Where should man go.

[ijuin]

Yes, and meanwhile our robots get stuck axle-deep in the soil. So much for "robots can do all the science that humans can".

 

[RisingFury]

I say we go to Titan. It's the only other place with an atmosphere that won't fry us, it's composed largely of water ice, and plenty of helium-3 is available in Saturn's atmosphere. Makes more sense to me than dead worlds with little to no atmosphere.

Yes... so instead of being burnt alive, we'll be frozen rock solid and drowning in a lake of liquid methane...

 

[ryan]

Yes... so instead of being burnt alive, we'll be frozen rock solid and drowning in a lake of liquid methane...

Now that's a place i dont mind unmanned rovers going, might be nice to orbit though

 

[Ark]

Yes... so instead of being burnt alive, we'll be frozen rock solid and drowning in a lake of liquid methane...

It's worth it to avoid having to drag all the fuel for a powered descent with you.

 

[T.Neo]

Yes, and meanwhile our robots get stuck axle-deep in the soil. So much for "robots can do all the science that humans can".

I'm not saying robots can do as much science as humans at all- I think human exploration, in combination with and utilizing direct control of robots is the way to go.

Imagine a larger rover pulling up to Spirit, and a team of astronauts climbing out to dig the sand from underneath its wheels...

 

[MJR]

How was that: We choose to go to ε Eridani and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.

And ε Eridani sounds just better than "Mars" or "Titan". And we know already too good how to get to Mars, there is no lack of options how to get there, just a lack of will to go there.

Aren't they saying that there might be a planet or two orbiting it?

 

[RisingFury]

Now that's a place i dont mind unmanned rovers going, might be nice to orbit though

No... it would be boring as hell. Titan is a silicon rock shrouded in thick atmosphere of smog. Kinda like on Venus, you can't see the surface. You need stuff like RADAR to penetrate it.

Once on the surface, the atmospheric pressure is about one and a half as much as on Earth. Survivable, but not exactly comfortable...

It's worth it to avoid having to drag all the fuel for a powered descent with you.

Yes, so your brilliant idea is to introduce oxygen in large quantities into an atmosphere filled with fuel........................


Granted, Titan is an interesting place... it's surface geology is the closest to Earth then any other body in the solar system. There are seas, lakes and rivers of liquid methane, terrain seems young as indicated by quite well defined craters, but there is corrosion going on due to win and rain of fuel...

There's even some self-reproducing chemistry going on there, which is really amazing, given it's like -200°C...

The clouds are made of methane and nitrogen... and there are even hints of chryo-vulcanism, spewing out more fuel...

Not exactly the idea place to send a human exploration crew, if you wanna bring them back alive.

 

[Piper]

If robotic exploration is so grand, why did the scientific returns from Apollo utterly dwarf that of the Luna/Lunakhod programs? And while we're at it, how about ending manned exploration of the Antarctic and replace that with robots? After all it is so hostile, and that's enough to stop us from going back to the Moon and on to Mars.

In case it has to be said, the above should be taken with a large grain of salt. I neither think we should stop manned expeditions to the Antarctic, nor should we completely replace robotic exploration with manned exploration. We need BOTH.

As for the poll, I said the moon. The simple reasoning is the same as the reasoning for the Gemini program before going to the moon in the first place. Gemini gave NASA the experience and knowledge necessary for doing things like docking, orbital rendevous, etc. The stuff needed for doing any short term lunar mission. Any mission to Mars will last for a much larger period of time, months if not years, and we have no experience comparable to that. The longest mission on the moon was barely more then 3 days. Sure, we learned a lot, but there's still tons more to see and explore, and not to mention the experience we will gain from long duration stays.

Also, a couple of simple questions for people to ponder when comparing Mars/Moon to Antarctica. How many people died exploring the Antarctic, compared to the moon? And why are we so scared now to take the same risks (indeed, probably less risks now)?

 

[Ark]

Yes, so your brilliant idea is to introduce oxygen in large quantities into an atmosphere filled with fuel........................


Granted, Titan is an interesting place... it's surface geology is the closest to Earth then any other body in the solar system. There are seas, lakes and rivers of liquid methane, terrain seems young as indicated by quite well defined craters, but there is corrosion going on due to win and rain of fuel...

There's even some self-reproducing chemistry going on there, which is really amazing, given it's like -200°C...

The clouds are made of methane and nitrogen... and there are even hints of chryo-vulcanism, spewing out more fuel...

Not exactly the idea place to send a human exploration crew, if you wanna bring them back alive.

It can't be that much harder to survive than space, which we've gotten rather good at. You wouldn't have to have an entirely closed-loop system like you do in space when there's at least some resources available to utilize. It's just a matter of engineering. And cost.

 

[RisingFury]

If robotic exploration is so grand

Oh... it's not... Human exploration is FAR more valuable then robotic. Things that humans find trivial are incredibly hard for robots and there are loads of limitations.

I just think that the first thing we explore with our brand new rockets should be something a bit safer then Titan.

It can't be that much harder to survive than space, which we've gotten rather good at. You wouldn't have to have an entirely closed-loop system like you do in space when there's at least some resources available to utilize. It's just a matter of engineering. And cost.

Space is empty... it's void...

The biggest thing you have to worry about is losing atmosphere and micrometeorites.

Thermal insulation is easy - since there is no atmosphere, there is no heat transfer due to touch and convection, only radiation. That takes out 2 out of 3 things you need to prevent.

Power generation is easy - there are no clouds to block your solar panels and you don't have to deal with a nuclear reactor.

Building a structure that survives in LEO is easy - there are no huge forces due to wind or liquids, and since all parts of your ship are at the same freefall speed, you don't have to worry about parts falling off due to their own weight. The biggest stress is doing your ship.

The environment is clean - no worrying about bringing toxic gasses or fine dust into your living environment...

Sure... there are "resources" on titan... but you're not gonna drink Methane or grow your food in Methane-soaked mud, are you?

 

[simonpro]

Other: Man should go to a local bar. Preferably one with a fine German beer on tap and an assortment of colorful characters to enliven one's evening. If they have table football then so much the better. Woman can come too, if she'd like.

 

[tylor2000]

Where should man go?
How about woman?

Opposing thumb kind. Feel better? Indo-european languages'(and quite a few others) grammatical rules were made a very very long time ago. Changing the abritary conventions would produce a whole different language. Which is fine, but right now I'm speaking english. Could you imagine the romance languages without masculinity and femininity? A whole slew of their grammar is based on it. In so many cases it's designation is completely abritary.

 

[ryan]

Woman can come too, if she'd like.

The unwritten rule of marriage or dating: Always add if she'd likes