2006-08-24 16:33:25 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
The risks of interplanetary space travel...all we can hope for in our lifetimes...are not well appreciated. And very few people want to hear about them. Cosmic rays that can penetrate the skin of a spacecraft and injure or kill the people inside. Debris tiny and huge that can destroy a spacecraft if it hits a it while cruising at 25,000 miles per hour or more. The medical problems of extended weightlessness. The unexplored psychological and social problems of being in a cramped space for several months. And then there are the usually mechanical failures. And once you get to the planet, your hope is that there is life there...and that's when the real problems begin, because some of that life will be really hardy microbial life, invisible and deadly. And all of this for a huge percentage of the planet's wealth.
And yet, all we hear from NASA is this romantic dream of "man's destiny." All this species-level heroism. Oh, my god, no I wouldn't do it, and one of the great lessons of mankind will be that no one should do it. It just isn't worth it, to prove that we can do it. What we should do is explore our earth, learn how to keep it a habitable place. Keep from spoiling it forever.
2006-08-24 16:50:02 · answer #1 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely! Survival is not a sure thing when I get behind the wheel of my car, either.
2006-08-24 23:40:21 · answer #2 · answered by Kikka 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hell, I drive to work everyday and survival is not a sure thing, and it sure as hell isn't as cool as going to outer space. So, why not?
2006-08-24 23:40:02 · answer #3 · answered by honk2goose 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.
But some glad morning when this life is over I'll fly away!
2006-08-24 23:45:31 · answer #4 · answered by Chris 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yea, whats the difference between space and earth? We all are doing it...
2006-08-24 23:39:35 · answer #5 · answered by 345Grasshopper 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You'd go if the chances are 75% or better? Do you realize how ludicrous that is?
2006-08-24 23:47:04 · answer #6 · answered by kacole6 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hmmmmmm. I would really have to think about that one. I mean, flying would be cool enough as it is.
2006-08-24 23:36:30 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No! Absolutely Not!
2006-08-24 23:38:51 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely, without question.
2006-08-24 23:38:10 · answer #9 · answered by Andrew B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it would depend on the chances
and who else is going
but odds 75% or better
you bet i would
2006-08-24 23:42:56 · answer #10 · answered by fragle2c 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋