Nerdfighters in Space

[John Christoph]

So we all know there's a strong contingency of Nerdfighters out there, myself included, who are completely batshit crazy about space exploration.  And even if you aren't one of them, I think it could be said that a huge number of us are at least interested in space stuff.  Having only recently become involved with this community, I'd like to create a forum for space-happy Nerdfighters to gather and bounce cosmic ideas off one another.

 

I'd be happy to talk about anything space-related, including but not limited to:

- The current state of manned spaceflight after the end of the Space Shuttle era
- Plans for the immediate future of space like SLS and the commercial launch sector
- Past space missions, what they revealed, and how they decreased worldsuck
- Destinations for space missions
- Space politics
- The potential for extraterrestrial life and the implications of its discovery
- Futuristic technologies and how they might be implemented
- And much, much more

Also, if any curious person has any questions about anything space-related, I will do my best to answer them here.

 

Therefore, without further ado, let's talk space!

[Latch33570]

Fighting nerds in space AWESOME

[Latch33570]

CHECK OUT MARS ONE  I HOPE THIS LINK WORKS http://mars-one.com/en/

[CD]

heheheheheheheheheheheheeheheheehehehheehheheehehe *hands over all my monies*

[Latch33570]

As you said nerdgasms.

[CD]

I'll power the flight there with them, dag nabbit.

[John Christoph]

I'm actually a bit hesitant to back Mars One, especially having read Robert Zubrin's The Case for Mars.  Yes, Mars is a planet we can settle permanently, but our exploration of the Red planet needs to have some scientific or economic value, rather than being just a publicity stunt.  What happens if the public loses interest and the funding runs out, after the people are already on Mars?  Why would the participants be willing to subject themselves to constant monitoring and surveillance?  Do we really want the expansion of our civilization to become just a reality TV show?

[Latch33570]

It would have scientific value and economic value. The people sent there will die there. They aren't supposed to come back. Every 2 years we send stuff over there and maybe more people and they also grow some I think. It is very similar to the Mars direct plan. It was a fun book to read.

[John Christoph]

It's very similar to Mars Direct, except that you don't bring the people back.  Colonizing other planets isn't like colonizing the Americas was; we can't grow our own food on Mars unless we bring a greenhouse, and we haven't yet found a readily accessible and plentiful source of water.  If you stop sending supplies to the crew, or don't provide some way for them to make their own, they're going to die of starvation or dehydration.  At least in what I've seen, there's no plan in the Mars One architecture to do either beyond the last resupply mission in 2033.  Furthermore, I haven't seen any plans to do science in the Mars One colony, or even anything economically productive.  The only guarantee of the survival of these 20 colonists is this "reality TV show" they're using to provide funding, and one cannot honestly expect a television show to remain popular and generate revenue over a whole human lifetime.  I have no problem with sending people to colonize Mars for life, but we must first ensure that they're going to survive and that they're doing something meaningful.  And I also think that sending people to Mars without at least giving them the option of returning is just sidestepping a comparatively easy problem in spaceflight for no reason whatsoever.

[John Christoph]

I realize this is a bit late, but what did everyone think of SpaceX's successful COTS 2+ mission to the ISS?  I'm certainly excited about it.

[Latch33570]

Yes I to am excited about this.  But on to the MARS ONE thingy. The pioneers  would be volunteers with full knowledge of the risk of starvation ect. I for one am all for their right to choose their own path. If someone wants to go and knows the risk see ya later alligator. I'll watch on televisn and donate money to their rescue or continued support.

[John Christoph]

I'm not saying I disagree with you, I'm just saying I think going to Mars for the sake of television is the wrong way to go to Mars, and I'm skeptical that they'll be able to pull it off.  That being said, if Mars One does succeed, it would be pretty spectacular.  It'd certainly be a boost for SpaceX, since they're using Falcon Heavy as their launch vehicle and Dragon as the basis for the habitat.  And who knows, maybe some other private entity will figure out a way to bring people back from Mars or start conducting interplanetary trade.  It's still a pretty big risk, though, especially compared to other Mars architectures that currently exist.

[Inklings]

I thought the whole thing was absolutely brilliant.  I'm hoping that eventually the endeavor will lead toward an enterprise for privatized space travel, as that will certainly get us places leaps and bounds quicker than a devastated, overbloated public sector program.  We can't let the ingenuity of astrophysicists be deterred by politicians and the public checkbook.