Mission to Mars - A Horizon special starting on BBC4 now - thought footage looked familiar - a repeat alas.
It's one of those 'just because they can' things - from a cost point of view I agree but as I don't get a say in it I can't help but marvel at the technology stretching.
Only been once, so not sure if its changed since I've been. I don't get all the hype, suppose it reminded me of Vegas, the desert bit, not the strip. Vegas is a strange place.
Why? For the advancement of knowledge and science, not necessarily the destination, who knows what may come from the discoveries/technical advancements made to achieve this goal.
yip government funded jobs, keeps the good guy's on yer side while keeping an edge on tech. makes perfect sense.
Is Mars as a destination that different from the Moon, and we did that 45 years ago. What can man do that machines can't at a fraction of the cost ?
Maybe we as humans have reached the limits of what we can comprehend ? Maybe we are bumping into the limits set by the laws of physics ? As Glidd has said in another thread, space is big and we are small (I paraphrase). Discovering the cosmos isn't like setting out for the New World in a wooden ship. Just because we can think it doesn't automatically mean that we can do it.
The question is: Do you think mankind will be stuck on planet Earth for the next 100 years? 1,000 years? 10,000 years? Will we be forever confined to a single planet? And if not, when should we make a start on travelling? Is now too soon? Why?
Yes Yes Yes Yes N/A N/A The technology doesn't exist to travel to other star systems. Voyager 1 was launched in 1977, it only recently left the solar system and won't reach another star system for millennia (?). A colony on the Moon or Mars would do what ? Mine helium-3 ?; maybe. We went to the moon to demonstrate that our (US) technology was "better" than the Soviets, we ended up hitting golf balls. The problems we face are here on Earth. It is science fiction to think that we could boldly go forth to explore new galaxies without a fundamental change in our understanding of the world of physics. I am not holding my breath, are you ?
I'll be there next week........I'll let you know what the accommodation is like, if I can find a postbox.
