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Mars Race Heats up Further
anzha writes "It seems what was once the province of the superpowers is no longer so. ESA and the Japanese attempted their own Mars orbiters (successfully and not, respectively). The Brits fired off Beagle 2 and are talking of going for Beagle 3. Now the Canadians are talking about a probe for Mars in 2011. How long before we see the Japanese and Russians try again? Might India or China take a stab at it as well?"
People seem to forget that Mars is not that big of a planet (less than half the size of Earth.) At this rate we'll soon have the whole damn place littered with the remnants of our missions (successful and failed.) We already have problems with space junk in LEO, how long will it be before we have problems with "Mars junk" and will it jeopardize future missions? I'm not an environmentalist or anything but I'd rather not lose a future science mission because it collided with Japan's 2006 Rover Mark VI on landing.
Based upon the lessons learned from prior missions, others could be encouraged. But, based upon the numerous failures, just as easily discouraged. Then when you factor in the costs involved, you certainly can argue against it.
What Spirit and Opportunity discover will probably be the main factor.
You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
I applaud the rest of the world for becoming competitors in the space rafe and giving the US a new determination.
Might India or China take a stab at it as well?
Maybe they can out-source the labour to the West!
Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. - Henry Ford
With the North Korean situation the Japan and indeed the entire Asian penninsula faces, it would probably be wise of them to forego a true space program for the timebeing. It's bad enough that North Korea is already nervous about every flinch of the peace negotiators, how much more willing would they be to simply shut down the talks if Japan decided to launch a inter-planetary missile not 500 miles away from Pyongyang?
Leave launches to the Indians and Russians for now. When North Korea finally comes around to join the rest of us in the modern, civilized world there will be plenty of time for space exploration.
I have been pwned because my
China: Going to the moon and mars ===> \. Yeah, take that US!
India: Going to the moon and mars ===> \. Yeah, take that US!
Japan: Going to the moon and mars ===> \. Yeah, take that US!
ESA: Going to the moon and mars ===> \. Yeah, take that US!
BFE: Going to the moon and mars ===> \. Yeah, take that US!
<random 3rd world country>: Going to the moon and mars ===> \. Yeah, take that US!
US: Going to the moon and mars ===> \. Never going to happen. It's only political showmanship.
Norris/Palin 2012
Fact: We deserve leaders who can kick your ass and field dress your carcass.
They're too busy to fool with this. They have jobs.
Interesting how the Chinese didn't even have a viable space program until the previous Administration allowed export of the appropriate technology. Considering the earlier accusations that the Chinese government illegal contributed to his 1996 reelection, I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't able to compete with us in the race to Mars.
But, why do I get visions of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World?"
What those who want activist courts fear is rule by the people.
We bought a water rocket kit from Wal-Mart. We're launching in April, hopefully on the first. Target: Io, moon of Jupiter. Finally anyone can enjoy the thrill of space exploration.
This will all come to a climax of hilarity when they reach the two rocks crossing in the shape of an X on the surface of Mars.
"Derp de derp."
Odd that the article didn't link to this.
http://www.marsrocks.ca
Slashdot:
...the CSA is interested in receiving include an orbiter, a single lander, or a network of small landers.
Now the Canadians are talking about a probe for Mars in 2011.
Website Link:
Imagine that. A Beowolf cluster of Mars Landers. I wonder if they would run on linux?
Frink: Nice try floyd, but you were designed for scrubbing, and scrubbing is what you shall do.
I keep hearing people saying that a new space race won't start because the cold war is over.
What this is shaping up to be is a land grab which should be healthy for Mars exploration. Here's hoping. There's a lot of land up there to grab. Now let's get those crazy space treaties rewritten by some people who aren't "citizen of the world" hippies.
Blaze a trail to the New World
I think all space programs should be collected under the United Nations as the United Nations Space Agency. The ESA serves as an example. Cooperation would accomplish more for more people than competition.
Oh sure, there'd be lots of collisions between agendas and between individuals. That's to be expected. But when it happens those responsible should me marked for replacement rather than placation. It's time we grew out of that sort of nonsense and space exploration is the perfect venue for that.
If the US and the USSR can come together in the Apollo-Soyuz project, surely today's more enlightened countries can set aside differences much less than mutually assured nuclear destruction.
The major problem would be the same problem NASA has: professional administrators and politicians. When engineers ran things we got to the moon. When managers ran things we got "My God, Thiokol, what do you want me to do, wait until April?" and no more Challenger.
Space exploration should be the right, responsibility and heritage of all humanity, not just those who can pry enough GNP away to put together their own team. This is not sports, this is science, and if done right, a chance to evolve socially as a planet.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
Now the Canadians are talking about a probe for Mars in 2011.
They do know that liquid beer can't exist under Martian atmospheric pressures, don't they?
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
It's aboot damn time, eh?
:)
Seriously, gl to my northernly neighbors.
And to the US in general, are we gonna sit back and let all these stupid countries pass us by? I say hell no, time for us to get out of slumber mode and kick everyone's ass again. Nothing like a bit of competition
While it's great that these other countries are providing some type of competition for the US, we have a pretty big edge for Mars right now. Only a handful of other countries have been able to get in orbit around Mars so far (Russia and the EU?), and isn't the US the only one to get a working rover on the surface (3, in fact?). Now that we have a proven method for getting rovers to the surface, I don't doubt that we'll be sending quite a few more in the near future. We'll have the most survey information about the surface, the most scientific data, the most proven methods, and are the only country that has successfully put a man on another celestial object... that sure would give us a head start for a manned mission.
:)
Good luck to the rest of you countries... I hope you catch up to make it more interesting.
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. --Winston Churchill
Whats going to happen is Bush is going to mine all the good minerals and elements from Mars and there is going to be nothing left. If he has his way were going to destroy all of the US looking for oil after the Iraqis and the other Middle East countries stop selling us oil after because of all that the US has done in invading there countries saying that they cant have nuclear weapons but we can. Also most likely it will not be very good to try to do anything with Mars because there could be viruses and diseases there that we are not ready to deal with and if there was life there at one point they might have been destroyed by a massive plague. So here is a toast to the end of our civilization as it is "Cheers Mates"
MonkeysKickAss
We all know that by 2011 Canada will be invaded and will become the 53rd state. I like the plan... make promises to spur on the rest of the world that you don't have to keep!
Not this again.
It's Reigel in the lead with his giant Mars robot pounding up the ridge behind the new Martian base. Quark takes over on the descent as they enter the power station. He tries to take a sortcut through the archway. Ohhh, that's gotta hurt. He's burried in an avalanch of loose bolders. Tyroid comes up from behind as they move out to the volcanic plains. He powers up and zooms into the lead. Now into the quary and the racers split. Reigel takes the center road, while Zeek takes the low road to the right and Doc slows into the shortcut on the left. They all burst out into the shuttle crash site. Zeek takes a pit stop while Reigel rushes on. Tyroid hits a bump and flies out of control. Reigel enters the abandoned Martian base first, but is overtaken again at the lava jump. Doc is first out of the valley, and takes the sharp turn onto the bridge. It's Doc and Reigel. It's Reigel and Doc. Doc hits the Brick Boost and inches out in front at the lap.
There is nothing so silly as other peoples traditions, and nothing so sacred as our own.
But it's the guy standing there with howitzer pointing at your head who owns the land.
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
How about trying to land a man on the sun? It's safe as long as we send him up at night.
- - - - - - (c) 2005 Irrelevant Postings, Inc.
Launched from a hot-air balloon, powered by the most useful emissions from Ottawa, the probes closely approached the edge of the atmosphere where a giant sneeze sent all 50 of the little buggers far enough out into space for the solar wind to blow them to Mars.
Today, after their multi-million mil^H^H^H Kilometer journey, they landed near the site of the latest US venture, Walmart Mars, and were trampled into the Martian dust in the stampede for opening day.
Oops
Been there, done that, paid for the T-shirt
and didn't get it
Why don't they just fake it like the moon landing? I'm sure photoshop has advanced some over the past few decades. :)
-CowboyNick
Yellowstone's springs and geysers are already choked with crap from people throwing their laundry in to see it come out clean.
Other than the rape of the American continent which will finish long before we're building Dyson Spheres, though... point taken.