New Mars Forums

redhorizons

Banned

From: Oklahoma

Registered: 2005-09-27

Posts: 50

Re: Who crews the Crew?

Wanted to get people's opinion on who you think should crew the first human mission to Mars?

Cobra Commander

Member

From: The outskirts of Detroit.

Registered: 2002-04-09

Posts: 3,039

Re: Who crews the Crew?

Majority female. Specifically a select female crew and myself. 

What? Oh, like I'm the only one that thought about it. 

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Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.

bolbuyk

Member

From: Utrecht, Netherlands

Registered: 2004-04-07

Posts: 178

Re: Who crews the Crew?

Mixed, 50:50 would be the best, but I think it will be the result that more men than women go. At least two of one sex aboard.

Commodore

Member

From: Upstate NY, USA

Registered: 2004-07-25

Posts: 1,021

Re: Who crews the Crew?

Whoever is best qualified for the mission.

This isn't the best place for an Affirmitive Action thread.

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"Yes, I was going to give this astronaut selection my best shot, I was determined when the NASA proctologist looked up my ass, he would see pipes so dazzling he would ask the nurse to get his sunglasses."
---Shuttle Astronaut Mike Mullane

redhorizons

Banned

From: Oklahoma

Registered: 2005-09-27

Posts: 50

Re: Who crews the Crew?

I am looking for an affirmative action plan, I want opinions on what people think is the best sex ratio.  There are pros and cons to an even ratio, or a majority ratio of either sex.  I could care less for PC or macho-ism or feminism.  I want the best crew--what is it and why?

Josh Cryer

Moderator

Registered: 2001-09-29

Posts: 3,830

Re: Who crews the Crew?

I said 50:50, and I know this might sound sexist and all that foldera (to me it's just logical), but a 2 year trip to Mars is going to be quite lonely. I think pairing is ideal.

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Some useful links while MER are active. [url=http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html]Offical site[/url] [url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Web.html]NASA TV[/url] [url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/]JPL MER2004[/url] [url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/statustextonly.html]Text feed[/url]
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The amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth totals some 3.9 million exajoules a year.

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,431

Re: Who crews the Crew?

This article puts some thoughts into why and why not a mixed crew.
Out-of-this-world sex could jeopardise missions

Sex and romantic entanglements among astronauts could derail missions to Mars and should therefore be studied by NASA, warns a top-level panel of US researchers.

Zero-g spot
Ellison says NASA should study the likely effects of taking couples up on long missions, as well as issues of sexual orientation and fertility. She suggests individual differences in sex drive could also be used to choose crews for Mars missions.

"One could perhaps select for people who seem to have less need for sex, or at least don't use sex as a form of self-validation,"

Nothing like taking the fun out of a very long trip...

spaceman9000

Member

Registered: 2005-10-14

Posts: 22

Re: Who crews the Crew?

That sounds good, partnering up on the mission, but I think you're missing one crucial element: family, like letting married or other commited couples train and go on the mission together, I think this is best.
As to the crew, I say whoever has the qualifications should go (even though I voted 50:50). Gender, sexual orientation, or whatever shouldnt really matter on a mission, everyone should respect everyone else's wishes and requests. Like I said before, I personally think families would be better for missions, but that would probably have to wait for later missions (one-way colonization).

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"The government that governs least, governs best"
-Thomas Jefferson

Dook

Banned

From: USA

Registered: 2004-01-09

Posts: 1,409

Re: Who crews the Crew?

I would hope that for an American mission the makeup of the crew would be representative of the USA and of the earth.

This means half female, an Asian American, and a European American.

But the real choice comes down to teamwork.  They have to be able to work together.  You can mix and match people all you want but you can see from the reality tv shows that a few bad apples need to be tossed sometimes.

Mundaka

Banned

Registered: 2004-01-11

Posts: 322

Re: Who crews the Crew?

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Macte nova virtute, sic itur ad astra

spaceman9000

Member

Registered: 2005-10-14

Posts: 22

Re: Who crews the Crew?

Dook, I think your solution will work only if thats how the talents are naturally spread around in that way. Anything else sounds like "Affirmative Action". The people will need to do their job, so I say we shouldnt focus on race or gender.
Mundaka, Im skeptical about a Chinese launch before a private one. Keep up on the clothes idea.
I really think that you and Dook should seriously considering supporting/investing in a privately-funded mission.

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"The government that governs least, governs best"
-Thomas Jefferson

Dook

Banned

From: USA

Registered: 2004-01-09

Posts: 1,409

Re: Who crews the Crew?

My post noted that regardless of the good intentions teamwork is more important than the racial or sex makeup of the crew.

Also, I already contribute greatly to space exploration whenever I pay taxes.