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'Sending Astronauts To Mars Would be Stupid' (bbc.com)
One of the first men to orbit the Moon has told BBC Radio 5 Live that it's "stupid" to plan human missions to Mars. Bill Anders, lunar module pilot of Apollo 8, the first human spaceflight to leave Earth's orbit, said sending crews to Mars was "almost ridiculous". From a report: NASA is currently planning new human missions to the Moon. It wants to learn the skills and develop the technology to enable a future human landing on Mars. NASA was approached for a response to Anders' comments, but hasn't responded.
Anders, 85, said he's a "big supporter" of the "remarkable" unmanned programmes, "mainly because they're much cheaper". But he says the public support simply isn't there to fund vastly more expensive human missions. "What's the imperative? What's pushing us to go to Mars?" he said, adding "I don't think the public is that interested". Meanwhile, robotic probes are still exploring Mars. Last month, the InSight lander, which will sample the planet's interior, successfully touched down at Elysium Planitia. Further reading: Bill Nye: We Are Not Going To Live on Mars, Let Alone Turn It Into Earth.
Anders, 85, said he's a "big supporter" of the "remarkable" unmanned programmes, "mainly because they're much cheaper". But he says the public support simply isn't there to fund vastly more expensive human missions. "What's the imperative? What's pushing us to go to Mars?" he said, adding "I don't think the public is that interested". Meanwhile, robotic probes are still exploring Mars. Last month, the InSight lander, which will sample the planet's interior, successfully touched down at Elysium Planitia. Further reading: Bill Nye: We Are Not Going To Live on Mars, Let Alone Turn It Into Earth.
Umm....a small fabrication shop you say? So what, a 3-D printer + raw materials, a drill press and associated gadgets, etc. That's just for starters. We'll be needing some spare parts as well, hard to send home and wait 6 months for them to show up. You'll also be wanting to power these fancy tools. Some solar panels will be needed...errrm...lots of them.
Our toolsmiths will need a place to live, shouldn't be hard, we'll just send along Mr. InflateO, instant Quonset Hut. Umm...heat....we'll need to heat that as well. More solar panels for everyone, gas cylinders are big, heavy (expensive to lift out of the Earth's gravity well), and dangerous. So you'll be needing some fire fighting equipment as well if you want them, also big and heavy.
Food might be problem, there being a dearth of botanical gardens on Mars from what we hear. Water Mars has, as long as the Marstronauts stay close to the poles. Better allot time for collecting water...and defreezing it...more solar panels.
Transportation could also be a problem since Mars has not invested in public transport...taking after the Earthlings is not a recipe for success in the solar system. And that transportation will need to powered since the Flintstone's Family Human Conveyance won't be available. More solar panels, big ones too, Marstronauts are heavy in their Mars suits.
Radiation shielding might be helpful since Mars has no atmosphere. Okay, re-plan, we find a cave to situate our intrepid explorers who get all week-kneed at a bit of radiation, wussies. Of course this will limit their time working 20 times faster than machines, presuming they arrived without getting irradiated on the way there. An unfortunate feature of the solar system is people-hating radiation. We should talk to the Solar System Administrators about fixing this.
Air. Gotta have air for our meat-sacks to breathe. Okay, we'll extract that from the thin Martian atmosphere...More Power, argh, argh, argh. Another layer of solar panels for everyone.
Let's not forget the most important need for human life: waste removal. Polluting the rest of Mars with our exquisitely scented waste is probably going to screwup those biological experiments we like to run looking for Martian life..."Hey, I found it...look, bacteria...oh, never mind, just some eColi, how'd they get here?" That stuff tends to build up over time so we'll need a biological containment unit...a big one, our Marstronauts like to eat well...."Oh the intergalactic laxative will get you from here to there, if shitting is your problem, without a worry or care..." (Donovan).
There you have it, a piece of cake. And they'll get the work done 20 times faster...when they aren't repairing their equipment.
"Mars has no atmosphere, radiation, toxic dust and has a different gravity"
Sounds like LA to me.