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Hibernating to Mars

Posted by michael on from the you-are-getting-sleeeeepy dept.

neutron_p writes "Manned missions beyond the Moon are no longer wild dreams. NASA plans a manned mission to Mars before 2020. With automatic systems in control, astronauts would face the challenge of living in a confined space with not much to do for an extremely long period. 'Might as well sleep it off!' Studies initiated by ESA have gone one step further. Wouldn't it be nice if astronauts could hibernate! ESA biologists are conducting investigations into the physiological mechanisms that mammals use to hibernate."

16 of 344 comments (clear)

  1. Send newly-minted PhDs. by pedantic+bore · · Score: 4, Funny
    After I finished my dissertation, I was more than ready for a several-month nap. (Too bad it didn't work out exactly that way...)

    --
    Am I part of the core demographic for Swedish Fish?
    1. Re:Send newly-minted PhDs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      You mean you didn't go straight to the unemployment line with your student loan bills?

  2. Just give them TV a Fridge and Chips by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny


    works for most of USA

    1. Re:Just give them TV a Fridge and Chips by Zorilla · · Score: 4, Funny

      or a PC with an internet connection, works for all /. readers!

      Macintosh zealot in 5, 4, 3, 2....

      --

      It would be cool if it didn't suck.
  3. Simple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just gather up a bunch of geeks and toss them in the capsule. Once they get away from Earth, send a message letting them know that you accidentially packed decaf. Once the panic wears off, they'll sleep the rest of the trip.

  4. Give'm a job! by ScuzzyTerminator · · Score: 5, Funny

    Make them earn their passage by doing some programming along the way. Set up the food dispensers so that if you don't work, you don't eat. That will keep them occupied!

    1. Re:Give'm a job! by antifoidulus · · Score: 4, Funny

      If they are programming stuff they will need in Mars while GOING to Mars, they are the ultimate slackers.

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      Monstar L
    2. Re:Give'm a job! by jamesh · · Score: 4, Funny

      Now that gives me an idea. Load the ship up with about 10-20 more people than required. Install hidden cameras all over the place. The audience would be able to vote 1 person off the ship at regular intervals (hence the extras :).

      Selling the show to the highest bidder would probably fund the whole trip!

  5. Changing astronaut requirements by thellamaman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Expect NASA to announce, in the next few months, that physical requirements for astronauts have now changed. All prospective recruits must now have at least 400 lbs. of body fat.

  6. Just be real sure... by bcrowell · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...not to hit the snooze button when you get there.

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    Find free books.
  7. NASA is dumb by Charcharodon · · Score: 5, Funny
    Why do they get so worked up over social group issues and confinement for astonauts on long space journeys. If the standard "NASA astronaut" (bunch of over achiever egomaniacs anyway) can't hack it then they need to change the standard.

    I say you surf the net and find the biggest net geeks they can find that never log off. After a spot check at their house to see they do in fact only leave their room to shit, get pizza, soda, and beer then sign them up to be astronauts. These guys wouldn't even notice they have left earth, much less have difficulty handling the isolation. That is of course till Halflife 3 came out and wouldn't run on their computers.

    Then we would have to have an emergency mission. Of course we could get ATI or NVIDIA to pay for the privlage of being "the official sponser of the graphics card upgrade rescue mission".

  8. Re:Does hibernation slow or stop aging? by moonbender · · Score: 5, Funny

    But it would also suck to fall asleep and wake up three years later -- and three years older, with absolutely nothing to show for it.

    Kind of like studying computer science... ;)

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  9. Easy! by cmcguffin · · Score: 4, Funny

    How are they gonna get a brand-new, untried vehicle to run for a six-month trip each way, without multiple someones keeping an eye on things?

    All they have to do is have some kind of automated assistant to keep an eye on things!

    They could call it the Hybernation Assistance Lifeline.

    It could do things like keep the radio antenna lined up with Earth, and manage the opening and closing of the pod bay doors.

  10. Re:Does hibernation slow or stop aging? by Tablizer · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm a powernap expert and have slept for up to 36 hours in one stretch. What would you like to know?

    Not something to put on a resume, if you ask me.

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  11. Hibernation here on Earth. by SnprBoB86 · · Score: 4, Funny

    So they are trying to make a human hibernate for 3 years? I wonder if 4 years is possible.

    If Bush wins, I want to sleep right through it.

    --
    http://brandonbloom.name
  12. Re:Does hibernation slow or stop aging? by dsanfte · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, you could keep their bottom halves out in space.

    --
    occultae nullus est respectus musicae - originally a Greek proverb