Posted on 12/26/2018 11:34:23 AM PST by jazusamo
Sending astronauts to Mars would be stupid, says ApolOne of the first astronauts to orbit the Moon said on Wednesday that it's "stupid" to plan human missions to Mars.
Bill Anders, who was the lunar module pilot for NASA's Apollo 8 mission, told BBC Radio 5 Live that sending crews to the Red Planet would be "almost ridiculous."
The U.S. space agency's goals include sending humans to Mars for exploration and scientific study.
"What's the imperative? What's pushing us to go to Mars?" Anders, 85, said, adding: "I don't think the public is that interested."
Still, the retired astronaut did explain that he's a big supporter of NASA's unmanned programs to Mars — "mainly because they're much cheaper."
NASA's InSight Mars Lander, which reached the Red Planet in late November, has been listening for "marsquakes," has 'heard' Martian winds and has beamed back a range of awesome images.
In a statement, NASA told the BBC that it was "leading a sustainable return to the Moon, which will help prepare us to send astronauts to Mars."
"That also includes commercial and international partners to expand human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities," the statement said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I agree with him! Unless the planet can be proven habitable with unmanned flights why send anyone there? It’s a money sink hole otherwise
Explore Mars and all of a sudden it will be Sutters Mill 1848!
Having spent 45 years in aerospace (manned and unmanned), I’ve said for 20 years that we’ll need more Martian voters before we ever get funding approved for manned travel to Mars.
How would you get enough water on Mars?
You could find veins of platinum lying a foot deep, and it would still not be economically feasible to bring it back.
Save all that money and instead spend it trying to achieve light speed. We’re never going anywhere worth going until we can.
Stupid, but cool.
At best Mars will end up being a scientist outpost similar to those in Antarctica today. Hardly a model for a new world colony. Where are the cities, cultural centers and transportation in Antarctica?
At worst, death and money lost.
On the other hand Musk’s revolution in space acces is useful for Earth to Earth transport, and defense against comets/ asteroids.
Had he talked to Buzz Aldrin? I thought the Mars Cycler idea he came up with would be an economical vehicle for getting astronauts to Mars and back.
Has some value as a watering hole of course.
Be a long while before it’s needed.
It’s good Bill Anders wasn’t in charge in Bill Anders’ day or no one would know who Bill Anders is.
We can alternatively stay home, let China and India colonize the moon and Mars, leaving us a illegal immigrant cesspool.
I’ve wondered what the big interest to do it is. There are dozens of very high obstacles that must be overcome before we can even consider interplanetary travel.
And on the movie “The Martian”, I wondered how many billions of dollars the government spent on saving one man while millions are homeless and sick and hungry.
PUSH this idea, don't denigrate it. Ship the Stupids to Mars, or tell them it's a tropical vacation on Venus. Then dream up some reason that radio com suddenly stops...
Talk about a win-win. What is better than sending technical retards with no survival skills, and the bland assumption they are "intelligent", to either a sub-zero near-vacuum, or a sulfuric acid atmosphere the temperature of molten lead?
Can’t agree more
Instead of going to Mars, we should be setting up an orbital assembly station to build both manned and unmanned space vehicles for long range explorations.
In particular we should be assembling space vehicles that will undergo high speed runs in order to perfect space drives which actually can be experimental craft at first with the drives assembled , tested and tuned in zero gravity conditions.
Then if we go to a planet such as Mars, the process of travel would not be so cumbersome.
We need a working space drive, and these likely cannot be invented or tested on the earth itself, there is just to much gravity and intervening factors which slow or prevent the transitions from theory to invention.
That’s why the nascent US Space Force makes sense.
Dude, don’t spoil the fun. I’ve already got a list of people I’d like to send . . . on a one-way trip.
Yes and no. First off we should send nuclear powered tunneling robots to create underground habitats. They can work for years, augmented at stages with other, specialized robots, before humans go there for the first time.
Imagine how the value of the mission changes if people can live there for an entire year?
as far as I am concerned, it is necessary to send people to Mars in order to settle the place
we can’t rely on just one planet anymore
especially with all the Muslim terrorists and commies destroying or trying to destroy this planet
mankind needs additional options, and Mars (and the moon) are the obvious candidates for us
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