Yesterday on my lunch break, I checked out my CNN app to see what news (other than Pope Benedict's retirement) was making headlines. I saw this headline: Group aims to send 2 humans on Mars mission in 2018. Of course I was intrigued! I was wondering if these two humans would be selected from among a pool of current astronauts or if there would be applications accepted from civilians. I am secretly hoping there is a reality show competition to select the two lucky people who will orbit around Mars for just over a year. Of all the silly things people do with their money, none seems more ridiculous to me than private space travel! Really, are you that bored with this planet that you want to try your sense of adventure on another?!
“It’s incredibly feasible. It’s not crazy talk," Taber MacCallum, CEO of Paragon Space Development Corp., told CNN.Okay, "incredibly feasible" sounds like what I used to tell my mom when I was going to not only be a pro athlete, but play all four major professional sports. My mom told me it was impossible because the seasons overlapped. I always thought if Deion Sanders (or is it Leon Sandcastle?) could play two sports, why couldn't I play all four? I hadn't quite considered how to play hockey knowing I'm not a great skater, but Happy Gilmore still dreamed, right?! So I guess Taber is right, "it's not crazy talk" to think we can send two people on a 501 day space cruise around Mars and back.
It would not involve landing on Mars, making the proposed journey infinitely easier than putting people on the planet's surface, which NASA wants to do later this century.I was kind of disappointed when I read this sentence. First of all, I think it's kind of weak to take the "infinitely easier" journey around the planet instead of landing on Mars. I mean, you're spending almost a billion dollars on this mission, why not drop the extra few bucks on a landing? I guess this guy's motto is, "shoot for Jupiter, if you fall short you'll just orbit around Mars, which is infinitely easier than landing there." Secondly, NASA wants to put people on Mars later this century?! I thought we were done wasting government funds on space shuttles. [Also, if I may opine for a moment- don't those space shuttles get horrible fuel mileage and put out terrible CO2 emissions on their way out of the atmosphere we're trying to keep clean?!!! I get booed for driving a SUV and people think it's cool to send up space shuttles?!] Back to the issue at hand- NASA is a government funded program. We have such a federal budget crisis that we have to cut welfare programs, but we're optimistic we can land on Mars by 2100?! Maybe this is what's wrong with our government. While we have real problems back here on planet Earth, they're trying to find ways to explore other planets.
...founded the Inspiration Mars Foundation, a nonprofit organization spearheading this effort...Please consider the Inspiration Mars Foundation in your annual charitable contributions. They dearly need the funds to keep their dream of sending underprivileged children to Mars alive!
“If you take existing chemistry and technology and add some improved technologies," MacCallum told CNN, "you can get a mission together.” A life support system also would have to be developed.You have five years to improve the technology and develop the life support system. I'm sure that's a pretty feasible timeline.
Water and oxygen will be recycled in flight, so the crew will be drinking and breathing the same resources over and over throughout the journey, Inspiration Mars representatives said.Sounds like they've already solved most of the life support problem. I'm going to start practicing my water and oxygen recycling and consumption now, on the off chance I'm selected for this mission. I wonder at what point you can't recycle it anymore? Also, where do we go to the bathroom; and will that waste be recycled also? Most importantly, will there be two separate rooms on this ship so when the couple (they want to send a husband and wife) get mad at each other- something that my wife and I try to do at least once every 500 days- they can go to another room and cool off?
"This is a challenging but attainable goal for advancing human ... knowledge. Now is the time."You know what else is a challenging but attainable goal for advancing knowledge? Going to school! Schools in our country are seriously underfunded (I know, I'm married to a teacher) and this group thinks spending money on a mission to Mars is a great use of resources?! They could do far more good donating to public education than they ever will sending two people on a journey around Mars.
“This is a philanthropic effort to be done for America,” MacCallum said. It could be accomplished for under $1 billion, he said, a figure that’s cheap compared with the tens of billions of dollars a NASA landing on Mars would cost.Oh, never mind, this is going to do a lot of good for America. I think someone needs to look up "philanthropy" in the dictionary!
Maybe the couple going on the mission will be needy? I'm mostly hung up on the socially useful purpose of this mission. As we have been trying to make people aware, there are millions living in poverty in our country. This group has access to money and technology and instead of trying to help solve a real world problem, they are focused on sending TWO people into orbit around Mars and back. How much more socially useful would it be for these people to devote their resources and time to helping educate people living in poverty? This money could be better used to fund development programs in underprivileged areas of our country. What's better: giving people hope that one day we'll put a person on Mars or giving people hope that one day they and their family can rise above the cycle of poverty?
In the next five years how many people will die of nutrition related illnesses while this group is spending money trying to figure out how to keep TWO people alive on a space trip for 501 days?! (HINT: it's more than two!)
Besides laughing while reading this article, I wanted to scream obscenities at the people behind the intended trip "to" Mars. Are they that f---king ignorant of the plight of so many people on this planet that they think sending TWO of the over 6 BILLION of us on a round trip past Mars is going to be really "philanthropic"?! Maybe they're hoping for every person who visits their website Bill Gates will donate $1000 for their cause? He probably won't though, because Bill Gates is into real philanthropy (NOTE: I am not endorsing his charitable foundation, but he and his wife do work on real issues).
It was noted that a 6-year-old boy already made a contribution, sending in $10 and calling this mission "my Apollo."Poor kid- he could have done more good for humanity dropping that $10 on the sidewalk!
You are so correct. If we really want to be philanthropic 'for America' it would behoove all of us to make sure people have access to the best education and the healthiest foods than to spend money 'stupidly'. Thanks for sharing.
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