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NASA, European Space Agency Want To Go To Mars

Posted by Soulskill on from the merging-to-beat-their-competitors dept.

coondoggie writes "NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are aiming to cooperate on all manner of robotic orbiters, landers and exploration devices for a future trip to Mars. Specifically, NASA and ESA recently agreed to consider the establishment of a new joint initiative to define and implement their scientific, programmatic, and technological goals for the exploration of Mars. The program would focus on several launch opportunities with landers and orbiters conducting astrobiological, geological, geophysical, climatological, and other high-priority investigations and aiming at returning samples from Mars in the mid-2020s."

6 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Private Sector can Do it Cheaper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    The private sector can do this with 2 tabs of ecstacy, 3 hits of acid, and a joint of kind bud for when you come down.

    The private sector could send 2 people to Mars for under $100. NASA and other government bureaucracies will never be able to compete with those kind of prices.

  2. precious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    i wants it, and its my birthday

  3. First things first. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Perhaps the U.S. should solve its unemployment, deficit, and sustainable energy problems before thinking about this.

    1. Re:First things first. by commodore64_love · · Score: -1, Flamebait

      "Yes sir. We created all kinds of jobs. They cost a million dollars each and only pay around 0.1 million, but hey, at least they are working."

      I think I'm going to go break some windows now, so I can create work for glaziers.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  4. Manned missions? by divisionbyzero · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Good. With the focus now on probes and robots maybe they can stop talking about the idiotic idea of sending people there. I'd rather see them dump the money into developing human-like androids to send to Mars than planning and paying to send humans.

  5. Re:Congratulations by commodore64_love · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I was making a semi-humorous point, which seems to have gone over your head. If you to be anal-retentive, heree are some actual figures on how much it cost the United States to save jobs. Note how the government spends more than the damn jobs are worth (in terms of salary):

    ID $130,028 per job
    KS $ 99,077 per job
    ME $187,220 per job.
    MI $376,443 per job.
    NV $97,782 per job.
    NM $628,989!
    SC $1,502,839 - each

    continued - http://www.google.com/search?q=cost+of+jobs+saved

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall