Geez I hope I'm around long enough to see man take his first steps on Mars.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Phoenix has discovered the greatest find in the solar system: pure Martian Flake just below the surface.
Colombia starts it's space program today.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
quote:Originally posted by Daniel Butler: I wasn't aware Olympus Mons was *that* big....
I think that picture is a bit of an optical illusion, exaggerating Olympus Mons' size *slightly*. That picture is obviously (to me, anyway) taken from a relatively low orbit. The volcano looks like it's below the equator in that pic, but it's actually 18 degrees north of it.
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
Yeah, Olympus Mons is the biggest volcano in the solar system. Its a shield volcano (same as the Hawai'ian ones) and is unfettered by obstacles so it grew damned big.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
I knew all that, but I didn't think it was an appreciable percentage of the planet's surface like that. Or perhaps I've never accurately visualized how small Mars is Posted by HerbShrump (Member # 1230) on :
Some of these images are probably "enhanced" and some probably aren't. Without atmosphere and smaller diameter, Olympus Mons is gonna stick out there.
quote:Originally posted by Daniel Butler: I wasn't aware Olympus Mons was *that* big....
Gives new meaning to the expression "crater face."
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 138) on :
OT ... but I wish it would hurry up and snow in Colorado.
Still, it's a nice discovery for Mars. Anyway, maybe we'll go there one day. We just need some motivation, like the Soviets motivated us to get to the moon, we need some reason to actually use our space program. You think we could convince the government that Osama's on Mars? Or perhaps now that the Chinese are advancing their program, if they set their sites on Mars, maybe it will tempt us to let NASA go back to its glory days of the 60s.
Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
Convince the government that there's oil on Mars, we'll be there in five years or less.
Posted by HerbShrump (Member # 1230) on :
Hmmm... I wonder just how fast we could get there, if we absolutely HAD to.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote:Originally posted by Da_bang80: Convince the government that there's oil on Mars, we'll be there in five years or less.
Five weeks, tops and they'll be planting flags all over the place and awarding suspiciously lucrative construction contracts to certain corporations...but then oil would necessitate ancient life...I don't suppose the chalk market is worth the expense? If Mars had an ancient ocean that's going to be the more likely sign of former sea-life.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
quote:Originally posted by HerbShrump: Hmmm... I wonder just how fast we could get there, if we absolutely HAD to.
Well, of course, you can just throw money at this problem to make it go faster, probably. But a few random thoughts:
Firstly, what is "we". If it's the US (and its close partners like ESA and others), or some kind of global effort. Whatever form it takes, China and the US are a long way from cooperating, so let's just say "we" = NASA and friends.
At the moment, the US basically only has the Shuttle, which is way past its sell-by date. Step one would be getting Project Constellation going, and specifically, the Ares V launcher. These are (very tentatively) planned for 2019, with manned missions to the Moon in the 2020s.
Apparently, Ares V and related technology would be a basis for Martian missions. So, I would guess, at the most optimistic, the 2030s. But this requires some kind of political motivation to happen. The only way I can see that happen is a new Space Race, with the Chinese. But actually taking that race to Mars is a very costly enterprise.
The pessismist in me says that China and the US will once again get to the moon, and the most we can hope for is a moonbase within the first half of this century.
Posted by The Ginger Beacon (Member # 1585) on :
Let's set up a fake nasa email address and send the Chinese taunts.
That'll get them going.
Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
Hey China, Japan called, they want their shoddy manufacturing reputation back.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
I don't see any pressing need to go to Mars. It's pretty much just scientific curiosity which may or may not be worth the kind of money we'd spend; I've given up thinking about it.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
We'll use the 'ol Nigerian Scam but sub in "NASA" instead of some supposed deposed royalty. That'll piss off the Chinese with their tainted milk and underage gymnasts.
Mars is a tough sell in a bad econemy- and ours is going to be baaaad for a while to come by all estimates.
Whatever happened to that proposed new telescope on our moon's far side? That would have instant gratification in pictures at least....and would push a moonbase a step closer to reality (or at least a return trip to the moon).
I'm really disapointed at the narrow-minded folks at another forum I frequent- several voices were very negative about China's spacewalk: some even hoping for failure (which means death for the astronauts). Amazing how close minded and xenophobic supposed sci-fi fans can be.
Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
The things we learn going inot space have paied off over and over again. I don't know if that will continue but it's worth the risk.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote:I'm really disapointed at the narrow-minded folks at another forum I frequent- several voices were very negative about China's spacewalk: some even hoping for failure (which means death for the astronauts). Amazing how close minded and xenophobic supposed sci-fi fans can be.
Now that's just stupid. Even if you're dumb enough to worry about another country getting the "upper hand" it's all meaningless. There hasn't been a major advancement yet that has spread to other nations, provided the will to use it or the opportunity to profit from it is there. By trade, theft or imitation, if one of us gets to Mars, the Jovian system, Venus, the asteroid belt then sooner or later we'll all get there. The competition can only speed things up.
[ October 03, 2008, 09:27 AM: Message edited by: Reverend ]
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Exactly- besides, I've seen film footage from countries all over the world when the moon landing took place: everyone was cheering and excited- it was an uplifting monment for the human race, not just one country.
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