Have you heard about the Mars One project?

[Violet]

@Violet Lilly Blossom, we have and are doing that repeatedly. NASA, Roscosmos, Mars Society, etc are all operating analogue stations to test things like isolation, desert/cold, and diet on small crews. There's only so much testing you can do, though. Half a century is high time for the real thing.

* Violet laughs.

Tell me... what do you know about exploration? The time it takes is irrelevant... if you're not absolutely ready for the conditions you face: you're probably not going to make it.

[Minimalist]

Lol! Minimalist, my point is that my beliefs are very far from your hateful description.

But I don't care about your fucking beliefs any more than I care about any of the other jesus or allah freaks around here.

If you have no tangible evidence that your beliefs are true you are just as fucking delusional as any of the rest of them.

[Anomalocaris]

The Mars One Project, have you heard about it?

http://www.mars-one.com

"
Humans on Mars in 2023

The Mars One Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that will establish a permanent human settlement on Mars in 2023.
A reliable surface habitat will be set up before the first crew lands; more settlers and cargo will follow every two years.
Our plan is realistic because the technology needed already exists and can be purchased from the private space industry.
The first footprint on Mars will fascinate and inspire generations; it is this public interest that will help finance this human mission to Mars. Join our global effort by sharing our vision with your friends, supporting us and perhaps becoming a Mars astronaut yourself."

According to Mars-one, around 100,000 have applied till now from all over the world.

I have applied myself to see how it goes. Only 4 applicants from my country, Nepal till now including me. Have you applied or thought about it?

The deadline for application is till August 31 with complete profile. So only few weeks left.

P.S They had applicant gatherings in Washington, USA and Darmstadt, Germany recently.
http://www.space.com/22238-mars-one-priv...eting.html

Looking back in history, the closest analogue I can come up with for this venture is not the journies of Leif Ericson, Magellon or Columbus. Instead it is the Children's Crusade, or the the Peasant's Crusade

[Mac Arthur]

@Minimalist: Why the hell do you think I study other points of view? To avoid delusions; none of us alone can see reality perfectly.
You should try seriously talking to someone you disagree with. It can be an enlightening experience. Now, I'm done arguing with you. Good day, sir.

@Violet: My OCD requires me to point out that this is settlement, not exploration but yes, I agree.
Mars is the most heavily explored object in the Solar system besides Earth (and debatably the Moon). We've documented the hazards of space flight and Mars enough to make early American settlers envy. We know that, except in the unlikely case of a catastrophic solar flare or meteor strike, the trip and stay are very survivable. We've been growing food for millennia; we can obtain water and oxygen through centuries-old chemistry techniques. All of these have been researched/discussed/tested quite thoroughly over the past several decades. What is it you think we're not ready for?

@Chuck: I would have agreed with you, until I spoke to Bas and some of the more dedicated applicants. Understand that none of us want this to fail. We're all aware of what it would mean for the future of space flight (not to mention the future of Mars One). This is why the candidates will go through rounds of testing/selection and several years of training, to ensure the first humans on another world are the best possible choice.

[Violet]

@Violet: My OCD requires me to point out that this is settlement, not exploration Tongue but yes, I agree.
Mars is the most heavily explored object in the Solar system besides Earth (and debatably the Moon). We've documented the hazards of space flight and Mars enough to make early American settlers envy. We know that, except in the unlikely case of a catastrophic solar flare or meteor strike, the trip and stay are very survivable. We've been growing food for millennia; we can obtain water and oxygen through centuries-old chemistry techniques. All of these have been researched/discussed/tested quite thoroughly over the past several decades. What is it you think we're not ready for?

We're exploring the possibility of settlement on another planet... not all exploration is of the foot and the ship. Not that it particularly matters though, the point being that it's dangerous remains regardless of what you call it.

I think that even if you landed five people for the first time on another planet with ample water-life resources, no breathing hazards, and no particularly dangerous diseases or creatures: the next set of five would probably arrive to a dead first set. Unfortunately, this is not a planet full of relevant resources, and there is a breathing hazard, and the atmosphere is not survivable without various protections. They leave with a limited amount of supplies, and this will not include multiple replacement parts of everything on board the vessel.

Not that I don't wish them the best of luck, but I also don't hold out much hope that they'll have any particular success (they may be the first to land on mars, they may not necessarily survive to tell us what it was like).

[Minimalist]

You should think about the inherent contradictions in the phrase "xtian deist" and then get back to me.

Every human who ever lived has created his/her own god. I won't deny you the pleasure. But don't expect to be taken seriously.

[KichigaiNeko]

9 Billion people and counting = 9 billion "gods/ no gods" and counting

[Walking Void]

I am interested in how they plan to set up a suitable atmosphere to live in.

I suspect that this will take place within a closed bubble of clear plastic before we mass produce breathable air.

Imagine the smell though.

[shadowninjax]

I know a few people who have said they want to apply.

Me? Meh. I'm too scared! lol

Why be scared? Try it out and see how it goes!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civ...n_01.shtml

Not all colonies survive.

yes, not all survive. But that won't stop us making new colonies, will it?

Will it look like SPORE?

Yess!!! I loved spore game. I played the thing until I went the blackhole and came out in Grox area, and Grox started to beat me up lol. Was a fun game!

I cannot wait to see them fail

I cannot wait to seem them succeed.

Mars project sounds very cool- what would be cooler than having a colony on another planet.

Hmmm..... how about having an environment here to test what it'll be like 'out there' without having catastrophic failures? Let's do that repeatedly, I say. We can use that shithole called Arizona. That'd be cooler than setting a bunch of dead people on another planet.

They will of course train the choosen ones for 7 years in American desert with similar variables. No worries about it.

[smax]

I just had a great idea: let's turn Mars into a giant battlefield for religious wars! The Christians can have one side of the planet, and the Muslims can have the other.

Meanwhile, all of us non-theists will stay here and keep the weapon supply flowing for you all.

What say you?