New Mars Forums

I hear ya, Tyr!  I wrote a letter to the Space and Science Committee in Congress once.  Of course I didn't receive a reply.  It may be tedious but I do believe that letter writing can help.  I know that there have been numerous petitions for this or that that have been available but I never found out what happened to them.  If I was computer literate and internet savy enough, I would develop a webpage that specifically dedicated to getting attention of NASA and governement.  Probably sounds crazy but you never know!

I'm not a rocket scientist (haven't we all said that before) but I don't see why it wouldn't work.  Propellant goes out of the nozzles, ship goes in opposite direction.  Very fast if it was fission or fusion powered.  What material could withstand nuclear blast for a small period of time?  Carbon nanotubes formed into a container?  Quartz?  Here's a good link for starters:  http://www.islandone.org/APC/Nuclear/index.html

I wonder how much martian sand would go for?  I would be happy with a small test tube size container.  You have someone collect a database of people who have submitted and pre-paid for the sample of Mars.  On the next lander to Mars, have a robotic rover collect a number of vials of sand (Of course it would be better if a human was doing this).  THe samples are placed in a container/capsule built to withstand a splashdown in the ocean.  The container is launched from Mars to Earth.  Once it's collected from the ocean, the organization that has the list of personnel can contact you to either personally pick up your sample or have it mailed to you.  The one problem that I see with this is how much to charge for the sample.  Can someone point me in the right direction to find out?

The US will definitely need to launch a Mars Direct type mission to retain it's dominance in space technology.

These are good websites, Tyr.  Thanks!   Again, I don't understand why this idea is not be developed.  About 80-90% of the hardware is already present.  NASA has already studied this extensively.  I like the idea of using NPR engines on these too.  Heck, I would be happy to see the ETs used with chemical engines.      Does anyone know of any books on this subject?  Reading webpages are fun but I don't want to be stuck at my computer all the time either.

You guys are lucky.  I currently live in Nebraska near Omaha and the planetarium here is closed for good!!!!  Although, in Lincoln, their putting a lot of effort into Aug. 27th.  I know of no one around here who is even remotely interested in astronomy.  I have some binoculars but I really can't see anything of interest with them.  Man, I really wanted to actually see Mars through a scope.   

Seth, do you have this team created already?  I started back in April and I have at least 440 WUs.

Don't get me started on the ISS!!  A waste of money!  This group has a better idea and they borrowed it from NASA!

www.spaceislandgroup.com

I've thought about that to, prometheusunbound.  I don't recall Dr. Zubrin mentioning the use of NERVA for a Mars mission.  If I remember correctly, he would like to use nuclear propulsion but did not want to wait for the development.  I'm probably quoting him incorrectly.   

I'm all for the use of NERVA or anything that uses nuclear propulsion!      It's a shame that it was not developed further.

What a bonehead this person was!!  So the weather didn't actually have anything to do with the delay???

I understand not having a "force field" but using something like the M2P2 could get to Mars faster and a side effect is that it can provide some protection from solar flares.  Nothing extra would have to be built.

I was ready to call the author of that article all kinds of insults.  But, I thought why bother.  Although, I do agree with Cindy.  Everyone is on the bandwagon to bash America these days.