Do we need to increase the race for Mars

[HIGHERBEAM]

Do we need to increase the race for Mars,I say yes as we are slowly distroying this world and we need some where to put our feet up.
http://www.firstscience.com/home/perspe ... _1834.html
Martian Missives - The Race for Mars
- By Stuart Brown Page 3 of 3tification an ambitious American Presidential candidate would need to substantially boost Space Program funding for potential manned missions to Mars. Even recently President Bush seemed to be positioning himself for potential good news with a speech where he upped Nasa's funding by a billion dollars over five years, and spoke about the potential for manned missions to Mars. In real terms the increase is not going to make much difference (Nasa's 5 year budget is $86 billion), but symbolically it is encouraging.
Also, if life has existed on one planet outside our own, then why not on others? Consider that Images from the Hubble Space Telescope indicate that there are over 50 billion galaxies in the Universe. Currently we know of over 100 planets in our galaxy; although undoubtedly there are many, many more. But lets say that there are 100 for the sake of arguement. This means that there are at least 500,000,000,000 planets in the universe. If only 1 in a million of those were Earth-like (that is 1 Earth-like planet for every 50,000 galaxies!) there would still be 500,000 planets. And if only 1 in a thousand of those supported advanced life there would still be 500 Earth like planets with advanced life.


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Credit NASA - Pat Rawlings
Artist's concept of a possible exploration program to Mars - Did life ever exist on Mars? If so, the best evidence may be fossils preserved in the rocks.


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So, on balance it seems extremely unlikely to me that we are alone in the Universe. I suspect, based on nothing much more than my gut feeling, that the Universe is teeming with life and that these are very pessimistic estimates in any case. The problem is that the distances between galaxies is so vast that whilst I think it is almost a given that intelligent life does exist elsewhere in the Universe. It is probably very unlikely that we will make contact with it. Because whilst the statistics positively scream that there are aliens; they also scream that there is very little chance of two of them being close enough to ever know of the others existence. Of course, as Benjamin Disraeli , British Prime Minister in 1868 and from 1874 to 1880 is reckoned to have said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics". So you never know!

This thought can be either quite depressing or quite heartening. Depressing because I doubt we will ever see aliens. Heartening because the fact that we didn't hear or see the tree fall in the woods does not mean it did not. Either way the first step is to find any sign of life outside the Earth, and even the merest glimmer of life would be fabulously exciting. We may never do the 'seek out new civilisations' part of the equation in my lifetime, but at least with two Rovers Nasa still has two shots at the target to keep the 'seek out new life' part alive. Let's hope that at least one of them hits a bullseye!

[Aussie]

Do we need to increase the race for Mars,I say yes as we are slowly distroying this world and we need some where to put our feet up.

How about this. 50% go to Mars, the rest stay here. I am staying on Earth.

[Super Nova]

HB,

I think we should invest in going to mars and establish a colony. Why...because

- we need a colony off this rock incase the shit hits the fan and the human race is threatened with extinction
- we need to advance and go forward outside this solar system if we are to exist to the end of time. the sun will die in a few billion years so we need to start now
- it will provide a drive to advance technology in biology and other sciences
- it would be acause that humanity can pull together on... we need one
- the chance to find live there
- to begin teraforming Mars to be more earth like.

we have to go... it is a matter of when... let's get on with it

[Rainbow Moonlight]

What about that moon - was it a Jupiter moon which may be more suitable to colonise?

[annielaurie]

What about that moon - was it a Jupiter moon which may be more suitable to colonise?

Do you mean Europa?

Europa, closer to Jupiter than Ganymede, is the smoothest natural body in the solar system. It resembles a billiard ball until seen very close-up. At that distance you can start to see dark, deep, and narrow cracks. In scale, though, the relief is no bigger than a line on a billiard ball made with a felt-tipped marker. Geologists think that Europa has liquid water underneath the icy surface - and possibly life.

Here's a page on Jupiter's many moons - they are all very interesting, but far too cold for humans, except perhaps mining colonies ..

http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/stu/jupiter_moons.html

[annielaurie]

But wait, maybe you meant Titan, the moon of Saturn, visited by the Cassini mission ..

Saturn's Moons

The dozens of icy moons orbiting Saturn vary drastically in shape, size, surface age and origin. Some of these worlds have hard, rough surfaces, while others are porous bodies coated in a fine blanket of icy particles. All have greater or smaller numbers of craters, and many have ridges and valleys. Some, like Dione and Tethys, show evidence of tectonic activity, where forces from within ripped apart their surfaces. Many, like Rhea and Tethys, appear to have formed billions of years ago, while others, like Janus and Epimetheus, could have originally been part of larger bodies that broke up. The study and comparison of these moons tells us a great deal about the history of the Saturn System and of the solar system at large.

To date, 53 moons have been officially named. In alphabetic order, they are: Aegaeon, Aegir, Albiorix, Anthe, Atlas, Bebhionn, Bergelmir, Bestla, Calypso, Daphnis, Dione, Enceladus, Epimetheus, Erriapus, Farbauti, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Helene, Hyperion, Hyrrokkin, Iapetus, Ijiraq, Janus, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Kiviuq, Loge, Methone, Mimas, Mundilfari, Narvi, Paaliaq, Pallene, Pan, Pandora, Phoebe, Polydeuces, Prometheus, Rhea, Siarnaq, Skadi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttung, Tarqeq, Tarvos, Telesto, Tethys, Thrym, Titan and Ymir.

Astronomers continue to find new small moons orbiting Saturn, using both ground-based observatories and Cassini's own imaging cameras.

For more information on the latest moons discovered visit the Recent Discoveries page and the Icy Satellites publications listing.

Diversity of Worlds

The moons of Saturn are a diverse collection. Cassini has explored their icy landscapes in unprecedented detail, solving long-standing mysteries and sharing many new surprises: Iapetus has an enormous ridge along its equator in addition to its two sides of remarkably different brightness. Rhea may have its own faint rings. And sponge-looking Hyperion is so porous that impacts tend to just punch into the surface, and its gravity is so low that what material does get ejected tends to leave the moon altogether.

In some ways, the moons Titan and Enceladus have turned out to be the stars of the Cassini mission. Titan, with its thick atmosphere, clouds, and dunes on its surface, plus rivers and lakes of liquid methane, is a rich laboratory for chemistry and processes that may resemble early Earth in a deep freeze. And with its towering south polar plume of icy particles, Enceladus has geologic activity, simple organic compounds and possibly liquid water beneath its frozen surface, making it incredibly important to the study of potentially habitable environments for life. Both of these moons are tempting targets for future exploration.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/moons/

[Outlaw Yogi]

Mars has no atmosphere so colonising and living there would require constructing air tight habitats.
The atmoshere was blown away by solar winds due to Mars' weak magnetosphere, so habitat bubbles on the surface would be prone to asteroid impacts and cosmic radiation.

The Solar Wind at Mars
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/sc ... st31jan_1/


So presumably this air tight habitat would have to be underground.
But in either case the question of how to generate enough oxygen to sustain air breathing life forms remains.

So hyothetically, transparent bubbles on the surface would be required for plants, and underground bunkers/tunnels required for colonists.

Transparent ceramics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparent_ceramics
via
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparen ... anslucency

Realistically, those interested in colonising other planets would be better off looking at those already with a breathable atmosphere, but even if 'Total recall' type terraforming was achievable, I woundn't go to Mars because I don't like cold weather.

Personally I can't see humanity achieving such an ambition within the next century, which seems to be a critical time frame for circumventing a global warming induced extinction event. So it seems far more practicle to me to learn how to survive on this planet before expending resources on a scheme which is unlikely to be achievable for generations yet.

EDIT ADDITION - Assuming ETs are out there, what gives people the idea ETs would let humanity go feral through the galaxy before learning how to live within our sustainable means?

[Rainbow Moonlight]

But wait, maybe you meant Titan, the moon of Saturn, visited by the Cassini mission ..

Saturn's Moons

The dozens of icy moons orbiting Saturn vary drastically in shape, size, surface age and origin. Some of these worlds have hard, rough surfaces, while others are porous bodies coated in a fine blanket of icy particles. All have greater or smaller numbers of craters, and many have ridges and valleys. Some, like Dione and Tethys, show evidence of tectonic activity, where forces from within ripped apart their surfaces. Many, like Rhea and Tethys, appear to have formed billions of years ago, while others, like Janus and Epimetheus, could have originally been part of larger bodies that broke up. The study and comparison of these moons tells us a great deal about the history of the Saturn System and of the solar system at large.

To date, 53 moons have been officially named. In alphabetic order, they are: Aegaeon, Aegir, Albiorix, Anthe, Atlas, Bebhionn, Bergelmir, Bestla, Calypso, Daphnis, Dione, Enceladus, Epimetheus, Erriapus, Farbauti, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Helene, Hyperion, Hyrrokkin, Iapetus, Ijiraq, Janus, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Kiviuq, Loge, Methone, Mimas, Mundilfari, Narvi, Paaliaq, Pallene, Pan, Pandora, Phoebe, Polydeuces, Prometheus, Rhea, Siarnaq, Skadi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttung, Tarqeq, Tarvos, Telesto, Tethys, Thrym, Titan and Ymir.

Astronomers continue to find new small moons orbiting Saturn, using both ground-based observatories and Cassini's own imaging cameras.

For more information on the latest moons discovered visit the Recent Discoveries page and the Icy Satellites publications listing.

Diversity of Worlds

The moons of Saturn are a diverse collection. Cassini has explored their icy landscapes in unprecedented detail, solving long-standing mysteries and sharing many new surprises: Iapetus has an enormous ridge along its equator in addition to its two sides of remarkably different brightness. Rhea may have its own faint rings. And sponge-looking Hyperion is so porous that impacts tend to just punch into the surface, and its gravity is so low that what material does get ejected tends to leave the moon altogether.

In some ways, the moons Titan and Enceladus have turned out to be the stars of the Cassini mission. Titan, with its thick atmosphere, clouds, and dunes on its surface, plus rivers and lakes of liquid methane, is a rich laboratory for chemistry and processes that may resemble early Earth in a deep freeze. And with its towering south polar plume of icy particles, Enceladus has geologic activity, simple organic compounds and possibly liquid water beneath its frozen surface, making it incredibly important to the study of potentially habitable environments for life. Both of these moons are tempting targets for future exploration.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/moons/

Yes, I think you ar eright annie. Thanks.

[annielaurie]

Mars has no atmosphere so colonising and living there would require constructing air tight habitats.
The atmoshere was blown away by solar winds due to Mars' weak magnetosphere, so habitat bubbles on the surface would be prone to asteroid impacts and cosmic radiation ..

Mars does have an atmosphere, but thin and not breathable for humans ..

Atmosphere of Mars

The atmosphere of Mars is relatively thin and is composed mostly of carbon dioxide (95.32%). There has been much interest in studying its composition since the recent detection of trace amounts of methane, which may indicate the presence of life on Mars, but may also be produced by a geochemical process, volcanic or hydrothermal activity.

The atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars varies from around 30 pascals (0.0044 psi) on Olympus Mons's peak to over 1,155 pascals (0.1675 psi) in the depths of Hellas Planitia, with a mean surface level pressure of 600 pascals (0.087 psi), compared to Earth's sea level average of 101.3 kilopascals (14.69 psi), and a total mass of 25 teratonnes, compared to Earth's 5148 teratonnes. However, the scale height of the atmosphere is about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi), somewhat higher than Earth's 7 kilometres (4.3 mi).

The atmosphere on Mars consists of 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, and contains traces of oxygen, water, and methane, for a mean molar mass of 43.34 g/mol.

The atmosphere is quite dusty, giving the Martian sky a light brown or orange color when seen from the surface; data from the Mars Exploration Rovers indicate that suspended dust particles within the atmosphere are roughly 1.5 micrometres across ..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Mars

Frankly, I think Mars is our best bet for colonies, but it's going to take a lot of work ..

[Outlaw Yogi]

Mars does have an atmosphere, but thin and not breathable for humans ..

Indeed.
According to NASA ..

If it were possible to magically transport a cup of water from Earth to the surface of Mars, the liquid would instantly vaporize. Mars's atmosphere is so vacuous (it's less than 1% as dense as Earth's) that liquid water simply can't exist for very long on the Red Planet.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/sc ... st31jan_1/

Frankly, I think Mars is our best bet for colonies, but it's going to take a lot of work ..

Honestly, I think colonising habitable planets when found and reached isn't likely to be achieved this millenium, and colonising planets without a breathable atmosphere will remain fantasy forever.