Actually it's in the works. NASA is developing interplanetary internet so that all the mars probes could use one link to home, and possibly other further away craft could send their signal to relay stations, thus needing less power to transmit more data. http://spectrum.ieee.org/aug05/1700 http://www.ipnsig.org/home.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interplanetary_Internet
Should we go to Mars? ...YES Interplanetary internet - still will take time to reply.... Perhaps we can put solar powered space stations in between before human journey....like Midway in Atlantis (TV series)
Yeah, ping is going to be a killer, but there are other advantages to a network type communication system. I think a space station midway would be more expensive to make than a base on/under ground, besides Mars has gravity.
I remember as a child reading a short story by Harry Harrison that was about two astronauts who were supposed to be in a real time training simulator training for a mission to Mars, but they afterwards discovered that it's not a simulator, but the real thing. Earth had sent them without telling them in order to avoid all that problem with home sickness, etc.
Have you consider to make a scenario already? "What happened after I arrive in Mars", or "Ten years in Mars", etc? This will help you to prepare Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
well I dream of watching the dune of Mars in the 10 minutes when I arrive there and than just die of oxygen end.
I dare you not to use the net for 10 days. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Seriously, what is this fascination with Mars? making the Sahara an oasis would be a much better goal and pretty much the same or less energy... Or if you just don't like people, go to Siberia and live in a cabin...
well perhaps it would. You do know that the natural human body circadian time cycle is 25 hours Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ? Well guess what it is not Earth day cycle...is Mars day cycle. I am not suggesting anything here thou...or am I? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I thought it is 24 hrs and 37 minutes....the Mars rotation that is...and our rhythm is 24 hrs and 11 minutes....does not compute...may be the Earth speeded up after a few asteroid strikes...
Mars no. Too little return on investment. Let our unborn great grandchildren do Mars. We should spend our science dollars on making sure that our unborn great grand children have a decent socio-economic environment in which to live. Lets teach(genetically modify) Algae to make oil. Let's build dikes around Bangledesh and Florida for global warming induced rising sea waters. It is too late to stop Global warming so let's prepare for it. Let's improve water desalination technology. Let's create better technology for electric car batteries.
I support that we should go to Mars, The Earth is very boring short of energy and full of human. Going to Mars, for a sunshine future!
