Cost of Mission to Mars, worth it?

[Dude111]

We have enough problems that need fixing STRAIGHT AWAY here,fuck other planets!!

 

[dmcowen674]

2.5 billion cost of Mars mission, worth it?

No

Not unless we are going to Terra Form Mars

 

[bfdd]

Seriously lol @ "fix things here", we don't need to cut NASA or any of our Space shit to "fix things here". We need to reign in the military and it's giant socialist programs. Majority of military spending is now in health care, lols, as will soon be our nations welfare expenditures. All because we let some swindlers keep their jobs. Pathetic the lot of you for hating on the Mars mission. This is a shining example of this countries greatness and you shit all over it.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Any biology would apparently be done under a microscope. Let's say you're using a scanning electron microscope. The image is simply computer generated. It doesn't matter if you're looking at the image while standing on Mars or if you're looking at the image while standing on Earth - it's the same image. Perhaps you would be able to more rapidly glance at 20 slides and choose which one to examine more closely in less time. But, compared to the time to even get to Mars, the times savings are miniscule.

As far as a "well equipped field team" - what about a well equipped robot? Very little of the research would be on a macro level. Most of it on a micro level. All the human can do is manipulate samples and run tests on those samples. That's something a robot can do.

Or, to put it another way, name something specific that a human would be able to do that a robot couldn't. Perhaps "improvise" - but again, the improvisation has a pretty good chance of being carried out on Earth, with the robot merely obeying instructions.

If it were that simple why have scientists at all? What if a situation exists for which the equipment isn't precisely right? What if the PCR machine needs repair? Indeed, what if something unexpected happens? Who pulls the rover out of a ditch? How good is Curiosity with duct tape? No machine is a match for hands on research. In a place such as mars improvisation is to be expected, unless one is content to spend a better part of a decade constructing and financing new robotic crafts for what a good lab from a good institution of higher learning could do in a week.

My wife alone in her modestly equipped lab can outdo all of NASA. A microscope hardly does the trick.

 

[DrPizza]

If it were that simple why have scientists at all? What if a situation exists for which the equipment isn't precisely right? What if the PCR machine needs repair? Indeed, what if something unexpected happens? Who pulls the rover out of a ditch? How good is Curiosity with duct tape? No machine is a match for hands on research. In a place such as mars improvisation is to be expected, unless one is content to spend a better part of a decade constructing and financing new robotic crafts for what a good lab from a good institution of higher learning could do in a week.

My wife alone in her modestly equipped lab can outdo all of NASA. A microscope hardly does the trick.

Please give an example of improvisation with the types of experiments that will be conducted. A decade constructing and financing new robotic crafts for what a good lab from a good institution could do after 20 years of constructing and financing a mission to get them there. We have robots there NOW. We are at least a decade away from being able to send a manned mission to Mars. By the time they get there, there won't be anything left for them to improvise.

And, in the case of something breaking - you can send two identical robotic missions for still less than the cost of one manned mission.

Again, as far as improvisation - you sit in a lab, on Earth, and think about what you might improvise. Then you send the robot with that capability to Mars.

Have your wife name one experiment she could do that would be impossible for a robot to do. The objection to doing it on Earth with robots is that designing a robot to do that experiment would be far far more expensive than having a human do it. Though, with the robot on Mars, you will also need a human at the other end (Earth) to determine subsequent steps, etc. But, the extra step of sending that human to Mars - absolutely dwarfs the expense of designing and sending the robot.

 

[gevorg]

Yes - Independent, even $25 billion is worth it. Look at the big picture on what the government and the society spends their money on. Curiosity mission will be in history books for centuries to come.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Please give an example of improvisation with the types of experiments that will be conducted. A decade constructing and financing new robotic crafts for what a good lab from a good institution could do after 20 years of constructing and financing a mission to get them there. We have robots there NOW. We are at least a decade away from being able to send a manned mission to Mars. By the time they get there, there won't be anything left for them to improvise.

And, in the case of something breaking - you can send two identical robotic missions for still less than the cost of one manned mission.

Again, as far as improvisation - you sit in a lab, on Earth, and think about what you might improvise. Then you send the robot with that capability to Mars.

Have your wife name one experiment she could do that would be impossible for a robot to do. The objection to doing it on Earth with robots is that designing a robot to do that experiment would be far far more expensive than having a human do it. Though, with the robot on Mars, you will also need a human at the other end (Earth) to determine subsequent steps, etc. But, the extra step of sending that human to Mars - absolutely dwarfs the expense of designing and sending the robot.

Lets have a little more info. Tell me about the nature of life if any. As far as what she or someone technically qualified can do? Ok the PCR machine breaks. Fix it.

 

[Jaskalas]

Seriously lol @ "fix things here", we don't need to cut NASA or any of our Space shit to "fix things here". We need to reign in the military and it's giant socialist programs. Majority of military spending is now in health care, lols, as will soon be our nations welfare expenditures. All because we let some swindlers keep their jobs. Pathetic the lot of you for hating on the Mars mission. This is a shining example of this countries greatness and you shit all over it.

If our budget remains as is, there won't even BE a nation to !@#$ all over.

 

[Retro Rob]

If they can find something before/during/after these missions that brings massive benefits to mankind here on Earth, then, yeah.... personally.

But... if they're searching for a place to create a human civilization, then it's a waste and suicidal.

Out of all the planets/moons, science even shows that this planet is perfect for human life (distance from the sun, not to small, not too big, perfect tilt stabilized by out moon).

Anything else proves hostile and fatal for human life outside this atmosphere. My 2 cents.

 

[DrPizza]

Lets have a little more info. Tell me about the nature of life if any. As far as what she or someone technically qualified can do? Ok the PCR machine breaks. Fix it.

A little more info? Sorry, we don't even have info on whether or not life exists on Mars yet. As far as repairs, sure, the robot can do the exact same thing your wife can: order the replacement part online and have Fed-Ex deliver it the next day. Ohhh, wait a second. So, your "well equipped lab" will have a second of every part that could go bad? Why not just send up 2 PCR machines? Also, why would you send a human to Mars with a PCR machine if you don't even know yet if there's life on Mars? Once you know there's life on Mars, why send a human to do DNA analysis with a PCR if you don't know yet that the life there contains DNA? Should the robot determine the answer to these first two questions? Or should we send a PhD biologist to Mars with a billion dollars worth of equipment (the equipment wouldn't be the same as on Earth - radiation hardening for circuits, etc.) only to discover that none of that equipment is needed or that it's the wrong equipment? Hmmmm :/ Should we send a human with every feasible type of equipment to meet every possible contingency? Considering how much it costs to life one pound of material into (very) low orbit on the space station, any idea how much it would cost per pound to send a machine to Mars that would be utterly useless there? Step by step; we learn a little about a bunch of things then, send a new robot.

Don't forget, your well-equipped lab on Mars has to be completely re-engineered before it's sent there. Why would you spend 10's of millions making equipment that it turns out wouldn't be needed?

 

[digitalbuda]

$2.5 billion is absolutely worth it.

Considering the war in Iraq alone has already cost us about $4 Trillion. What did we gain in that war? How many people have died? How much debt has it added to our country? What is it $700 Billion to bail out the banks and yet they want to slash funding for Public Education, Police/Firemen, Social Security etc.

Imagine that kind of money put towards science and education or *gasp* even healthcare. NASA operates on the tiniest amount of budget in terms of government spending which is shrinking every year and yet they milk it for all its worth for the benefit of everyone. Absolutely worth it.