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Private Mars Mission Planned For 2009
Enkidu writes "Spiegel and other German media are reporting that a complete private Mars mission (automated translation) is planned for 2009. Organizations behind are AMSAT and Mars Society Germany."
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And they'll get a lot of sympathetic ears, too. The crowd here on Slashdot who grew up on "gee wow" Science Fiction stories won't want to believe it, but my gut feeling is that once regular people start thinking about it, they won't want to see Mars screwed up.
And settlements on Mars are even less likely. Mars is a completely unique environment. It simply won't be allowed.
And please spare me talk about treaties, and land rights, etc, etc, blah blah. Planetary exploration is not like anything else. There is no precident.
What will the earth governments do about it, you ask? A Mars colony will not be able to be self sufficient from a single launch. Without support from the Earth, it will die, period.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
They'se getting their feet back that's all! After all, who do you think DESIGNED the entire US and Russian rocket programs....hold on...that'd be the GERMANS we kidnaped after WW2!!! Germans have always been at the forfront of technology, again most of the nuclear scientist on both sides of the cold war were from Germany also...we just got more first because of the stupid Nazis!!!
Some balance will have to be struck. If the UN actually enforced this (unlikely--has the UN enforced anything lately?), then that would be kiss of death for space development. Why run the risks if you had to give away all the proceeds?
The UN can't enforce anything. They are not a state, they have no method of enforcement. The best they can do is pass a resolution for member countries to attack. Anything else would be an infrindgement of US sovergntiy.
Be better in bed. Wikiafterdark!