Company Vows Mars Colony by 2023, Funded by Reality Show

NBCUniversal Chanel 4 New York ^ | Monday, Jun 4, 2012 | By DANIEL MACHT

[garjog]

A Dutch firm wants to build a colony on Mars and fund it with an international reality TV show.

Historically the Dutch financed exploration of the new world established business colonies in New York and Australia.

Sounds like a good idea.

[TomasUSMC]

Can you be president of Kenya if your born on Mars?

[Fungi]

Let them try it—on their own dime— rather trillions, quadrillions—never mind, it will never happen. What purpose will it serve? I can think of one—to keep the US paying for nonsense. I am all for it but no public funding.

[Hardraade]

Yes. They should have all the reality shows on Mars. With no air supply.

[Renderofveils]

If you are saying that trans-Atlantic sea travel had been perfected by Columbus’s time I would question that. These ventures were quite risky.

Perfected, no. Tried before by other seamen? Yes. 980(-ish), Eric the Red landed in Greenland. Almost 500 years before Columbus, Ericson set foot in Canada. Sailors regularly hit the Azores in the 1300s coming back from the Canary Islands. All of these required technology and skills honed over years. 60 years of experience is all well and good, but can you name the last time a human being went outside of Low Earth Orbit? Let me help you out. It returned to Earth December 14, 1972.

So in those 40 years we've figured out how to battle the problems with prolonged microgravity? Sure, in Low Earth Orbit. Outer space is a completely different ballgame. It takes about 214 days to reach Mars from Earth. You do realize that everyone on that mission would be tied for 10th place on the most time spent in space by the time they get there? (That's counting LEO flights.) Don't get me wrong, I think putting a colony on Mars is a great idea, eventually. Put a successful colony on the moon first, and Mars becomes a realistic goal. Right now, it's a deathtrap.

[Mike Darancette]

Back in the day the sold subscriptions for trade and exploration ventures. Some folks got very rich.

[Axenolith]

Great story line, funding cut, show cancelled, to the earthbound the story is “It was really just a VR show, an ad lib... With executives expecting the cast to quietly perish on Mars. Then, 75 years later, the Phoebos class Martian dreadnought appears in orbit, filled with pissed off reality show ancestors...

[ETL]

Sheila Jackson Lee
Member of the U.S. House
of Representatives
from Texas's 18th district [DEMOCRAT]

On a visit to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2005, Jackson Lee made embarrassing news by asking if the Mars Pathfinder had taken an image of the flag planted there in 1969 by Neil Armstrong.[2]

Prior to the 110th Congress, Jackson Lee served on the House Science Committee and on the Subcommittee that oversees space policy and NASA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_Jackson_Lee#Political_career

[ETL]

[wastedyears]

I’m surprised she didn’t say Lance Armstrong.

[ETL]

I doubt she’s even heard of him. Folks like Sheila Jackass Lee live in a tiny (simple) little bubble.

[brityank]

The future starts here PING!

Interesting idea - maybe my kids will see it.

[GraceG]

[ Not too awful far from the plot of the Anime “Starship Operators”. Reality show funding space endeavors. ]

That was an awesome storyline in that series and also had some interesting “big government gone amuck” type shadow storyline in it.

[GraceG]

[ Top Gear goes to mars.

“As is customary on Top Gear, we left our fallen comrade to fend for himself.” ]

Nice!

Of course I hear Reality and Space Colonization and the next thing I think of is this...

I say we call it the "Bad Wolf" show!

[KevinDavis]

[BenLurkin]

Space is a very dangerous place. The show might prove a little too real if those start going wrong.

[Monkey Face]

Remember...in space, no one can hear you scarmable for hilfe!

[anymouse]

A media-run Mars trip, what could go wrong? ;)

And no reality show would be complete without some liberal "bad boys" involved. ;)

Sam Waterston, James Brolin and O. J. Simpson.

The sad thing is that the viewers would probably prefer a "fake" trip to a real one now a days.

[mowowie]

Does Mars have a magnetic field to protect itself from deadly Solar radiation?
Nope
Are we going to travel to mars with the Earth constantly at our back to shield us?

Actually I read somewhere that it would take surprisingly low power to create a solar wind shield outside of ones craft.
A slight opposing magnetic field is all it takes?
i dunno.....