NASA Mars Mission

[JazHaz]

If you are interested in real life space exploration, like me, then check out the following PowerPoint presentation I've found. It's marked for NASA internal use!

It's all about the technical aspects of doing a human Mars mission. Very interesting reading!

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4881200/Exp ... gic-Charts

[Chrisfs]

The biggest challenges are the food production and fighitng the effects of low gravity. Figure out those, and it's going to happen.

[Diziet Sma]

Figure out those, and it's going to happen.

Or not.

http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Oba ... s_999.html

if I read this right:

* No shuttle.
* No replacement.
* Use the Russians to go upstairs.
* No return to the Moon, Mars, or anywhere.
* Give up on NASA as a spaceflight agency, and use the funds for the private sector.
* Mankind restricted to Earth orbit for at least the next decade.

[JazHaz]

Or not.

http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Oba ... s_999.html

if I read this right:

* No return to the Moon, Mars, or anywhere.

That website's story is out of date (30th January). Obama went to Florida this week and spoke at the KSC.

Highlights, he stated long term aims for human exploration to an asteroid and Mars.

See this website for details (dated 15th April!): http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1004/15obama/

[Diziet Sma]

Nothing's changed.. like I said "Mankind restricted to Earth orbit for at least the next decade".. the article you linked says 2025, and nothing to Mars for a decade after that..

[JazHaz]

Nothing's changed.. like I said "Mankind restricted to Earth orbit for at least the next decade".. the article you linked says 2025, and nothing to Mars for a decade after that..

What I'm objecting to is your statement that they are NOT going anywhere.

They are planning on asteroids, Marsian moons and eventually Mars.

And actually they are planning on testing systems beyond LEO in the "early years of this decade".

[Diziet Sma]

ok.. point taken..

[JazHaz]

The Constellation programme was going to be Apollo mk2. Nothing new in other words. And it had been woefully underfunded. It needed cancelling.

In my opinion Obama has got it spot on.

NASA should concentrate on developing deep space technologies, and leave transport to LEO to the commercial sector.

After all there are at least three companies already building rockets for LEO operations, plus Virgin Galactic has plans to improve their suborbital rocketplane (and possibly build their own space 'hotel').

Europe and Japan have their space freighters already for ISS supply, Europe's ATV is being looked at to develop into a crew transport vehicle.

[Selezen]

It's time NASA was downsized anyway. It costs too much, can't do anything properly and doesn't seem to learn its lessons very well.

In addition NASA spend too much time stretching red tape across everything and not putting enough red tape around the SAFETY aspects. That means they take three times as long as anyone else to get anything done.

Russians: "We need to go to space. Let's go."

NASA: "We need to go to space. Let's spend six months talking about what Greek god to name the project after, get loads of mission patches and project logos done, create fifteen websites about it, have hundreds of meetings about it, design another rocket to do the same as the one we had 40 years ago, THEN go."

A mate of mine at work knows a guy who works for ATK (the company designing the Ares rocket). They designed it, spend 6 months testing it and finally got it working properly...then NASA canned the programme.

Russia, love em or hate em, GET THINGS DONE. Look at their cold war attitude. They used to wait for the US / NATO to design something then get hold of the plans. Then they would spend a few weeks looking at the plans and making notes, then would come up with something BETTER. In a third of the time! Fantastic minds and utter pragramatists. "Why spend months designing something when the West can waste their time on that bit then we steal it and do it properly?"

So it makes sense to let the Russians fly. And it's marketing GOLD. No more having to explain why crashes happen. No more investigations and explaining to all and sundry why "we didn't notice that until it was too late." Now the US Space Program can take a step back from the Line of Blame and point at the Russians when everything goes wrong and they can bask in the glory when it all goes right!

I think Obama's done the right thing, much as I am saddened by the delays in space travel. The private sector has made more headway into reusable space planes in the last 5 years than they have in the last 40. NASA will be buying seats and cargo space on SpaceShip Three in 10 years time because it will be the most cost-effective way of achieving space travel.

[NigelJK]

My favorate stroy about NASA involves the invention of the Fisher Space Pen. Spefically designed to work in ALL environments without leaking. When one was presented to some Cosmonaught or other, he said 'we use pencils'.

[Thargoid]

It's apparently an urban (or should that be astral?) myth, but a nice one.

[DaddyHoggy]

It's apparently an urban (or should that be astral?) myth, but a nice one.

http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp

Snopes as ever - qualifies as best it can.

Actually, I can add to this - I worked with a chap in the early 90s at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, who, when he was a newly qualified Technical Officer, worked on some of the parts that eventually went into the Lunar Rovers. He therefore worked with several NASA scientists and Engineers who told him that they didn't much like pencils, because over enthusiastic pressure lead to excessive amounts of tiny carbon balls forming in the zero-g and floating around - tiny carbon balls that had enough electrical conductivity if they settled on the "wrong" circuitry could alter how that circuit behaved...

[Smivs]

... they didn't much like pencils, because over enthusiastic pressure lead to excessive amounts of tiny carbon balls forming in the zero-g and floating around - tiny carbon balls that had enough electrical conductivity if they settled on the "wrong" circuitry could alter how that circuit behaved...

But Russian pencils are all female...they don't have balls

[JensAyton]

“How is a Russian pencil like half of Hitler?”

…nah.

[ClymAngus]

How is a Russian pencil like the contents of the Albert Hall

would have been more obscure and therefore more funny.