Canada Plans Mars Mission

TO-Mars writes: "Marc Garneau, first Canadian in space and current Executive Vice-President of the Agence Spatiale Canadienne, announced in Montréal that the CSA intends a major space exploration effort, including a $500 million Mars mission. For the good of Canada and the spacefarers of Earth, let us hope that the CSA does not again eat its own, and weathers any threats to this inspiring development. I wish to stand at Champ de Mars in Montréal in a few years looking upward with pride ..."

Comments

Beagle 2: British led effort

[Anonymous Coward]

Then there's also the British led effort to Mars called the Beagle 2 which is to be launched in June 2003.

The project aims to land a 30kg (pounds? hope not another ESA blunder) lander onto the surface of Mars.

For more informaiton see also the Mars Society site and space.com

Re:Not manned

[Tom Rothamel]

Actually, there were a few achievments that the US did get to first. Specifically:

• First rendezvous between two manned spacecraft. (Gemini 76)
• First docking of a manned spacecraft. (Gemini VIII)
• First manned craft to orbit the moon. (Apollo 8)
• First manned moon landing. (Apollo 11)

That's just by the manned program. There are also a few firsts by the US in the unmanned arena, including the first flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. IIRC, the US was also the first to flyby Mercury, and to land on an asteroid.

I just wouldn't say the Soviets were ahead on every major score, especially after Gemini got going.

Re:O man what a waste of money!

[Micah]

Yeah, CA$500 million. That's enough to buy.... let's see.... a burger, fries, and Coke!

Re:When did we get a space program?

[Bob McCown]

Yea, I bet its no coincidence its shaped like a hockey stick....

Sounds like an unmanned probe, if anything.

[Christopher Thomas]

I'd love to see Canadians set foot on Mars, but at $500M Cdn (around $300M US), it's going to be a probe, if anything, that's sent there. This is about the right price range.

A manned ship that could be self-sufficient for the required travel times would cost as much as a space station, because it would *be* a space station.

As for the latitude comment made by another poster, the article mentions that they're going to contract out for launch capability, which probably means using one of the commercial launch companies in the US. This is more or less standard practice for industry launches.

It'll still be nice if it happens, though.

Re:Canada as a spacefaring nation...

[Requiem]

Funny, we've had a Liberal gov't since 1993. What's this "every four years" rot?

Re:Garneau said we need launch vehicle

[TrevorB]

Additionally, the farther you are from the equator, the harder it is to launch into orbit.

We could build our own launch vehicle, but it would have to be:

1) Not launched from Canada

or

2) Really Really Big.

Easier to piggyback for now... At least for the first mission...

Why do you think those Russian Proton rockets are so big? :)

Not manned

[jackal!]

I was surprized at the lack of details. When I see them comparing this announcement to Kennedy's announcement, I think it must be a manned mission. But for 500M? The Apollo program cost BILLIONs in the 1960s. There's no way Canada will put a person on Mars for 500M. When they talk about exploration they must be talking about probes and surveyors.

This is too bad. Canada gets teased like all the time. They last thing they need is their space program making a statement that sounds like a 5-year-old saying, "I'm going to drive a truck like daddy!" and pulling out a small plastic toy.

J

Re:Not manned

[DeadVulcan]

During the space race, the Soviets were able to compete (they didn't do terribly well, but they did at least compete)

I disagree. The Soviets got the Americans beat on just about every major score except putting a man on the moon:

• First satellite in space
• First animal in space
• First human being in space
• First human being to orbit the earth
• First unmanned probe on another planet
• First permanent space station

Not to cheapen the American accomplishment, mind you - putting a man on the moon was almost nothing short of a miracle.

I guess Americans can claim the prize for first reusable spacecraft, too, although the Russians had something of the sort on the way, I understand. I don't know how far they got with it.

The Americans surged ahead when unfortunate economics started to kick in for the Soviets.

--

Re:Vaporware

[wannabe]

You just described a lot of amateur or volunteer software projects I've looked into.

Could this be the first space program hosted on sourceforge?

Canada was the 3rd space faring nation!

[Capn_Sternn]

Everyone seems to forget that Canada was actually the third space-faring nation, ahead of China, France, Great Britain, etc... It's not like we haven't been there before. However, I have to wonder what can be accomplished with 500M$.

I am Dyslexic of Borg
Resemblance is fertile
Your ass will be laminated

This is a Good Thing

[Steve Richards]

Part of the reason that we haven't invested a lot of national effort into the space program during the past couple of decades is that there is no perceived reason to do so. The vast amount of innovation that took place during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs was primarily due to the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. If the USSR had never existed, there would never have been moon landings, because the "godless commies" would not have been our competition. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the circumstances that motivated the US political right to invest heavily in space exploration ceased to exist.

But if Canada begins to aggressively pursue space, this might change. Already, you are seeing conservative publications such as WorldNetDaily and commentators such as Rush Limbaugh lash out at Canada. If you turn on AM talk radio, you don't have to scan far to hear these people lecture their followers about the high incidence of atheism, homosexuality, feminism, Islam, etc. in our Neighbor to the North. Canada's socialist policies (and in particular, its national healthcare system) are constantly under attack from the right.

So we find ourselves coming back full-circle. A nation, that is perceived by many to have Communist leanings, is starting to pursue space exploration. Couple that with the forays that the Chinese government is making into space, and you've got a political environment that might cause people to bump up NASA's budget and make its agenda more aggressive. It's unfortunate that we have to find ourselves in situations like this before we take space exploration seriously, but I am of the opinion that if that is what it takes, then so be it. We've neglected space for way too long .. it's time to jump back into it.

Re:Vaporware

[corvi42]

You say:
I'll believe it when I see it.

Your sig says:
Anything that can possibly happen, will eventually happen

I love irony.

Take me to your leader, eh?

[Aerog]

I personally think that the plan to put something Canadian on Mars is a great idea, not only to enhance the reputation of Canada's space program on an international scene, but to also improve our facilities and techniques. Granted, I have serious doubts that it will be a manned mission for that kind of money, but the odds of possibly putting an unmanned probe on Mars are quite good, if only for a few reaons:

• We are very used to the temperatures, in a country where the temperature can easily range anywhere from -40 to 40 in a single area of the country, and it can easily be colder or warmer elsewhere.
  
• It's not like we're doing what Russia and the US did in the 60's. We have experience from all over the world to look back on and learn from.
  
• If the Canadarm is any indication, Canadian space technology is fairly reliable.
  
• No pesky conversions from/to metric.
  
• The ability is there, just the funding is iffy.
  

It might just be talk, but then again, people thought that Kennedy was crazy when he promised a man on the moon.

Vaporware

[s20451]

There is nothing of substance in the article - no mission plans, no dates, no nothing - just a catchy (and bilingual) slogan: Allons-y! Let's go to Mars, followed by a wish-list planning session. There's little about this to suggest that the maple leaf will be flying on Mars anytime soon. I'll believe it when I see it.

Top ten items on Canada's space program to-do list

[President of The US]

10. Figure out how to make a space suit out of a hockey goalie uniform
9. Decision: "Cosmocanucks" or "Canadanauts"?
8. Have R&D figure out how to dehydrate beer and doughnuts
7. Finally get around to renting "Mission to Mars"
6. Find out if the Expos are willing to relocate to the Martian League
5. Be the first to design a canoe-shaped space vehicle
4. Screw it, eh? Let's go skiing at Whistler.
3. Make sure the vending machines on Mars don't take American quarters
2. Put Bob and Doug McKenzie into orbit
1. Finish exploring Canada!
-----------------------

It'll never work

[s4ltyd0g]

They'll get all bogged down with referendums about how and when each rocket stage will seperate.