100-1,000 for every dollar invested and this continues today.
Would you be comfortable sitting on top of detonating nukes???
Yikes!
A president having knowledge not available to the common man? Odd.
Send Sheila Jackson Lee ... maybe she can go look for the flag on mars.
I think I’ll stick with my information, since I’m convinced by well reasoned and thoughtful claims.
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