Nonprofit To Send A Married Couple Skimming Past Mars In 2018

I asked my wife and she said no. I said that I want a divorce. She said no again. This is going to be a problem, but I'll have it worked out by launch day.

That would make one heck of a honeymoon.

I tried to get my wife interested. Didn't work. :S

Or, the whole world could work together and actually land people on Mars in 2018 and start a colony. Now THAT would be inspiring.

@killerT

"the whole world could work together"

Do you actually deal with people much?

There may not be much to look at when they get there:

http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/26/17107085-comet-just-might-hit-mars-in-2014?lite

With 400 times the energy of the dino killer 65 million years ago this will throw a wrench into any visitation plans!!

It might even throw a wrench into everyone's retirement plans as well!

Dont let me on this trip, i will try to land the craft on Mars Kerbal style ! ^^

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No facts, No response...

So if there are zero cost overruns and if they can get the 1 Billion Dollars together in just 2 years (highly doubtful) then that would leave 3 years to pay the companies to design, build and test all the hardware to come together. While the dragon is in development that pales in comparison to the full system.

The massive mars transfer rocket needs to be designed and build so it can dock in space AND fit exactly with the Dragon module. The Bigalow needs to be adapted as well AND be able to dock in space with the other components. It all needs to be fitted with life support equipment. And it wouldn`t even leave room for a test demonstration mission(s). And all in just 3 years after getting all the 1 Billion in funding.

Sorry but this mission is nonsense in 5 years. And i consider myself an incredible optimist compared to most. Get the date back 10 years and i could believe you get get the funding, components and testing of components together. But still barely in time. But not in less then 5 years. What`s next. A Manned Moon Base in 3 years and Warp Drive in 10 years. I support this mission if it`s based on realistic time frames and not cutting corners. This is not the next doors house like a moon mission. This is like crossing the entire Pacific Ocean AND back in your first ever tiny vessel and first ever manned attempt. One oxygen leak and your dead. One rocket fault and your dead. One trajectory miscalculation and your dead. Lets do this mission. But don`t rush this like with the current time frame.

I am glad to see that someone is taking the initative. However five years is a bit of a tight time schedule.

JFK officially made the Moon landing a goal in May of 1961 and it was accomplished in July of 1969…a bit over 8 years. Also just about all the technologie needed to be developed from scratch at that time and without the aid of design programs like CAD and such. But in the 60´s there was alot more motivation for projects like that…without the Russians providing the incentive I can imagine that it would not have happened unitl much later.

I would like to see them take a run at it but I would not be surprised if the time table will be extended a bit.

501 days 24/7 in a single room with your wife!?!?
A horror movie!

@gizmowiz

It could make for an even better view once there though (saying the comet just fly's by). See a comet, and Mars closer than any other people have before. That would be a sight.

So these people are going to spend 500 days getting there and back for a few hour encounter with Mars. What will this accomplish? We already have satellites in orbit around Mars taking all the pictures we might need. The are not going to land so nothing there. The only thing I see is being able to say we can do it, and can't we already say that?

@hollycow I see you're point but there are two other very valid reasons. The first is the oldest story in the space exploration book: promoting interest. So many people, especially the politicians with their hands on the check book, regard Mars as a risky and irrelevant pipe dream. If you get a whole generation of voters, and similarly a whole generation of entrepreneurs and scientists, inspired to get to Mars, you'll either get government funding or manage to get there entirely by private means. And when a whole generation is inspired, maybe getting 10 or 20 or 100 billion would ultimately be easier than scrounging up even this 1 billion is currently.

The second and more objectively important thing is that this would be a test for human survivability going to Mars. Radiation in what is essentially open space on the way to Mars is unlike anything on Earth, or even on the way to the moon. Almost a year and a half of space radiation bombarding the body is literally something that's never happened to a person before, at least not exactly. Only so much shielding is feasible; I remember reading a report for school awhile ago that estimated any reasonable shielding would still increase the risk of cancer by an order of magnitude. That's also part of why they want to send a man and a woman; double the data for your money, plus insight into how each gender reacts if ti turns out to be different. Perhaps the menstrual cycle causes unforseen complications; perhaps male testosterone affects psychology in deep space unexpectedly. Who knows, that's the point of a such a test run. Sure it's a billion dollars for a few hours near Mars, but imagine if they spent 100 billion on an all-out expedition only to have the whole crew die halfway there from some unexpected, previously unencountered problem?

Glad to see they chose the idea of having a married couple go.

the most important piece of equipment they would need would be earplugs.......and maybe a tranquilizer gun ;0)

I hoped I could talk my wife into it-then she reminded me of her reaction to the "Mission to Mars" ride @ Disney! Oh well, I just have to watch it unfold like everyone else. Yes, 2018 seems rather ambitious, but a flyby still seems possible-as long as Falcon Heavy is successfully flown in it's expected timeframe.

As long as she doesn't tell me how to drive.

Granted it would be a sight to see up close up. But what if it hits and your in orbit vacationing around the planet to see the sites? You would be history because there would be no place anywhere in a 360 degree direction around the planet that would be safe from the material flung out into space--at very high speeds so you couldn't possibly out run it. A very risky vacation. I can imagine the insurance costs ha.

@vt007

"Dont let me on this trip, i will try to land the craft on Mars..."

lol. Made me think of Apollo 8 where NASA short-fueled the ascent module so Cernan and Stafford couldn't try to land the LM because they'd have no way to get back off the moon.

If the 2018 date arrives too soon, might I suggest an alternative-a 360 day free-return to Venus. Venus' orbit is much more circular {so more opportunities exist between 2018 & 2031), the return trip swings out almost to Mars, allowing a pretty close veiw of it while it is facing the sun-if the mission is timed right. The veiw of Venus would also be on the day side. With the shorter mission, the resulting savings of consummables might allow a small probe to be dropped that perhaps could broadcast HD of the planet until it burned up (the people in the capsule would see it in REAL TIME!). All in all, the missions' financial backing would have basically the same claim to fame, possibly a greater chance of success given the shorter trip. Finally, with the lessons learned, the success of that mission would bolster the odds of success with this one in 2031!

Married people are politically correct but I suggest an ad for a self defined crazy hippy that's been living in his car for 10 or 20 yrs (they exist). They'd be used to living in small spaces, endless travel, sparse communication, few ties, and sanity doesn't seem to be an issue. Overall costs will be less for one person. They'd probably be glad to be appreciated for some kind of public service that didn't involve parole.

@Imatardbot2

not evry married couple is a fuuked up one...
i personaly will need lots of condoms ^^

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No facts, No response...

I see the real potential for taking impacts from high V objects on a trip to Mars in our current area of space, in this particular time in our solar cycle, as problematic in the extreme.

Case in point; We've now had two near misses from objects that were unseen until they were right on us, even with us actively looking for them, and even with our knowledge that the probability of objects accompanying DA 2013 was high. Those objects were big.

So how much of an emergency vector control adjustment could be made to keep the craft safe and still be able to complete the trip?