NASA Reveals Hundred Year Starship Program

cmansley writes "NASA Ames Director Simon Worden revealed that NASA Ames has 'just started a project with DARPA called the Hundred Year Starship,' with $1 million funding from DARPA and $100K from NASA. Worden said 'Larry [Page] asked me a couple weeks ago how much it would cost to send people one way to Mars and I told him $10 billion, and his response was, "Can you get it down to 1 or 2 billion?"'"

Comments

You're going to find that rather difficult.

[quibbler]

...without your manned launch ability.

I think it's funny how much touting of past success and distant future goals the present administration seems to do after dismantling the US manned space program by executive order. (Rushed out days before congress could vote on emergency funding.)

Re:Cutting Corners

[Anonymous Coward]

Only if there's a market to sell them to. You're comparing ICs that basically power our civilization, to Space Nuttery that has no hope in hell of going anywhere? Where's the equivalent market?

You're also comparing things that get smaller and smaller to do the same work (basically flipping a bit), to something that CANNOT get smaller? We still weigh the same, gravity is still the same. Yes, we can improve materials to make rocket parts, etc, but not because there's a huge market for them, but because there's overlap with the aerospace industry and the military guys have deep pockets.

So, you're comparing swapping out a bad page of RAM for a spare one on a die to rocket engines that still need to deliver hundred of tons of thrust? You're insane. Are you a Space Nutter?