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Mars Mission: How Hard? NASA Astronauts Weigh In
astroengine writes: In an interesting interview with Discovery News, retired NASA astronauts Clay Anderson (Expedition 15/16) and Steve Swanson (Expedition 39/40) discussed their views on how the US space agency should select the first Mars-bound astronauts — a mission that is slated to commence in the late 2020's. While Swanson thinks that the current NASA astronaut selection process should suffice for a long-duration foray to the Red Planet, Anderson isn't so sure, saying, "(Mars) doesn't require a jet fighter pilot. It doesn't require a Ph.D. astronaut — although those people would be just fine, but I think that it's going to take people that are very good generalists, that can do many things." As depicted in the upcoming Matt Damon movie, "The Martian," Mark Watney (Damon) is thrown into an unexpected, life-threatening situation, requiring him to use his general skill set to survive on the barren landscape until he's rescued. As the first manned missions to Mars will likely throw unforeseen challenges at the explorers, it will probably be a good idea to have a crew that are adept at thinking on the fly and skilled in many different areas rather than being a specialist in one.
As depicted in the upcoming Matt Damon movie, "The Martian," Mark Watney (Damon) is thrown into an unexpected, life-threatening situation, requiring him to use his general skill set to survive on the barren landscape until he's rescued.
Yeah, but Star Trek suggests that a team of highly skilled specialists working together is the way to go.
Then again, maybe we shouldn't be basing mission planning on a bunch of cheezy fucking sci-fi movies. Just a thought.
"Pretty fucking hard."
Ive looked but I can't seem to find a VOD release date.
Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
An older friend was a phd director level at NASA before retiring once told me that they (NASA) had once done a study and found that people who grew up on farms were the best with solving problems because they grew up constantly fixing stuff. But this was back in the 70's.
If things go well, they're probably dead. If things go not so well, they are dead. There is no special set of skills that will make a real difference.
On Mars, NASA astronauts only weigh in at 0.38 times what they do on Earth.
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
You want somebody who can somehow survive the incredible boredom of traveling to Mars without going crazy. Seriously, he'll be locked inside a tiny cabin where he can barely move for two months just to get there. Then he'll arrive with muscles mostly atrophied and stuck inside either a space suit or a tiny living quarters.
He doesn't need to solve shit, for most everything it would make more sense just to radio home and ask them what to do. He won't have to make split decisions, because he'll be going through his actions incredibly slowly, confirming with home base.
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They tended to be country boys who had grown up fixing things, especially truck engines, so when they broke down in the desert they had a chance get moving again.
So they'd want a "Jack of all trades, master of none" because that has worked so well on other occasions?