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oh no, theyre coming for me! i need a job before i can pay for a membership ???
good luck in Utah
that system would eventually cause societal tension between colonies and even war. you should comply with these laws, because south dakotas tax dollars funnel into programs that help virginia. if the states were separate, they would be weak, but with a government whose laws are uniform and apply to the entire union, the states are collectively stronger.
the concept of "states rights" is backwards, imho. each state sacrifices for their own betterment. think of any team...what would the results be if members decided not to follow rules because they didnt like them?
byron, wow, that sounds EXACTLY like me. i just dont care anymore. especially since high school grades can be completely subjective.
i have great interest in school topics, but everything you do in school is designed around a test at the end of the year, which is backwards. the tests should be based on what you learn, not vice versa. tests are important, but they dont really test your aptitude, they test how well you swallowed your notes the night before.
is there even a scientific position in cabinet?
where will the sperm be fertilized and carried in this plan? or am i missing something?
i have to say, i think fusion is the way to go. with the breakthroughs experienced in fusion technology, i dont think its unreasonable to believe that fusion should be a viable option in 20 years--by the time large scale power would be needed. fusion needs a minimum of fuel to produce huge amounts of power, which is a huge upside for a colony that needs to use every resource.
with the mars direct plan, each lander comes with a reactor, albeit small. these could probably last until a real reactor is needed, at which point i believe fusion will be viable.
on a side note, how hard would it be, if at all feasible, to convert a fission reactor to fusion? if this is possible, fission reactors could be used on earth and on mars, until fusion is ready, and then reactors could be converted.
decentralized government is too weak.
a global government would be necessary for many things. for example, in early American western expansion, America had the Homestead Act, which allowed each family a plot of land and the right to build on it. this would be a valid type of arrangement on another planet.
also, governments should be able to mobilize the economy in a particular direction-not arbitrarily, but for the good of the people. if there is no economic regulation, nothing of large scale, and i mean continental here, would be accomplished in a reasonable time or fashion. a strong government, not absolute, but strong, is vital to the defense and unity of a people.
a confederation would be dangerous. the possibility for many different laws, currencies, etc. is great, which would be a detriment to society. bureaucracy is good, but only to a point. bloated bureaucracy is a bad thing, as history has shown, but more can be accomplished when there is a centralized, democratic based government.
i never said without kids. i said that you cant have kids with a limited workforce and no existing infrastructure.
im not saying that women arent just as important as men, what im saying is that both have differing roles in a future colony. im not saying women should stay inside and cook for men, of course not.
i see two problems with a female only crew. first, what can they do while they are pregnant? i dont suppose a pregnant woman can be much help to a colony. no, the colony has to be built in stages, after a time being able to support an incapacitated colonist, and his/her baby. a colony would have to be established before babies could be supported and cared for. perhaps nuseries could be formed to take care of all babies 18 hours a day, but this is still not possible before the colony is several years old, unless you send a bigger, single, 50 person mission.
second, no sexism intended, but women are not as physically capable as men in some situations, and vice versa. women can do many things men are less capable at, yes, but men are usually better at brute work, like lifting or moving. so, the crew should be diverse, not men or women only, but a mix.
american military research is just spending more money on stagnation. there is nothing new or fundamentally better about the JSF. any time progress happens, the program is squashed. no significant number of new planes are made every year, only spare parts for old ones. i know this because i have personal ties to the defense industry.
and as for russia, america had to foot a huge amount of the production of the ISS that was supposed to be made in Russia. If Russia cant support the space station, they cant support Mars missions.
NASA is not to blame for its own stagnation, the government is. The government is responsible for the stoppage of many useful programs, or the creation of pointless others. they also have a tiny budget to work with, and they are forced to spend this money wherever the politicians see an opportunity to glorify themselves.
i think its a good idea to plan where we are going to "put" oceans, and launch manned missions accordingly. assuming the Mars Direct blueprint, a "town" 50-200 km within an ocean or large body of water would be ideal.
it would be harder to change things on this scale once people are in permanent, large communities, so the major terraforming should be done in the early stages of manned missions, in my view.
now, i have a question. can we control the purity of the oceans? if we can do that, large scale irrigation would be a HUGE boon to any colonies, among other benefits of pure water.
bill gates is a busy guy.
the problem i have with the article is that "now" will always be a problem, because if we wait for Mars to be perfect, it wont be. mars isnt going to make itself perfect for us spontaneously, we have to do it for ourselves.
ive been rereading zubrin's books too. some truly great stuff....but then theres also some stuff that i cant really see happening.
as for cities in the sky, thats a logistical nightmare. where will the resources, not just capital, but the materials, come from? how will it be done? how will it be powered, and controlled? how will the city support size increases, population increases, etc? it just doesnt seem to work out in my mind.
i would like to comment about general exploration and colonization. in my view, humanity on earth needs to be united into a strong, central entity in order for humanity to succeed in expansion. imagine the federation in star trek.
large projects function best with the help of government funds-and a government that truly sought the interests of humanity under one banner would be able to provide these funds. we cannot let one country monopolize commerce or expansion. the whole world needs to participate and share knowledge. and this is coming from a very patriotic american.
i was thinking for a flag, a picture of a spaceship embossed over the sun, a figure that could transcend any one planet where humanity resides and forever represent our origins.
im 15, and im also pretty into space.
ill check that site out, thanks.
the purpose of a species is foremost to survive. nature has shown us that a watery, blue world is hospitable to intelligent life. so, to spread ourselves, and thus survive, is to expand, whether or not there are competitors in another territory.
look at it from any sense. religiously, it is professed that we are created in God's image. would not God want beloved seed to grow, prosper, and glorify the universe in his supposed greatest creation?
scientific-natural selection dictates that we expand, conquer new territory, and evolve. obviously, new environments expedite the process of evolution, so Mars is a perfect venue for human expansion. like before, because humans live under Earthlike conditions, if we are capable, we must either adapt (over millions of years) ourselves, or our evironment-the latter is much easier.
social-to prevent a single, boring culture, we must spread and create new avenues for cultural and societal development.
political-new systems, etc.
i could cover dozens of different viewpoints, but my point is, under any perspective, we must expand to mars, and other planets, and we must make it suit us. im not saying we should ignore the fundamental richness of the science to be found, im saying that our needs as a species are a close second, vital, priority.
i was thinking the same thing as i read the posts. then theres the issue of practicality. if we could just pick up and leave, wouldnt we all live in multi million dollar mansions? the fact is that people will continue to live on mars (if we get there and settle it) because they will become tied to their homes, families, jobs, and money.
As for terraforming, I didnt read all the pages, but we've been terraforming earth for thousands of years. why stop here?
I don't know if this is right, because I'm only a kid, but I've heard that the type of nuclear material used in nuclear propulsion wouldn't even be harmful if it was leaked-that it would sink to the bottom of the ocean.
Has anyone else heard this?