Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

Palomar · 2005-09-06 07:39:31

*Hundreds of billions of dollars...considering certain other expenditures the U.S. is currently facing...

Seems he's definitely not in Zubrin's camp. I'm glad he's pro-Mars, though.

--Cindy

Grypd · 2005-09-06 07:44:03

He always has been Pro space. Was he not involved in a plan to create a series of cyclers so that large missions and transportations can be done to Mars.

Then again his statement is correct my calculator now has more power than the computer that was on the LEM. Its just there is not enough will to do is there.

C M Edwards · 2005-09-06 09:18:54

Good. 8)

Hopefully, people will listen.

Commodore · 2005-09-06 13:30:38

Easier in the respect that most of the technology for an Apollo style mission is already in place.

Of course doing a productive mission is another matter.

PurduesUSAFguy · 2005-09-06 17:03:15

Just want to point out he's a Purdue alum, lol, the Neil Armstrong Center for Aerospace Engineering is supposed to open next year here...I wonder if he'll be here for the opening.

I do however have to disagree with the more the 20 years comment, it may end up being 20 years, but from a technological readiness standpoint, we could do it in less then 10 if given the cash, inline HLLV SDV, nuclear reactor for power and ISRU, mix in a NTR if your feally really industrious...voila, not only h2m, but everything you need for an expanding permanent program.

GCNRevenger · 2005-09-06 17:52:00

Ten years is not a totally unrealistic number, but it would be hard to meet even if every single penny of NASA's budget were spent on Mars, skipping the Moon, and ditching the Shuttle/ISS. Less then half of NASA's budget will be available, best case, assuming painful cuts and congressional cooperation, for exploration.

Ad Astra · 2005-09-06 18:22:44

He always has been Pro space. Was he not involved in a plan to create a series of cyclers so that large missions and transportations can be done to Mars.

You're thinking of Buzz Aldrin. Since his return from the moon and recovery from his breakdown, Buzz has been a very active space visionary, promoting space tourism, flights to the moon and Mars, and flyback boosters. His sci-fi book "Encounter with Tiber" runs down his myriad of ideas (I found the parts about the furry extraterrestrials to be dull, but the beginning and end of the book are pretty good.)

Commodore · 2005-09-06 18:25:22

^Not to mention punching out members of the tin foil hat crowd.

PurduesUSAFguy · 2005-09-07 00:41:39

^Not to mention punching out members of the tin foil hat crowd.

My all time favorite internet movie clip, that was great.

On the subject of encounter with Tiber, it really illistrates how we should have reacted to columbia, although I do have some serious questions about how robust a modified ET would be as a habititat....maybe if you the put kevlar and nextel foam blanket around it once in orbit for additional sheild and micro meteor protection.

SpaceNut · 2005-09-07 05:05:53

I do have some serious questions about how robust a modified ET would be as a habititat

I think that they are using the size of the ET and possibly the outer shell as a means to designing a habitat with a size constraint. By doing this there is no need to do aeronautic wind tunnel testing.

Palomar · 2005-09-07 05:59:49

*I'm still wondering where Mr. Armstrong considers those hundreds of billions of $ will come from. Perhaps there's a magician's hat out there which returns a billion dollar bill everytime you reach into it. If the estimates out of Louisiana are any indication, certain plans have a huge dent in them now.

Guess it's up to the privateers.

--Cindy

Stormrage · 2005-09-07 06:09:57

The good thing about thisis it will help with Public support for Mars.

Ad Astra · 2005-09-07 17:27:55

On the subject of encounter with Tiber, it really illistrates how we should have reacted to columbia

There are a lot of similarities between the events of "Encounter With Tiber" and the post-Columbia space program. We are committed to going back to the moon and Mars. We will do so in a ship that likely resembles an enlarged Apollo capsule. Burt Rutan (mentioned by name in Buzz's book) won the X-Prize. The next new rocket after the shuttle will be an ET with engines bolted to the bottom and a payload on top.

I don't feel there is any kind of magic or any conspiracy behind the fulfillment of "Encounter With Tiber." The inevitability of a shuttle accident, combined with a desire to really explore space (moon & Mars,) the logic of building an in-line SDV, the robustness of Apollo, and Burt Rutan's awesomeness have all combined at a precise crucible in our history. Buzz Aldrin is clearly in-tune with the momentum of human spaceflight at the present time.

Granted, Buzz had a few misses, like the ET station, Starboosters, and the accelerated schedule of exploration. Other prophesies (like orbital commercial spaceflight) are too early to judge. I chalk up Starboosters to Buzz's desire to promote his brainchild, and the accelerated exploration timeline to Buzz's desire to tell a good story without dragging it out. Overall, I think "Encounter With Tiber" is a good blueprint for us to follow in the post-Columbia era (as long as we ignore the fuzzy cat aliens who have nothing better to do than mate and fight.)

publiusr · 2005-09-08 15:48:04

Even Sea Dragon is dwarfed by Petronas.

They can do it.

Palomar · 2005-09-22 04:07:04

*And speaking of Neil Armstrong, I dreamed last evening my husband and I met Mr. Armstrong -- along with a small group of space-exploration supporters. The organizer of the event treated us all to a nice steak dinner. It was such an honor meeting Neil. The dream seemed very real.

Back on topic...

--Cindy

publiusr · 2005-09-23 15:25:43

If onlt these hurricanes had waited a dozen yrs or so.

Palomar · 2005-09-23 15:50:55

If only these hurricanes had waited a dozen yrs or so.

*Yeah. And if only we'd gone to Mars by 1985 and already had a little colony there at least. I'm really hoping the rest of my life's attention to space exploration endeavors isn't predicated on "if only" ... thanks to boneheads in the gov't.

1975 was a long time ago. Apollo-Soyuz was so anti-climatic. And nothing spectacular since.

And 40 years from now? PLEASE, before I'm in the boneyard.

--Cindy

EuroLauncher · 2006-03-11 20:49:54

Neil Armstrong says a human expedition to Mars won't happen for at least 20 years ?

What I think Armstrong means is that Mars would be easier to colonize than the Moon & Mars will have more resources for settlement & habitation

however getting a big payload to Mars is the hard part, rescue missions are almost impossible and surviving the long trip there and back has been a recent question

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/c … 40325.html
While flagging the issues of astronaut safety, McSween said that he anticipated a human mission to Mars as "medium risk" proposition. "The risk is probably more from the problems in dealing with microgravity and radiation than it will be from the martian environment," he concluded

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005 … devils.htm
Because Martian dust devils can tower 8 to 10 kilometers high, planetary meteorologists now think the devils may be responsible for throwing so much dust high into the Martian atmosphere. Importantly for astronauts, that dust may be carrying negative charges high into the atmosphere as well. Charge building up at the storm top could pose a hazard to a rocket taking off from Mars, as happened to Apollo 12 in November 1969 when it lifted off from Florida during a thunderstorm: the rocket exhaust ionized or broke down the air molecules, leaving a trail of charged molecules all the way down to the ground, triggering a lightning bolt that struck the spacecraft.

http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16160
How can robotic exploration missions sent to Mars aid NASA in assessing the risks to astronauts posed by possible environmental, chemical, and biological agents on the planet? Of critical importance is whether it will be necessary to return Martian soil and/or air-borne dust samples to Earth prior to the first human mission to Mars to assure astronaut health and safety.

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#1 2005-09-06 07:39:31

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#2 2005-09-06 07:44:03

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#3 2005-09-06 09:18:54

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#4 2005-09-06 13:30:38

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#5 2005-09-06 17:03:15

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#6 2005-09-06 17:52:00

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#7 2005-09-06 18:22:44

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#8 2005-09-06 18:25:22

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#9 2005-09-07 00:41:39

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#10 2005-09-07 05:05:53

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#11 2005-09-07 05:59:49

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#12 2005-09-07 06:09:57

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#13 2005-09-07 17:27:55

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#14 2005-09-08 15:48:04

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#15 2005-09-22 04:07:04

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#16 2005-09-23 15:25:43

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#17 2005-09-23 15:50:55

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

#18 2006-03-11 20:49:54

Re: Neil Armstrong: Mars easier than Moon

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