Re: Barack Obama came to Huntsville last year ...

 - Prepare for a return to the moon and construction of a lab there.

I like the idea of skipping the return to the moon and going straight to
Mars.  I know there is some support amongst NASA folk to do exactly
that.  What's yer take on this issue?


Not practical. For humans to go to Mars, a big boomer nuke will be
required. This is nowhere on NASA's radar screen right now. It's
difficult enough for them to build a small rocket to carry humans into
orbit.

Space is an extremely harsh environment for humans. The long-term
punishment of the human body in weightless conditions is severe as is
the effects of space radiation. Therefore, the months of travel
required to go to Mars with chemical rockets is feasible but not
likely and really foolhardy. To get there, a boomer will have to zip
a crew along in a month or so. Then, survival is possible,
exploration can occur, but terribly expensive in more ways than one.

The moon is a gold mine in science, knowledge, and commercial
applications. Robots will do just fine on Mars for decades. But to
go and live and prosper on the moon... the nation(s) that do that
will live and prosper on the Earth as well. The others will be
discarded, as they should be.

H3
.

Relevant Pages

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