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Posted on 02/01/2010 7:42:04 PM PST by KevinDavis
This certainly isn't a surprise, considering Buzz Aldrin has been advocating manned missions to destinations other than the moon for some time, but it's certainly worth hearing what the second man on the moon has to say about today's announcement about NASA's shake-up
(Excerpt) Read more at news.discovery.com ...
We’re going to have to wait until the goatherder is out of the White House though, Buzz. The dreams of his father never included doing manly things like venturing out into space.
Buzz, Obama wants to scrap manned flight for good. Not only the Constellation program but you can add in any Mars mission to the cancellation list.
MARS IS THE NEXT FRONTIER???
So the moon is already settled then?
Until we find a faster mode of transportation or a better way to stay conditioned, we aren’t going anywhere. Watch astronauts coming back to Earth after 6 months in the space station, they can’t walk. Imagine two years in space in a very confined area, probably in some light sleep a lot of the time just to pass the time. Muscle atrophy of up to 20% was noted in flights lasting only a week or two. I’d guess it looks like a one way trip. Now that might be something to consider. A colony on Mars supplied by unmanned craft until somebody like “O” decides you are too expensive and aren’t returning on the investment. Let’s see, everyone watched as Apollo 11 and no one was watching Apollo 13. Hard to imagine we’d keep our interest after a year or two of the same broadcast antics from Mars.
This is ground control to Major Tom.....
Given the cut funs for the Moon, and given Jack Squat is still POTUS, you might want to take a seat or grab a mop, Aldrin.
America isn’t going.....not unless the Astronauts speak fluent Chinese or Hindi.
I agree with Aldrin.
If you want to take part, learn Chinese, Japanese, or Hindi, or maybe all three.
USA won’t be capable of participating. Once we scatter the core engineers and scientists, we won’t get it back. Especially if we are engaged in a world-class competition.
“Mars is the next frontier for humankind, and NASA will be leading the way there if we aggressively support the President’s plans.”
There is nothing being built to take us to Mars under the Obama plan.
I have no idea how he can endorse this giant leap backwards. Constellation wasn’t perfect, but it would work.
I think he is in love with some magical exotic tech that does not exist yet, nor is it likely to for many decades.
He will be long dead before such tech exists to take us to Mars.
“The dreams of his father never included doing manly things like venturing out into space.”
But those ‘dreams’ did include a certain fondness for dusty villiages filled with ‘simple’ people who have few posssesions -— if that tells you anything.
Add Russia to that list - they are on the list as wnating to go also - and I already speak Russian (albeit a tad rusty).
“He will be long dead before such tech exists to take us to Mars.”
He will be long dead before such tech exists in America to take us to Mars.
Fixed.
After 2012, he's gone! Americans will make a comeback, and discover a great cooperation... After all, we're strivers, movers, shakers... Our best days are ahead of us.
This is inspirational: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul8ZS6CzSHM&feature=player_embedded
Think good thoughts, always. :)
>> Until we find a faster mode of transportation or a better way to stay conditioned, we aren’t going anywhere. Watch astronauts coming back to Earth after 6 months in the space station, they can’t walk. Imagine two years in space in a very confined area, probably in some light sleep a lot of the time just to pass the time. Muscle atrophy of up to 20% was noted in flights lasting only a week or two. I’d guess it looks like a one way trip. Now that might be something to consider. A colony on Mars supplied by unmanned craft until somebody like “O” decides you are too expensive and aren’t returning on the investment. Let’s see, everyone watched as Apollo 11 and no one was watching Apollo 13. Hard to imagine we’d keep our interest after a year or two of the same broadcast antics from Mars. <<
We already have the technology for short duration trips to Mars using Nuclear Rockets and i am not talking about Project Orion either, but a thermal nuclear rocket that is many time more efficient than chemical rockets and can be used to supply electrical power to the craft while in “idle” mode. Not to mention the promising tech that is VASIMIR coupled with Space Based Nuclear Reactors than can shave down the transit times to mars to a couple of mere months by providing constant thrust the way there and back. Not to mention the inflatable space hab tech from bigelow which could make a manned mission to Mars ala. Apollo 8 feasible if we really wanted to do it. I would say if you built a rotating section of the space craft that would even supply 1/4 to 1/3 G force it would prevent a lot of the Zero-G deterioration that you would encounter along the way.
The main thing stopping the use of Nuclear Rocketry in space is silly UN space treaties that make no sense.
UN out of Space.
Kevin, what do you think of Aldrin’s statement?
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