Would you volenteer to go to Mars? (if it was a one man - one way mission?)

reply to post by ThreadTrekker


Now there's an idea worth considering.

And many explorers have gone on high risk adventures, most seeking fame and glory. Unlike some, I don't think that it would mean the person volunteering was crazy. Life only lasts so long, no matter which planet you are on, so if the means to survive a reasonable length of time were provided, then it isn't really a suicide mission, just a one way trip.

As a side note, I can see the Catholic Church, with all of it's wealth, doing this. If, IF, some sign of intelligent life were found/expected, then the reason for a personal sacrifice would outweigh the end risk of dying alone on a far off world, at least to a certain portion of the dedicated.

There are also rational men and women of science who would willingly spend the remainder of their lives on another world for the benefit of gaining knowledge. Many, even myself, would not see this as a sacrifice, but an opportunity.

Death awaits us all, and the only thing we can do is try to make the time we have before it comes worthwhile. It is up to the individual to decide what is worthwhile work, and to balance the risks against the gains.

Originally posted by ThreadTrekker
As for the loneliness, there could be multiple single-person launches spanning multiple weeks, months, or years that would provide companionship. Not everyone would be arriving or departing Mars at the same time.

I think the multiple launching of missions is the thing that really comes out of this little thought experiment of ours. Manned missions like this are totally new territory really, I mean you can take a lot of what is already known but it doesn't scale up proportionally... further distance = more fuel and consumables = larger craft = more fuel, with out a change in the fundamental technology used it starts to turn in to a vicious cycle. And then there is the unknown factors, any tiny thing could wipe out an entire mission all the crew, and could be a death nail for manning Mars.

Instead of putting all the eggs in one basket (or heads in one capsule ) start sending automated transport with kit, and start storing it - I would say in orbit round Mars would be best for flexibility - how miffed would you be if you landed 500km from all the kit, and you little buggy will only 300km?? or worse you land on opposite sides of a huge valley and you can see all your lovely kit!

Then yhea stagger 1 or 2 man launches, each launch is at minimal cost in terms of everything - a loss, tragic as it would be is not the be all and end all... More opportunity to play with different ideas along the way ... I'm hooked on the idea of getting into a low orbit, picking the right moment and orbital skydiving in!! Or drop gliders! That would also rock.

[edit on 8/3/2008 by Now_Then]

scientific or not I want to go. imagine how exciting it would be to go to another planet. i actually rather go alone because i dont want to be distracted by mental and physical health of the other person. I would like to go with a robot though; i think he will keep me company. but it must be a cool one like HAL or R2D2. btw where do i sign-up for that sort of thing in the future.

I would go in a heartbeat, going to mars sounds like it would be great, as well as being able to leave this planet to see the moon and mars itself. I guess not being able to return maybe kind of "Scary" in a way, but I still see being able to go to mars as a something bigger than not being able to return.

reply to post by Now_Then


It is the nature of every form of life, whether animal or plant, to strive to survive. The human species is encountering increased natural, man-made, and extraterrestrial threats, including disease, resource depletion, pollution, urban violence, terrorism, nuclear war, asteroids, and comets.

Many forms of animal and plant life on Earth are suffering increased loss of population and quality habitat because of the growing presence of humans on planet Earth, via expansion, pollution, deforestation, fishing, farming, mining, and promotion of certain species of animals and plants.

Space technology provides both means to monitor threats to life on Earth and ways to help curtail them. Space industrialization and settlement provide safety valves to relieve the pressures that cause Earth-bound threats. They also provide escape routes in case of catastrophic man-made or extraterrestrial threats. Humanity has inherited the stewardship of the planet Earth. It will therefore need the vast resources of outer space to reverse the damage it has caused to the Earth’s biosphere, and ultimately enhance all life on Earth.

The human species, as well as all other animal and plant life on Earth, need room to grow and multiply. Earth has a finite supply of land, air, and water, for which humans, animals, and plants must compete. Of all Earth species, only humans have or can acquire and utilize the knowledge to create new habitats on other worlds or in space from the raw materials of moons and asteroids.

Oh my god yes i would volunteer! I've been thinking about this exact same thing almost daily for the past month. Where do I sign up??

Nope, 3 years there is a long time...

I would totally go on the first manned mission to mars, if it were a group of 2 or more people...

I mean come on, a 3 year trip...

You KNOW your not coming back from that... its a one way trip. thats it...

Nice question.

Id probably volunteer if i had a terminal illness. If youre gonna die anyway, might as well make history of it!

reply to post by 44soulslayer


Terminal illness or not - we all die!

Would the powers that be allow a person to go if that is their reason for going? I think they would question your mental state, same as if your decision to go was based on loss of loved ones etc.

Who knows if the Mars people have already moved beyond spoken words? They may communicate by reading minds and telepathy.It's conceivable animals could be telepathic ,here and on Mars. We need to communicate with the Mars people and make arrangements before we go there. Camelot project has interviews ,much like the John Lear reports that Mars is inhabited ,but also that stargate techno is now and has been used for decades and Earth people are transferred there almost instantly,overcoming distance with alien advanced techniques of time travel and transport. That,if it's true,negates the need for one man suicide missions.

Originally posted by Balez
Not sure i feel that it is a good scientific way of aproaching Mars in that way.

If they started sending all equipment need like, ten years before lift of it might just change a few things.

But going there completely alone? No way.
Ideal would be a 6 man mission, 3 women 2 men 1 monkey

But seriously i know i would not go for it....
But if you knew there were equipement there and that more people would follow you, perhaps it would work better.

But only a one way tripp?
On that i have to agree with Nohup

Wrong, sending only one crew member and a smaller ship will increase the likely hood of success... The more crew and the larger the ship the more likely you will make it, but crash and explode... If you only have 1 person and 1 smaller ship and it crashes you can always try again and the loss isn't as huge or considered as detrimental for further attempts... I believe the public would be more willing to try if only 1 man were to die on mission than if say 10-15 specialists did...

Oh but wait didn't John Lear say there are already people who live on all the planets? Why don't we just have them send us all the rock samples we need and build us a nice place to land? Then we could send all the people we want... ??

Originally posted by Odessy
Nope, 3 years there is a long time...

I would totally go on the first manned mission to mars, if it were a group of 2 or more people...

I mean come on, a 3 year trip...

You KNOW your not coming back from that... its a one way trip. thats it...

Why would it take 3 years?

Last time I checked they launched the rovers there and it took only 7 months....

All kidding aside, I would go in a heartbeat. Just to be able to see another planet... even if its a lifeless rock. Of course, the trip would be more worth it if you were on a colonizing mission to another solar system.

A trip to another solar system with today's archaic technology would definitely mean a one-way ticket. The trip would almost take you a generation to reach the solar system. If you decide to come back to Earth, you would be so out of place. 50 years of technology out of place.

You might find yourself on Earth that is more alien to you than the solar system you were meant to colonize. Earth might have Design-Your-Own-Mates, holodecks, Mr Fusion, and more. Plus, your friends and family would be either retired or dead.

The worse scenario is if you actually took 25 years to reach your destination only to find future missions made it there before you. How? Because new advances in technology allows humans to travel beyond the speed of light. (Any fans of Turtledove's Worldwar series?) That would suck!

Humor = enabled
Possible scenarios:

A) You reach Tau Ceti, 80% of the males die, you have to resort to polygamy for the sake of the colony
B) You reach Tau Ceti and decide to come back to Earth, you make it just in time to participate in World War 3... or 4

If they let me bring with me a laptop with every book i desire in e-format, sure.

Otherwise i'd be inclined to ask what the hell i'm supposed to be doing other than sitting on my ass.

reply to post by Throbber


Assuming you were going some place really far, you'd most likely be in cold-sleep stasis. Only pilots, a few engineers, and some medical staff would be awake for most of the trip to monitor the colonists cryo chambers.

reply to post by guppy


Stasis for human sized mammals like us is a bit sc-fi still isn't it?? I know there have been a few interesting rescues of people who by rights should of drowned or died of exposure, but are we really any closer to understanding that stuff?

Mind you medically induced coma could be sorta considered 'stasis' - your still gonna age though, you'll just miss out on a few years.

reply to post by Now_Then


The only thing we can attempt to do with our archaic technology is an Ark Colony Ship. Create a massive ship to support a massive crew and their families. Stock the ship with all the supplies they would ever need for the trip. Plus store supplies for what they would need when they arrive at their destination. Most likely, the ship will be equipped with a couple of nuclear reators and an ion drive.

The Ark ship will travel to the new solar system where everyone is awake and has to live through the whole trip. Ark ship's crew's next generation will colonize.

I would go on an Ark ship if I was asked. Most definitely.

Originally posted by Chakotay


If I were diagnosed with terminal cancer and had a year or two to live, I'd go for it.

*Chakotay picks up space phone* "Hello Mr. Chakotay, this is Nancy at Trinity Cancer Center. I don't know how say this...so I'll just say it, we mixed up your results with another patient's: you're cancer free sir! We're so happy for you, we apologize for any grief we might have, but at least you didn't go and do something drastic sir! What? You're doing what? You're where? Oh well, nevermind then. Good luck on your trip."

S*it, I wouldn't do it either. No way, I think that kind of isolation would drive most people INSANE, whether you think so or not. That's a whole 'nother level of isolation compared to anything any of us have experienced on Earth. I'd have to be guaranteed movies, music, video games, liquor, my cat, pornography, pizza...basically what I would ask for for compensation to do the actual mission we could have added three other crew members for

[edit on 10-4-2008 by Threadfall]

Depends on the mission, I can think of missions I'd give my life for but if it was just for bragging rights where you're to walk around for the camera, wave and wander off somewhere and die, I'd pass.

I think they could really pull this off if they thought it through seriously. First they could send equipment ahead of the volunteer to split water/ice and get O2, along with freeze dried food, you can get a years worth of food to compact into a small space no problem. Plus send one of those blow up habitat structures to live in, then once it's all there, send 1-2 people that realize even if everything goes as planned and they get all setup there, they won't ever leave Mars. Personally I think 1000s of people would line up for a shot at it. I'd go, but I'd like a partner if possible... of the opposite sex preferred, going to be some long lonely martian nights!

Originally posted by 1-Cent
First they could send equipment ahead of the volunteer to split water/ice and get O2, along with freeze dried food, you can get a years worth of food to compact into a small space no problem.

Just that one...

A years worth of, well you said food.. I'm gonna say consumables - compact into a small space.

That is a HUGE consideration for a mission to Mars. Remember you have to lift this off the Earth and then send it on it's merry way, get into a position where you can land it EXACTLY where it is needed... The mind boggles!

I've heard it said that getting a lander on the moon is like shooting a basket ball from New York to Chicago and scoring without even touching the netting