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Posted on June 23, 2009 | tags

 
 

Tech, U.S.: Buzz Aldrin thinks we should go to Mars. Well, he did go to the moon.

  • By refocusing our space program on Mars for America’s future, we can restore the sense of wonder and adventure in space exploration that we knew in the summer of 1969. We won the moon race; now it’s time for us to live and work on Mars, first on its moons and then on its surface.
  • Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin (i.e. the second man to set foot on the moon) • On the possibility that the next step for the space program is heading to Mars. He thinks it would be a shot in the arm for NASA. Why the heck not? We’re sure Marvin would be a gracious host! • source

Posted by Ernie Smith • Permalink


 
  • http://facebook.com/veggiedude Tony Martin

    Buzz wasn’t “the second man to go to the moon”, he went there with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins. The correct wording should be “the second man to set foot on the Moon”.

  • http://shortformblog.com shortformblog

    Ouch! That’s kind of nit-picky. I’ll reword it, though.

  • http://asseenbydoldman.blogspot.com/ The Old Man

    He IS right. Remember Apollo 10, Plymouth Rock, and the Golden Rule.

    I am nearly 50. I do not see any way we will get to Mars in my lifetime. Engines are not powerful enough, not nearly fast enough. It would take years to do the amount of supplying to be done, and space debris (Flotsam and Jetsam) is a constant problem. We would need shields to protect the craft (that’s still years off), and while getting to Mars is possible, it would still take 9 months to get there. Nothing we have could be ready for an emergency.

    Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for the trip. But there is too much work to be done, and it’s being ignored.

  • JOMO

    Buzz– You lived in the Golden Age of the twentieth century, you had it good with your NASA spacefriends, hip cocktail parties, muscle cars, rock and roll and presidential backslaps. In case you haven’t noticed, that’s over. This is the twenty-first century and it looks like it’s going to stink for awhile, there will be no Mars mission because there is no money, there is no money because there are no jobs here and because corrupt politicians have given it to all their big oil and warbucks friends, they have done that because us P.C. bound idiots of the twenty-first century have no common sense and do not know how to vote. I know, shocker.

  • Apollo Mark

    I strongly disagree with The Old Man. In theory at least, nuclear fission propulsion has a favorable enough weight to thrust ratio to get us to Mars with all the necessary equipment and safety precautions. We need a dedicated nuclear spacecraft designed to travel between the planets with takeoffs and landings left to other (chemical) systems. Then we should push even harder and strive for a fusion or antimatter-triggered nuclear pulse detonation propulsion system.

    I’m sorry Old Man, but I agree whole-heartedly with Mr. Aldrin. Let’s do something inspirational. I mean no disrespect to the brilliant and hard-working folks at NASA, but I have to believe that if pushed hard enough that NASA could give us more than an Apollo-makeover (Orion). I like Orion, but I’d love another “giant leap for all mankind”, its been a while and I’m getting old.

  • Bruce

    Agree with the comment from JOMO. America is on it’s back. We owe a terrific, almost unfathamable amount of money. Private and Public held debt is projected to be 11 TRILLION in 2010. How can a country of 300 million every pay that? Well… we cant. The only thing propping up this ponzi scheme is that for now the dollar is allowed to be the world banking currency.

    We don’t need “Inspriration”… we need DISCIPLINE. Hard work, like the generations of Americans in the 30s, 40s and 50s did. Something like the work ethic my dad and grandad (both now deceased) had. That is what makes a country great in my view.

  • Bruce

    Agree with the comment from JOMO. America is on it’s back. We owe a terrific, almost unfathamable amount of money. Private and Public held debt is projected to be 11 TRILLION in 2010. How can a country of 300 million every pay that? Well… we cant. The only thing propping up this ponzi scheme is that for now the dollar is allowed to be the world banking currency.

    We don’t need “Inspriration”… we need DISCIPLINE. Hard work, like the generations of Americans in the 30s, 40s and 50s did. Something like the work ethic my dad and grandad (both now deceased) had. That is what makes a country great in my view.

  • Bruce

    Agree with the comment from JOMO. America is on it’s back. We owe a terrific, almost unfathamable amount of money. Private and Public held debt is projected to be 11 TRILLION in 2010. How can a country of 300 million every pay that? Well… we cant. The only thing propping up this ponzi scheme is that for now the dollar is allowed to be the world banking currency.

    We don’t need “Inspriration”… we need DISCIPLINE. Hard work, like the generations of Americans in the 30s, 40s and 50s did. Something like the work ethic my dad and grandad (both now deceased) had. That is what makes a country great in my view.

 

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