I never got space. I was in Vietnam when we first landed a man on the moon. I barely heard about it. And now we are supposed to go to Mars?! Why? What's there? Just sand.
When our ancestors explored the globe and found the Americas, there was something to look forward to. A new land and new opportunities. But Mars? Really? It's just sand. I can find sand anywhere.
NASA will become Barry’s official globull warming department.
The moon shots were a bid for global stature during the Cold War. They did succeed at that purpose.
If anyone has the spare dough to do a man-to-Mars shot today, it would be the Chinese. But they lack the expertise.
Mission? Hell no. You know what makes things fly? It ain’t propellant. It’s MONEY. No bucks, no Buck Rogers. Gummint space is expensive. Private space, well, while not cheap its less than the welfare program for engineers and contractors formerly known as the big aerospace firms. Here’s a couple of relevant links...
http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/
http://www.orbital.com/CargoResupplyServices/Missions/
Yes. Just sand. That’s what the who explored just the Sahara Desert said.
How's that motivational speaking career going?
Mars has the largest mountain, Olympus Mons, in the Solar System. At 82,000 feet, it is three times the height of Everest. Mars also has the deepest and largest canyon in the Solar system, Valles Marineris. Valles Marineris is 3,000 kilometers long, 600 kilometers wide, and 8 kilometers deep. For comparison, the Grand Canyon is 800 kilometers long, 30 k wide, and 1.8 K deep.
But then, why go? Perhaps, just because it is there and humans desire to explore. There is a whole universe waiting to be seen and explored. It's God's creation, and it's worth a look.