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With their longer ranger, the Shkval II and newer variants could potentially be launched at a distance of over 60 miles, and home in on their target, with no countermeasures available. As such, a single nuclear equipped Shkval could take out a carrier battle group whilst sitting tens of miles away.

The Russian Navy is the primary user of the Shkval. A downgraded Shkval, the Shkval-E went to an international arms fairs in 1995, and both China, Iran and France have been known to have acquired limited numbers of Shkvals. The Russian press has claimed that the technology of the Shkval cannot be reverse-engineered and thus the Russian Navy is marketing the export variant aggressively.

And do you think China will just kinda take the prepacked payload faring with the TransHab module with the "please don't open and steal our technology or use for military purposes - US St. Dept" tape over the seams and put that on top of a Long March HLV?

So, you're a colonist on some Neu-Terra orbiting a distant oh, K-type star, and you're presented with a plate of the local munchables, Something looks vaguely like lettuce, except for being black, and the steak is oozing a strangely green-tinted fluid.  :hm: Wonder how this stuff tastes...

I'm certainly no astrobiologist, but from what I've read it seems possible that animals could conceivably use something other than iron in their blood, copper or manganese have repeatedly come up as potentially workable. Plants could almost certainly use something other than chlorophyl. Sure, the scientific aspects of such alien life is fascinating, but from a settlement standpoint we'll eventually need to integrate the native life into our own food chain if at all possible. How might our Terran tastes intepret plants and animal matter with a significantly different chemistry, though not so much so as to be undigestable. Could get interesting, particularly if we have several distinct biospheres to work from.

Just throwing this out there, any thoughts?

Mars Society and NSS Carry the Day at Moon-Mars Blitz July 14, 2004

For further information about the Mars Society, visit our website at http://www.marssociety.org]www.marssociety.org

The Moon-Mars Blitz has occurred and it has been successful.

The Blitz, which was the first important activity conducted by the new Space Exploration Alliance, occurred from July 11-13, and involved some 70 space activists visiting approximately 200 congressmen, senators, and congressional and Senatorial aides to convey to them a message of strong support for the new American space policy that refocuses the human spaceflight program on the goal of sending humans to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Of the activists present, about a third were drawn there by the Mars Society, a third by the National Space Society (NSS), while the remaining third comprised small delegations representing nearly all of the 20 space advocacy, industry, and professional organizations comprising the Space Exploration Alliance (SEA).

The Blitz proceeded as follows: On Sunday, July 11, the activists met at a hotel where they received training from SEA leaders on talking points and methods for conducting Capitol Hill meetings. Then the activists were divided up into 18 groups of 3 to 4 people, each of which was assigned to roughly 12 meetings over the following two days, with effort made to insure that wherever possible, a local constituent for the representative in question was included in the meeting. In all cases, the activists conveyed the message that NASA needs a goal, that the human exploration of the Moon and Mars is the right goal, that the entire American space community agrees on this, and that therefore the President's request for the Moon-Mars exploration initiative for Fiscal Year 2005 should be funded in full.

Reports coming back from the meetings indicate that the SEA activists were almost universally well received, and that the large majority of the responses from those met with were positive.

The Moon Mars Blitz was thus a brilliant success, but more action is needed. An in depth strategy planning meeting to map out further moves in support of the new human space exploration initiative will be held at the 7th International Mars Society Convention, Palmer House Hilton , Chicago, IL, August 19-22, 2004. Registration is now open online at http://www.marssociety.org]www.marssociety.org. Come to the convention and help lay out the political battle plan that will open the solar system.

Congratulations to the SEA for its successful debut, and especially the Mars Society and the NSS for doing so well in mobilizing their members to make the victory possible. Special thanks to Pat Czarnik, Mars Society Director of Outreach, who did the hard work of securing our exemplary turnout.

On the Chicago! On to Mars!

For further information about the Mars Society, visit our website at http://www.marssociety.org]www.marssociety.org.

So, to answer your question, I say that the colonization of Mars should not be managed at all, but be done through the joyful chaos of human freedom.

I like that wording. Maybe a little dangerous, a little bloody at times, but the only way we'll really make progress.

I think that says it all. The pioneers of the Martian frontier will be the Americans of the future.

In more ways than one, if we get our act together.  :;):

lol,
Cobra you beat me to it on the American comment, we really think alot alike.

There remains only the question of science. Surely we should avail ourselves of the opportunity to study native Martian life before we terraform the place.

We surely will. Terraforming Mars will be a long term project, and should native Martian microbes exist, there will be ample opportunity to study it before terraforming takes place. There will also be opportunity to study how it adapts to warmer, wetter conditions and the presence of terrestrial microbes after terraforming takes place.

Furthermore, if Mars actually is terraformed, there will be much more people on Mars to study every aspect of Mars, including both its native and immigrant life. So in fact, our knowledge of Martian biota will be increased by terraforming, not decreased.

Ya know, maybe I've been too hard on Zubrin...  :laugh:

Wooow this is getting down right psychodelic, I can feel the colors...

Beliefe is irrelivent... the speed of light is always the same everywhere reguardless, which is really one of the basic tenants of Relativity, and of all modern physics really.