Going Back to the Moon and Mars

An anonymous reader writes "An interesting three-part interview with author Dr. Andrew Chaikin discusses whether humans or machines could best explore the moon or Mars and even whether a crew could get along with each other for three years on an extended mission. His Mars planning draws on Apollo mission transcripts, and he cites mishaps with the Apollo 15 lunar rover almost sliding catastrophically down a mountain, an astronaut argument as to who took the most famous earthrise picture and what after 14 months in space, the Russian record-holder uses to recover his land legs: 'One vodka, one sauna'."

Comments

My favorite quote

[Nuclear Elephant]

We're stayin we're goin' make up your mind... I vote we all stay and die.

Here's how you fund a Mars mission

[Anonymous Coward]

You make it a REALITY SERIES.

"Three astronauts, picked to live in a spaceship and have their mission taped to find out what happens when people take a trip to Mars and start being real. The Real Mars."

If it takes 3 years, great! Imagine the ratings for each episode as they get closer to Mars, and the ratings for the finale? WOW!

ABC/Disney needs something big to combat Survivor and the Apprentice. I believe this is it.

Re:Here's how you fund a Mars mission

[k4_pacific]

Great idea. I've always liked the idea of shooting shallow, obnoxious, good-looking people into space. Put Ryan Secrest or some other icon of triteness on there to host, then fire the whole capsule into space. You can add some extra drama by "missing" Mars and crashing the probe into Jupiter Shoemaker-Levy style.

Re:Here's how you fund a Mars mission

[oGMo]

If it takes 3 years, great! Imagine the ratings for each episode as they get closer to Mars, and the ratings for the finale? WOW!

Imagine the astronaut's reaction when a year into the mission, FOX cancels them.

Simple solution

[nizo]

even whether a crew could get along with each other for three years

It seems we could solve two problems here. Since food for a bunch of astronauts is a problem on a three year mission, basically include enough for all but one, and at some point in the mission plan on the majority voting for one fellow astronaut who gets eaten, solving food problems and getting rid of the most annoying astronaut in one fell swoop! Film it for transmission back to earth and you could get TV funding too.

Re:Simple solution

[Patrik_AKA_RedX]

Easy to get not chosen to be eaten, just follow these guidelines:

* Don't wash yourself. Ever.
* Start each day with showing everyone your most unshowable parts.
* Mention how much bad cholesterol you have.
* Use publicly medication for any veneral decease you can think of.

Although they would all vote to kick you out the nearest airlock in a swimsuit, none of them would consider eating you.

No problem!

[Tablizer]

mishaps with the Apollo 15 lunar rover almost sliding catastrophically down a mountain

That's okay. I saw an AAA bumper sticker in one closeup.

Re:Humans in space is just PR

[Tablizer]

ventually we'll need more room and more resources.....If something ever happens to this rock we're on, human kind is finished. If we can get off this rock and spread mankind throughout the universe, so much the better for us.

Our destiny is to be a pernicious space virus, known as "humans".

"Fill space"?!

[JessLeah]

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space."

--Douglas Noel Adams

Better make it a double.

[dexter riley]

I remember reading that at the Chernobyl accident, the doctors gave the reactor workers vodka for its "anti-radiation" properties.

If the cosmonaut's quote is any indication, Soviet space medicine has advanced beyond Soviet nuclear medicine, if only by the addition of the sauna.