Bases on Mars? What's the holdup?

9 months in space done by some astronauts, and that space. Mars has gravity so it will not be as tough on the astronauts. Humans can endure a lot, and I am sure medicine will help the bone mass loss in future.

 

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9 months minimum round trip, but how does that work for maintaining a crew of six, ... new crew can't just arrive before the old crew want to leave, because of the opportunities for launch, so that means far longer stays on the Martian surface to maintain this reactor, and each and every crew member would be equalling current endurance records.

Yes, Mars has gravity, but the long trips each way will still be tough, as will living in cramped accomodation for such long periods, with limited supplies.

Medicine will not stop atrophy.

Like I said, you just haven't thought this through. It's not just about technology, but also people, and time and money. Clearly you have never managed any project of any scale whatsoever.

 

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According to Dr Robert Zubrin (one of the Authors of the Mars direct/semi-direct mission and founder of the Mars society) the estimate of the Mars direct/semi-direct mission was about $55 billion US , the estimated cost of the Mars mission put together by NASA (prior to the efforts of Zubrin and co) was about $450 billion.

Also the latter requires the development of numerous new technologies, where as the Mars Semi Direct mission is ready to go inside of 10 years (give or take a little bit to allow for optimum launch period) if the US government will just hand over the cash.

As a side note, contrary to what many anti-space exploration proponents seem to think: that money isn't simply going to vanish into thin air; it will all go into the economy and more specifically into engineering and other highly-skilled firms which are a large and vital component of the US economy and prestige as far as technical know-how is concerned.

Plus these kind of noble endeavours inspire numerous people to go into careers in Science, Engineering and Mathematics which has a marked effect on the US economy as more people go into the professions where all the real innovation happens.

 

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you are wrong to assume that, because I indeed managed a project and results were that we won.

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(I launched a rocket with altimeter and onboard computer in it)

Mars is feasible, all those obstacles you listed can be overcome. psychology is never an obstacle, because death is the ultimate fear factor. Currently there is a Martian project going called Mars-500

http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/ESA_To_Take_Part_In_Russian_Mars_Experiment_999.html

The gravitation-free bone calcium loss can be overcome by increase in exercise daily using elastic treadmills and etc...

http://library.thinkquest.org/C003763/pdf/adapt04.pdf

psychological factors can be overcome by illusions such as...virtual reality. This is doible.

 

I am a full supporter of space

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on the matter of gravity.

What if NASA purchased On of those Bigelow module's (who will be avaible within 20 year), this module ones expanded would have a diameter of 6,7 meters at around 17 rotations per minute it would simulate a descend martian gravity. This diameter wouldn't be enough to create confreble artificial gravity because your head would only experience the half of the gravity of your feet (if your real short) but if you would lay down (like when your asleep) your average height is probably what 20 centimeters, Now the tip of your nose feels only 5% less gravity then the back of your head. Considering your asleep 1/3th of the time this might reduce the effects of weightlessness greatly

 

ahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Yes Yes, I've launched a few Estes rockets too. I also used to work with a bunch of people that made satellite parts. I also co-ordinated what was the largest deployment of a software application in Europe at the time.

But you, wow, you did what amateur rocketeers do at the weekends, WOW! Maybe before you made a fool of yourself, you should have realised when I said 'any scale' I didn't mean 'small scale'!!!!!!!

Doable maybe, ...but not on the timescales your article talked about.

 

orcot...the Bigelow module will do 17 rotations/min ?! I did not know that...

you know not that I think about it...the expandable technologies really do have a big future in space. Just imagine this module in torus shaped being inflated and span around at specific angular velocity to simulate artificial gravity...so basically when astronauts gotta jog they just inflate the device...around their main module, go outside in EVA's and than once inside jog.

OMG...I just thought of it...perhaps their running would create the artificial gravity by being strapped down the device will transfer mechanical energy to the whole unit of rotation mechanism and it will spin...so the faster you run the more gravity there is!

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phlogistician no it was not an Estes rocket...It was a rocket we built from scratch using carbon frame we ourselves have cut a shape for the rocket to contain the microprocessor we got from www.microchip.com and we programmed software in C++ for it to relay information from altimeter to the wireless modem which we all connected on a circuit board we ourselves designed from scratch using software. ...

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Estes is nothing compared to what we have done.

 

Doable on timescale my article talked of, because this is Russia and not NASA plan.

 

So you built a rocket, like all amateur rocketeers do, and lashed up a telemetry module, like amateur rocketeers do.

It's a big step from there to Mars, don't get ahead of yourself.

 

A Mars mission will require international co-operation. Russia is just too poor to go it alone.

 

amateur rocketeers use predesigned software and computers, they dont built a computer from scratch.

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And you are how old anyways to do this? I am 20 when I did this, and I am planning to step up in the game.

 

too poor...yet here we go the MIR station existed for quite some time...and look who is doing space tourist business just fine, the Russians.

 

No, he was saying make one rotate at that speed to create artificial gravity. DUH!

 

And why do the Russians launch space tourists? To make money. A few million dollars is a significant profit for them, because they are so poor!

 

the idea of rotation to create artificial gravity in actual practice is new, so it is quite a surprise how this Bigelow module actually behaves it was intented to. By the way these modules designed by Bigelow are called Genesis 2.


And Genesis 2 actually has a madagascar cockroach on board...which is alive in space

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currently. how wonderful.

 

New? NEW? It's FORTY frikking years since '2001, a Space Odyssey', with a rotating space station!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

are you comparing a movie un-real event with something that was actually practiced in space? :bugeye:

 

ESA actually has something you could call grave plating altough it can only produce 1/100 000 000 g not that much but it's one hundred trillion times larger then their original precictions.
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I doubt anything will come from it for a long time but it makes you wonder of the far future