Here is an article that I found to be rather interesting in the La Crosse Tribune, see if you agree with me. The article starts off by making the statement that its always cheaper to fly one way, even to Mars. Two scientist are proposing that we could colonize Mars quicker and more economically if we went at it like the first settlers to come to America - not expecting to come home. Washington State University professor, Dirk Schulze-Makuch stated in the article, "The main point is to get Mars exploration moving." I don't know what you think, but I feel that this is a very far-fetched, and rather preposterous idea. Why would we not want to bring our astronauts home again? Executives at NASA were cool to the idea. "We want our people back," NASA spokesman Michael Baukus said.
The article in question appeared in the latest issue the Journal of Cosmology, and was entitled "to Boldly Go." The latest issue featured more than 50 articles and essays on Mars exploration. Schulze-Makuch and Paul Davies, a physist at Arizona State University, argue that humans must colonize another planet to stop a catastropy that could happen here on Earth. They believe that the one-way trips to Mars could realistically happen in two decades. Apollo 14 astronaut, Ed Mitchell wrote in an e-mail, "This is premature, we aren't ready for this yet." In my opinion I have to agree with him. The two scientist suggest that we should send a little bit older folks, around 60 or something like that. When I think of this that would certainly make me elligable for those missions in two decades and to be honest with you I definately don't want to go. Are they looking at this as a fix it to our growing geriatric population? If so, you can count me out.
They go on further to say that because the mission would undoubtedly reduce a person's lifespan from a lack of medical care and exposure to radiation, sending people of child-bearing age is not a good idea. Their reason for this is that the radiation could irrepairibly damage their reproductive organs. When I read this article I said to myself what on Earth were they thinking. We can send the older population there of no use to our society anymore. I'm interested to hear what you think of this idea.
http//lacrossetribune.com/2010/11/16/pg. A2
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