A One-Way, One-Person Mission to Mars
From here.
Will humans ever really go to Mars? Let’s face it, the obstacles are quite daunting. Not only are there numerous, difficult, technical issues to overcome, but the political will and perseverance of any one nation to undertake such an arduous task just can’t be counted on. However, one former NASA engineer believes a human mission to Mars is quite doable, and such an event would unify the world as never before. But Jim McLane’s proposal includes a couple of major caveats: the trip to Mars should be one-way, and have a crew of only one person.
My question is, if it's likely to be practical and productive, should NASA allow a volunteer to do this?
a suicide mission, huh?
they should allow 5 people to volunteer and train. cuz 4 are gonna chicken out at the last minute. The question is.....would you do it? Your legacy would be unbelievable.
If it was appealing enough? your family provided for for the rest of their lives thru the ownership of the book/movie rights alone?
What benefit would be gained by a human that cannot be gotten by robot? How long would you live on mars? a day? a week? a year? indefinitely?
i have a few questions.
According to the article, continuing to send an indefinite stock of supplies would not be hard. In theory you would live out the rest of your life there, or at least a decade or two until they figured out a successfully efficient way to get you back. Also, supposedly communications technologies are good enough that this person would never really be alone, they'd have NASA techs to talk to all day long.
Me personally, of course I would never do it. But I can easily imagine lots of people who would.
I can think of a number of people I'd like to nominate...
Send someone that is going to die in a year or two anyways. Its probably a waste of money but if we are up for it....
Send any volunteer who is qualified. I bet lots of people would be interested.
Promise them a kick ass video monitor that would fill up one wall of their Mars hovel, and give them a bunch of entertainment to choose from. A huge dish antenna that could pick up 100+ channels of tv which would be beamed to them personally by NASA.
A video phone for chats (more like e-mailed videos with the time delay caused by the distance) with anyone they want.
Not to mention a high speed (with a delay) internet connection for reading the Cellar, etc. Surfing would be slow, clicking on all those links and waiting for the page to load, but a feed of favorite sites would be plenty fast.
It wouldn't be so bad for an introvert with no family or friends. Plus, there would be plenty of work to do to keep busy.
I don't think I could do it. I think the idea is a good one, and certainly within the tradition of human exploration, but I'm not the guy.
So quit emailing me applications, please.
Why can't it be a couple, so in love that the thought of dying in space and sharing all eternity among the stars would preclude any fear of such a final mission? Instead of one person, they could be two really small people. Oh, and they'd have to really be gaga over each other, so they can only have dated about 2 months. Then they'd get into space and he would leave the cap off the spacepaste and she'd nag him about picking up his space boots and he's stop bringing her space rocks and she'd stop listening to him yack yack yack about Survivor...never mind, it wouldn't work.
Actually, a couple might be a good idea. I'd be afraid of pregnancy and/or childbirth complications though, so they should be sterile/infertile.
Maybe NASA insurance is progressive: it WILL pay for birth control but WON'T pay for Viagra?
... and have a crew of only one person.
My question is, if it's likely to be practical and productive, should NASA allow a volunteer to do this?
Yes, NASA should allow Britney Spears to volunteer. The cost to weight ratio of having several people in one person would be practical for them and getting her off of this planet would be productive for us.
Imagine the corporate sponsorship they'd get out of it.
They should hold a contest for it the winner(loser) lives on mars.
The ultimate martyr for science. The person who does it is stupid.
The person who does it is stupid.
or has different priorities than you.
The ultimate martyr for science. The person who does it is stupid.
Why? they'd spend the rest of their life on a soundstage in Burbank.
My question is, if it's likely to be practical and productive, should NASA allow a volunteer to do this?
No, but we may consider asking Bush or Hitlery to go... :lol2:
No, but we may consider asking Bush
Well, we've already sent up dogs and monkeys. My only issue is that it might be an insult to the memory of the brave dogs and monkeys.
I seem to remember a scene from The Right Stuff where they were discussing that option for the moon mission.
This thread reminds me of Elton John's song Rocket Man,
"Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids
in fact it's cold as hell"
It would be a very lonely mission, and no amount of t.v. is going to make up for the lack of human contact.
Whoever went up would have to be a very hardened personality, maybe someone with a special forces background who was trained for extreme adversity.
I don't know about the States, but the press over here absolutely love a hero story, and I'd imagine you'd be guaranteed a prize place in history, if that's your thing.
Welcome to the Cellar, Mad Professor. :D
You wouldn't be ARIWA's Mad Professor, would you?
Surely it would have to be someone who could provide meaningful data in return. I mean it's not really just sending someone onto a planet to live alone, it's sending someone to explore and provide information without the option of returning.
The world was populated by tribes and individuals who took journeys uncertain of the outcome.
I'd do it. I may not have the right skills or psychological make-up for it, but it doesn't seem like a whack-job suicide mission to me. It would be a chance to push the boundaries of experience and existence. My only fear would be that the world (Earth) would erupt in some sort of global conflict or revolution in my absence. Millions of miles from home, no way to live independently, running out of supplies and no contact with another human being... Hmmmm. Think I've hit the snag. I'm too much of a worrier.
Surely it would have to be someone who could provide meaningful data in return. I mean it's not really just sending someone onto a planet to live alone, it's sending someone to explore and provide information without the option of returning.
So you're saying I'd be a poor choice, due to my notorious introversion?
"Captain Steve, come in.... We're eager to receive your geological report!"
"Get lost, I don't feel like talking to anybody!!"
If the space helmet fits Mr Dallas...
Welcome to the Cellar, Mad Professor. :D
You wouldn't be ARIWA's Mad Professor, would you?
Hehe, thanks for the welcome, that's where I got the name from, but I'm not the man himself, I was just taken with the name.
Also, this is one of my favourite albums:
Looking forward to getting to know you all :)
OK. You're still welcome anyway. :D
There are genuine hermits about who already chose to live life with little or no human companionship... train one of them up to do it, so long as they can stand been around people long enough to be trained...
I'd not do it but I can imagine people who would...