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Basically, outside of our natural curiosity and exploratory nature, the whole idea is for the long-term viability of the human race.
Putting humans on Mars and eventually, someday building a colony would get at least some of our eggs out of the Earth hand basket and teach us how to survive on other worlds... then much, much later, onward to other planets and moons. Eventually we will want to leave the solar system so we don't all either burn or freeze to death when the sun's fuel runs dry.
Our natural curiosity to explore and move around might even stem from a primal instinct. If all humans had stayed in prehistoric Africa and something happened to that region, it would have been the end of our species. Instead, we migrated and moved around.
A lot of people would say "Well, thats such a long time from now (and it is) so why don't we focus on our problems here on Earth first." but there is folly in that argument. We will always have problems on Earth. We always have and always will. That doesn't mean that we can't have one group of people working that problem while another group works this problem. Otherwise, one day we will get caught with our pants down and we'll all be screwed when an astroid plummets into us, a super volcano erupts, nuclear holocaust breaks out, or any other myriad of potential extinction level events occurs. And again, even if we make it through all of those, the sun will eventually die and engulf the Earth (or come extremely close) when it turns into a red giant.
I don't get this whole push to get people to Mars, it just seems like a cruel, slow death sentence to me. I read one article on living there that said astronauts would have to build their habitat under the surface in order to avoid deadly solar radiation that pours onto the Martian surface unimpeded.
Then there are the issues of the human body dealing with reduced gravity for extended periods. Anyone wanna take a stab at what the point of this all is?
NASA wants your money.
Everyone knows that Mars has no magnetosphere and that long term human habitation is and is going to be impossible. But they want you to fund it anyway.
Maybe it's a good idea. Maybe enough good things will come out of all this research so that the whole effort pays off. But mostly, I think the NASA executives just want their careers and retirement packages.
Have any idea what the percentage of the budget that goes to NASA is?
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Everyone knows that Mars has no magnetosphere and that long term human habitation is and is going to be impossible. But they want you to fund it anyway.
It's not impossible. Humans could live underground, perhaps in dwellings cut into the sides of an offshoot of Valles Marineris. When a solar flare is announced everybody goes inside until it's over.
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
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Originally Posted by zortation
Terraforming would require it having a strong enough magnetosphere to protect any atmosphere that we achieve from being blown off by solar radiation. Mars doesn't have that anymore.
Well, that would be a very slow process. It takes billions of years for a thick atmosphere to be eroded away by the solar wind. We could replenish the atmosphere at a fast enough rate to compensate for that.
Or we could create an artificial magnetosphere, with a huge superconducting coil buried underneath the planet.
Well, that would be a very slow process. It takes billions of years for a thick atmosphere to be eroded away by the solar wind. We could replenish the atmosphere at a fast enough rate to compensate for that.
Or we could create an artificial magnetosphere, with a huge superconducting coil buried underneath the planet.
..or discover an ancient alien atmospheric reactor. With the bulging eyeballs and the tongue and the whatnot.
I dont understand the desire to 'colonize' mars or any other uninhabitable resource-void planet. It just doesnt make sense. if you have to transport ever single needed item in order to be a successful colony, you are DOOMED.
An investment in near-earth space stations would be better. They both have the same requirements - food, oxygen, water, shelter - but Mars has the increased risk of getting onto - and off of - a planet surface.
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