The First Human Mission to Mars in 2018?

[bison]

If they can actually manage to do this, it could be considered preparatory for manned missions that actually land on Mars. Some of the early Apollo missions merely swooped low over the Moon's surface, looped around the Moon, and came back to Earth. They wanted to first be sure they could do do the easy stuff (not at all easy, really, except in comparison to landing on and walking about on the Moon, and making it back to Earth.).

[DONTEATUS]

Well I just hope Im still around when they fly around ! and back ! I`ll be cheering them all the Way !

Can you just imagine the mental stress ?

[coolguy]

I would like to see this happen but it will never happen.

Its 2013 and we have not been back to the moon or even have a moon base.

Its all science fiction as of now.

[Mr Supertypo]

It could be done with today technology, but the deadline of five years? Im skeptical, but who knows...

[promKing]

Wouldn't it be better if they used that money to send drilling drone to moon Europa to see what's under that ocean? That would also attract TV ratings especially if there are giant octopussies just waiting to be filmed.

Edited March 9, 2013 by promKing

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Wouldn't it be better if they used that money to send drilling drone to moon Europa to see what's under that ocean? That would also attract TV ratings especially if there are giant octopussies just waiting to be filmed.

Not really.

Firstly sending a manned mission around Mars is technically achievable in the short term, placing a drilling ring on Europa and drilling through kilometres of ice isn't, we simply don't know how to achieve that yet. Drilling through kilometres of ice on Earth is a difficult enough challenge, doing it by remote control in an environment as hostile as Europa is something way beyond what we can currently achieve.

Secondly I think you hugely over estimate the attraction of unmanned missions whilst hugely underestimating the attraction and influence of manned missions. Ask most people what they consider to be the pinnacle of spaceflight so far to be and I guarantee the majority will not pick Curiosity or Cassini' they will pick Apollo.

[promKing]

Drilling Europa isn't technically unachievable there are ways to do it like the laser see link

OR sending a radioisotope-heated sphere, built as strong as a cannonball, to be released from a spacececraft and allowed to impact Europa's surface at high velocity. The sphere would thus bury itself beneath the ice and very slowly begin to melt its way down. The surface layer of meltwater around the probe would contain the chemicals, and perhaps frozen microbes, of the Europan ocean of the past. As the probe penetrated deeper, more recently created ice would be encountered and its captured contents would be made available for analysis. Thus, as it went deeper and deeper, the probe would produce a scan of Europa's ocean over a long period of geologic time. As long as the probe stayed in the ice, it could transmit data back to an orbiter using low-frequency radio. If it reached the ocean, it would lose contact (since radio can't penetrate ice much better than water) and sink rapidly, but it could still take measurements. Then, when it hit the bottom, ballast could be released, allowing the probe to float back up through the ocean, taking more measurements, until it hit the ice, when radio contact with the orbiter could be reestablished.

To me that seems more interesting then people just flying around Mars. I mean if they landed there it would be interesting but just orbiting it one or two times doesn't seem like much more then what probes do.

Edited March 10, 2013 by promKing

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Drilling Europa isn't technically unachievable there are ways to do it

You misquoted me by ignoring that I said "in the short term". What you fail to mention is that all of these are hypothetical methods. None of them are tried and tested. None of them will be achievable by 2018, which is the proposed date of the launch of 2018, which is the proposed launch date of the mission to Mars (which is, incidentally what this topic is supposed to be about.

To me that seems more interesting then people just flying around Mars. I mean if they landed there it would be interesting but just orbiting it one or two times doesn't seem like much more then what probes do.

What you find interesting is irrelevant to everyone except you. It is certainly not relevant to Denis Tito who is setting up this mission. Since his money will be partly funding this then it is what is of interest to him that matters.

Edited March 11, 2013 by Waspie_Dwarf

[promKing]

Well it's not so far fetched, the biggest problem is that data for surface of Europa is mostly unknown like for that landing site of the laser ship or thinner layer for that low tech canon ball and what I think is not so irrelevant if perhaps more people were convinced and got their voice to Tito for instance.

And I don't think that human missions around Mars are so attractive opposed to unmanned onto Europa because let's face it how many people can name more then three astronaut names? Probably around 10% of world population at most. People mostly know Yuri Gagarin, Neal Armstrong and even fewer know Buzz Aldrin. Who can name some other astronaut from Apollo missions that you praise so much? Like the guys that went and only circled the Moon and came back?

I mean I admit I would love if people went to Mars to explore but this looks more like a circus.

Edited March 11, 2013 by promKing

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Well it's not so far fetched, the biggest problem is that data for surface of Europa is mostly unknown like for that landing site of the laser People mostly know Yuri Gagarin, Neal Armstrong and even fewer know Buzz Aldrin. Who can name some other astronaut from Apollo missions that you praise so much? Like the guys that went and only circled the Moon and came back?

Yes, and how many can name the first satellite in orbit, the first unmanned mission to land on the Moon, the first mission to Mars. The fact that Gagarin and Armstrong are global heroes rather makes my point.

How many people bothered to watch the news conference given by NASA this week about discoveries on Mars? Did you?

Manned missions grab the public attention in a way that no unmanned mission ever can.

Edited March 13, 2013 by Waspie_Dwarf