Do you think the USA should attempt to send a manned flight to Mars? Apollo gave us huge benefits, will Mars?

Question

Due to the Apollo lunar missions and the development of the Space Shuttle system the entire world has reaped the benefits of NASA's research and development. Everything from solar power cells, miniturization of computer components to protective heat shields and calculators. The dollars spent on the space program are insignificant compared to what we got in return.

The rewards from a manned mission to Mars could be just as big.

What do you think about the prospect of sending a team to Mars?

Answer 1

I think that a return to space is inevitable, and will reap enormous benefits in our understanding of ecology, medicine, electronics, propulsion and power generation, food production, and a host of other areas that we can only guess at from this side of the process.
Mars is a good goal, simply because, as JFK said, "it is hard." Landing on, and staying on, Mars, or the moon, is a tremendous undertaking, and one well worthwhile.
The problem, as I see it, is that while we are wasting so much of our energy combatting phantoms, we may find it difficult to coordinate the necessary effort to succeed in such an endeavor.
So until "terror" stops being the driving force in American politics, I think any serious striving for "progress" will be put on the back burner.
And that is a terrifying though, isn't it?

Answer 2

I agree, besides the undeniable fact that the Russians are miles in the back of us on Mars even thinking the very incontrovertible reality that we (US) are to this point faraway from the conception of touchdown on it. i imagine there is an exceedingly good false impression on merely how far China is in those varieties of ventures. China received't get there first...you could write that for the period of stone. After the moon touchdown, the U. S. grew to change into their interest to Mars, and the Russians wanting to spotlight studying Venus. an section race will be an exceedingly good element for the economy...yet on the instantaneous there is not any one to compete with.

Answer 3

I'd love to go to Mars but I fear that politicians will talk a lot about it and then when it's time to appropriate money they'll force NASA to try to do it too cheaply and then things will naturally run into trouble and the usual cost overruns ...

Then they'll turn around and complain that things didn't work out the way they wanted them to and cancel the whole project after years of effort have gone into it.

People complain that spending dollars on space is wasteful. It isn't if you stick with your project to the end. What's really wasteful is doing things half way and then cancelling them.

Answer 4

I would like that. I would also really like to see flights to the Moon resume. Going to Mars is WAY harder than going to the Moon because it takes many months instead of only 3 days, so lunar flights will almost certainly resume before the first people go to Mars.

Answer 5

That would be great and very rewarding. The faster it happens, the faster we will start living in the Real Future

Answer 6

they should but probly wont for another 10-20 years