[KevinDavis]

I would go to Mars one way..

[KevinDavis]

For other space news go to: http://www.spacetoday.net

[GeronL]

Me too.

[reagan_fanatic]

I’d pay for Obama to be flown to Mars, one way.

[Riley]

Thanks. Now I need to hear Sinatra doing ‘Fly me to the moon’, as arranged in ‘Space Cowboys’.

[Viking2002]

'No compatible plan', my ass. Politics, lack of will, and overblown budget projections are what's kept us in low orbit for 40 years. It's going to take the private sector to innovate us beyond a Lagrange point, and then the feddle gummint parasites will strip the tech out of our hands for the 'common good'.

***I am on vacation the week of 9/14, and will have limited access to my graphics, my avatar, and my pre-planned smartass comments. I will be returning to my computer the week of 9/21, and will resume offending you then, as time permits - thanks to all in advance.***

[element92]

how about a robotic sample-return mission.

send along two jars with human eggs and sperm.

‘grow them out’, when the jars return to earth.

zero risk
big weight savings

[buccaneer81]

Why not? Any venture to Alpha Centauri or beyond would be, by necessity, one way. We could have plenty of supplies and hardware sent ahead to Mars to be in place for the settlers.

[SunkenCiv]

...a committee chaired by the aerospace engineer Norman Augustine concluded that "no plan compatible with the ... 2010 budget profile permits human exploration to continue in any meaningful way".

I'm encouraged that NASA has resumed Von Braun's practice of naming their projects in illogical ways -- Von Braun called the first orbital program "Mercury" (had nothing to do with that planet), called the next orbital / rendezvous / space walking / docking program "Gemini" (suggestive I guess of the two astronauts found in each flight), then the lunar program was called "Apollo" (had nothing to do with the Sun), and used the Saturn V booster (had nothing to do with that planet)... now we've got the Ares booster family (has nothing to do with the planet Mars, which is the same as Ares in ancient mythology). :')

[Vaquero]

Build Dysons, Orion...see the solar system in style....

[colorado tanker]

At lease you could be reasonably sure you wouldn't have to put up with The Messiah or Specter coming to give speeches.