NASA admits they can't send a human to Mars

[CrusaderFrank]

SPACE
How Elon Musk Plans to Create a ‘Self-Sustaining City’ on Mars

"If we can get the cost of moving to Mars to be roughly equivalent to a median house price in the United States, which is around $200,000, then I think the probability of establishing a self-sustaining civilization is very high," Musk writes. "I think it would almost certainly occur."

In order to achieve that price point, Musk outlines several steps to improve the cost of Mars travel by "five million percent": Spaceships must be fully reusable, they should be able to refuel in orbit, and then once again on Mars with fuel that is yielded from production plants built on the planet. Musk states that methane is the ideal propellant because the technical challenges to harvest it on Mars are significantly easier than substances like hydrogen, which he says is too expensive.

Once the engineering demands are met, it would be time to take off — which Musk is hopeful could begin as soon as 2023, according to an illustration in the paper. At least one million people would be needed to establish a self-sustaining city, he writes, estimating that spacecraft would be able to accommodate 100 people every two years. At that rate, he says it'll take "40-100 years to achieve a fully self-sustaining civilization on Mars."

How Elon Musk Plans to Create a 'Self-Sustaining City' on Mars

It can be done and it will be done. And the visionaries will do it, and the nay sayers will be left with egg on their face.

Thanks, but that's a pretty big "if".

The National Geographic Channel's "MARS" was both a drama, but interspaced with interviews of people, including Musk, on how to make a colony to Mars achievable. There are a lot of hurdles.

MARS

Did the article mention where the colonists will draw potable water?

Ummm...

So obvious! Just bring a sink with them!

 

[miketx]

I hate to say this but America peaked in the 50's, 60s and 70's. Why? Think about it for a second...
During that time we had
1. The best educational system on the planet
2. We dreamed of greatness as a people
3. We wanted better for our children and provided it
4. We had some of the best infrastructure on this planet
5. Our industry lead the world
6. Our healthcare wasn't 35th in the world but closer to the top!!!
7. Our middle class was stronger and our dollar could buy a lot more.

The time for us to have gone to mars was in the 1970's. We're finished and are likely going to be butt boys with russia.

And liberals like you have brought us to where we are today.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

I think we should rename Mars "Progressive Utopia" and send Soros and his minions they

Win

Win

 

[CrusaderFrank]

I hate to say this but America peaked in the 50's, 60s and 70's. Why? Think about it for a second...
During that time we had
1. The best educational system on the planet
2. We dreamed of greatness as a people
3. We wanted better for our children and provided it
4. We had some of the best infrastructure on this planet
5. Our industry lead the world
6. Our healthcare wasn't 35th in the world but closer to the top!!!
7. Our middle class was stronger and our dollar could buy a lot more.

The time for us to have gone to mars was in the 1970's. We're finished and are likely going to be butt boys with russia.

that was before Progressives took over the schools and government took over healthcare

 

[rightwinger]

I never really cared about Mars


But I always wanted to see Uranus

 

[fncceo]

But I always wanted to see Uranus

You wouldn't like it. It's cold, irregular, and has a noxious atmosphere.

 

[Lewdog]

Who's going to feed the sex slave children the government is hiding up there?

 

[Divine Wind]

SPACE
How Elon Musk Plans to Create a ‘Self-Sustaining City’ on Mars

"If we can get the cost of moving to Mars to be roughly equivalent to a median house price in the United States, which is around $200,000, then I think the probability of establishing a self-sustaining civilization is very high," Musk writes. "I think it would almost certainly occur."

In order to achieve that price point, Musk outlines several steps to improve the cost of Mars travel by "five million percent": Spaceships must be fully reusable, they should be able to refuel in orbit, and then once again on Mars with fuel that is yielded from production plants built on the planet. Musk states that methane is the ideal propellant because the technical challenges to harvest it on Mars are significantly easier than substances like hydrogen, which he says is too expensive.

Once the engineering demands are met, it would be time to take off — which Musk is hopeful could begin as soon as 2023, according to an illustration in the paper. At least one million people would be needed to establish a self-sustaining city, he writes, estimating that spacecraft would be able to accommodate 100 people every two years. At that rate, he says it'll take "40-100 years to achieve a fully self-sustaining civilization on Mars."

How Elon Musk Plans to Create a 'Self-Sustaining City' on Mars

It can be done and it will be done. And the visionaries will do it, and the nay sayers will be left with egg on their face.

Thanks, but that's a pretty big "if".

The National Geographic Channel's "MARS" was both a drama, but interspaced with interviews of people, including Musk, on how to make a colony to Mars achievable. There are a lot of hurdles.

MARS

Did the article mention where the colonists will draw potable water?

They'd have to make it. One of the technological issues to be resolved....and one that has obvious applications on Earth.

 

[Bruce_T_Laney]

If it is the issue of money for research and development then the private sector along with the public sector should chip in and get this done by the 2030's.

Humans need to explore and Space is a wide open ocean that need exploring...

 

[fncceo]

They'd have to make it. One of the technological issues to be resolved....and one that has obvious applications on Earth.

There is abundant water ice in the north polar region of Mars. There is evidence that there is at least some liquid water flowing on the surface and subsurface of Mars.

Water wouldn't be a problem for a small colony.

 

[rightwinger]

SPACE
How Elon Musk Plans to Create a ‘Self-Sustaining City’ on Mars

"If we can get the cost of moving to Mars to be roughly equivalent to a median house price in the United States, which is around $200,000, then I think the probability of establishing a self-sustaining civilization is very high," Musk writes. "I think it would almost certainly occur."

In order to achieve that price point, Musk outlines several steps to improve the cost of Mars travel by "five million percent": Spaceships must be fully reusable, they should be able to refuel in orbit, and then once again on Mars with fuel that is yielded from production plants built on the planet. Musk states that methane is the ideal propellant because the technical challenges to harvest it on Mars are significantly easier than substances like hydrogen, which he says is too expensive.

Once the engineering demands are met, it would be time to take off — which Musk is hopeful could begin as soon as 2023, according to an illustration in the paper. At least one million people would be needed to establish a self-sustaining city, he writes, estimating that spacecraft would be able to accommodate 100 people every two years. At that rate, he says it'll take "40-100 years to achieve a fully self-sustaining civilization on Mars."

How Elon Musk Plans to Create a 'Self-Sustaining City' on Mars

It can be done and it will be done. And the visionaries will do it, and the nay sayers will be left with egg on their face.

Thanks, but that's a pretty big "if".

The National Geographic Channel's "MARS" was both a drama, but interspaced with interviews of people, including Musk, on how to make a colony to Mars achievable. There are a lot of hurdles.

MARS

Did the article mention where the colonists will draw potable water?

They'd have to make it. One of the technological issues to be resolved....and one that has obvious applications on Earth.

Or the could just do it without having to colonize Mars

 

[Divine Wind]

They'd have to make it. One of the technological issues to be resolved....and one that has obvious applications on Earth.

There is abundant water ice in the north polar region of Mars. There is evidence that there is at least some liquid water flowing on the surface and subsurface of Mars.

Water wouldn't be a problem for a small colony.

True about the polar region, but not the best place for solar cells. With an abundant renewable energy source, water can be made and/or recycled in a more (relatively) hospitable part of the planet.

 

[Divine Wind]

SPACE
How Elon Musk Plans to Create a ‘Self-Sustaining City’ on Mars

"If we can get the cost of moving to Mars to be roughly equivalent to a median house price in the United States, which is around $200,000, then I think the probability of establishing a self-sustaining civilization is very high," Musk writes. "I think it would almost certainly occur."

In order to achieve that price point, Musk outlines several steps to improve the cost of Mars travel by "five million percent": Spaceships must be fully reusable, they should be able to refuel in orbit, and then once again on Mars with fuel that is yielded from production plants built on the planet. Musk states that methane is the ideal propellant because the technical challenges to harvest it on Mars are significantly easier than substances like hydrogen, which he says is too expensive.

Once the engineering demands are met, it would be time to take off — which Musk is hopeful could begin as soon as 2023, according to an illustration in the paper. At least one million people would be needed to establish a self-sustaining city, he writes, estimating that spacecraft would be able to accommodate 100 people every two years. At that rate, he says it'll take "40-100 years to achieve a fully self-sustaining civilization on Mars."

How Elon Musk Plans to Create a 'Self-Sustaining City' on Mars

It can be done and it will be done. And the visionaries will do it, and the nay sayers will be left with egg on their face.

Thanks, but that's a pretty big "if".

The National Geographic Channel's "MARS" was both a drama, but interspaced with interviews of people, including Musk, on how to make a colony to Mars achievable. There are a lot of hurdles.

MARS

Did the article mention where the colonists will draw potable water?

They'd have to make it. One of the technological issues to be resolved....and one that has obvious applications on Earth.

Or the could just do it without having to colonize Mars

You don't have to go. Why do you insist on others not going?

 

[rightwinger]

SPACE
How Elon Musk Plans to Create a ‘Self-Sustaining City’ on Mars

"If we can get the cost of moving to Mars to be roughly equivalent to a median house price in the United States, which is around $200,000, then I think the probability of establishing a self-sustaining civilization is very high," Musk writes. "I think it would almost certainly occur."

In order to achieve that price point, Musk outlines several steps to improve the cost of Mars travel by "five million percent": Spaceships must be fully reusable, they should be able to refuel in orbit, and then once again on Mars with fuel that is yielded from production plants built on the planet. Musk states that methane is the ideal propellant because the technical challenges to harvest it on Mars are significantly easier than substances like hydrogen, which he says is too expensive.

Once the engineering demands are met, it would be time to take off — which Musk is hopeful could begin as soon as 2023, according to an illustration in the paper. At least one million people would be needed to establish a self-sustaining city, he writes, estimating that spacecraft would be able to accommodate 100 people every two years. At that rate, he says it'll take "40-100 years to achieve a fully self-sustaining civilization on Mars."

How Elon Musk Plans to Create a 'Self-Sustaining City' on Mars

It can be done and it will be done. And the visionaries will do it, and the nay sayers will be left with egg on their face.

Thanks, but that's a pretty big "if".

The National Geographic Channel's "MARS" was both a drama, but interspaced with interviews of people, including Musk, on how to make a colony to Mars achievable. There are a lot of hurdles.

MARS

Did the article mention where the colonists will draw potable water?

They'd have to make it. One of the technological issues to be resolved....and one that has obvious applications on Earth.

Or the could just do it without having to colonize Mars

You don't have to go. Why do you insist on others not going?

$$$$$

 

[Divine Wind]

$$$$$

The technological benefits of NASA and the Apollo program are numerous and gave a return 700-1400% on the investment. An international effort to colonize Mars has numerous advantages, one of which are the tech spinoffs for those living on Earth.

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/80660main_ApolloFS.pdf

NASA - Our First Lunar Program: What did we get from Apollo?

NASA Technologies Benefit Our Lives

The ROI Of Space Exploration

5 Popular Misconceptions About NASA | HuffPost
The design, R&D, and manufacture of satellites, rockets, and other space-related technologies—and employing tens of thousands of people to do it—pump billions of dollars into the U.S. economy. Studies estimate a $7-$14 return on investment for every $1 of NASA expenditure, with all of it going directly back into the U.S. Treasury.

 

[fncceo]

You don't have to go. Why do you insist on others not going?

I'd love to see humans in space ... but Elon Musk is a huckster. He's riding a publicity wave and sucking up VC money but he's got no way of going to Mars. Anyone who invests in his shill game won't see a dime of their investment returned.

He's claiming he can build 72 lifting bodies (the initial fleet expanding to 1,000 lifting bodies) with three times the capacity of a Saturn V using '60s technology (A Saturn V costs nearly 2 Billion dollars per launch in today's dollars). He needs a Low-Earth Orbit fueling facility several times larger than the International Space Station (The cost of the ISS to date is 155 Billion dollars). He needs all that before he can move 1 kilo of material to Mars.

Every kilo of water, fuel, food, air, passengers, and toilet paper costs. He claims he can get them into Low Earth Orbit for $2200 per kilo (that's 2/3 of a bottle of Evian without the bottle). Elon himself would cost a quarter of million dollars to get into Low Earth Orbit.

The Market Cap of the Largest Company on Earth right now, Apple, is 700 Billion dollars. Musk would have to raise twice again Apple's Market cap with no product, no ROI, and no business plan.

You have to admire his chutzpah.

 

[rightwinger]

$$$$$

The technological benefits of NASA and the Apollo program are numerous and gave a return 700-1400% on the investment. An international effort to colonize Mars has numerous advantages, one of which are the tech spinoffs for those living on Earth.

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/80660main_ApolloFS.pdf

NASA - Our First Lunar Program: What did we get from Apollo?

NASA Technologies Benefit Our Lives

The ROI Of Space Exploration

5 Popular Misconceptions About NASA | HuffPost
The design, R&D, and manufacture of satellites, rockets, and other space-related technologies—and employing tens of thousands of people to do it—pump billions of dollars into the U.S. economy. Studies estimate a $7-$14 return on investment for every $1 of NASA expenditure, with all of it going directly back into the U.S. Treasury.

NASA has played that card for 50 years
Money invested in NASA has benefits in other areas

But we could also invest in R&D in Medicine, energy, agriculture, communications which would also benefit other areas

 

[MarkDuffy]

We have better things to do with our money...

Which is exactly what the Democrats said in killing the Apollo program.

What is a man going to do on Mars that a thousand rovers cannot?

Exactly. This is the Age of Robots!

 

[MarkDuffy]

I never really cared about Mars


But I always wanted to see Uranus

There is no surface on the gas giant planets to land on

 

[rightwinger]

I never really cared about Mars


But I always wanted to see Uranus

There is no surface on the gas giant planets to land on

Gas is a problem