Re: Space travel by humans is not possible now

On Jan 25, 12:47 pm, "Jeff Findley" <jeff.find...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"jacob navia" <ja...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:fncsqb$8kb$1@xxxxxxxxxxx

Fred J. McCall wrote:
2) If people aren't going there is no point to having a space program
beyond near-Earth studies.

This is the viewpoint of somebody that doesn't understand and has no
interest in science.

The fact that we are never going to go to the Andromeda galaxy, or to the
center of the virgo cluster doesn't make it less interesting for
science.

These are places we can't send unmanned spacecraft.

Sure, we could go to these plases, given enough time and if the
travellers would never intend to return.

Mr McCall supposes that human presence in space is interesting people.
He has forgotten the huge popular interest tha the Mars rovers
generated, the intense public interest in millions of hits in the www
sites of the rovers, etc.

That's popular interest. The science we've gained is still far, far less
than what a single manned mission ought to be able to return. For starters,
a manned mission is sure to bring back a lot of rock samples from various
locations (within manned rover distance). The Mars rovers, to date, have
traveled very small distances (a few miles), by manned space mission
standards.

Robots capable of moving a distance with less micromanaging, as soon
as those are available, ought to be capable of surveying a larger
area.

All this talk about "humans are necessary to get budgets" is just
wrong and has no factual basis.

Actually it does have a basis in fact. NASA spent a lot of money on
unmanned lunar probes (orbiters and landers) in preparation for manned
missions to the moon. Following the last manned mission to the moon, there
have been precious few NASA unmanned lunar probes. If it were all about the
science, these unmanned missions to the moon would not have ended. NASA has
never sent any mission (manned or unmanned) to the moon's polar regions,
even though those regions are of scientific interest.

Jeff
--
A clever person solves a problem.
A wise person avoids it. -- Einstein

Personally, I´d like humans to return to the Moon, this time for
keeps.

Now, somebody will mention we´ve been there, done this and that, but we
´ve yet to create an actual robust manned space precense. IMO the Moon
is the best plase.

You see, once humans are to stay, I expect the dynamic of space
operations to change. Also, the technological approach I think will
change in useful ways for the future in space.

I really think the Moon the 'key' to the rest of the Solar System. You
see, once our precense has become robust within the Earth/Moon space,
other space missions will become so much easier to accomplice than
before.

Einar
.

Relevant Pages

  • NASA Selects Scientists and Investigations for Robotic Moon Mission (LRO)
    ... NASA SELECTS SCIENTISTS AND INVESTIGATIONS FOR ROBOTIC MOON MISSION ... administrator, NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. ...
    (sci.space.news)
  • Re: What Did You Watch? June 29th (Monday)
    ... "Mission to Mars" within the last week, ... Let me make one 'science' observation: ... why would the moon split in 2 long after the Giant Space Turd was gone? ... Nobody takes the opportunity to wipe out a neighboring ...
    (rec.arts.tv)
  • NASA Ames scientist selected for return to Moon team (Forwarded)
    ... NASA AMES SCIENTIST SELECTED FOR RETURN TO MOON TEAM ... Orbiter mission to explore and measure geological features on ... operations and science expertise to the team, ... Planetary Science Division Research and Analysis Program scientists ...
    (sci.space.news)
  • Re: Space travel by humans is not possible now
    ... interest in science. ... than what a single manned mission ought to be able to return. ... missions to the moon. ... a gravity well, not as big a gravity well as the Earth, but none the ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Space travel by humans is not possible now
    ... interest in science. ... He has forgotten the huge popular interest tha the Mars rovers ... than what a single manned mission ought to be able to return. ... have been precious few NASA unmanned lunar probes. ...
    (sci.space.policy)