NASA admits it doesn’t have the funding to land humans on Mars

Re:NASA admits it doesn’t have the funding to land humans on... by Kazamai on Thursday July 13, 2017 @10:39AM (#14761599)

I don't see the purpose of landing people on Mars. Just to say, "we did it". Wouldn't it be a much more rewarding goal to research and execute systems that could send humans one way to planets in our galaxy. Even seeding organisms on other planets in the hope that they evolve into intelligent life.

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Re:NASA admits it doesn’t have the funding to land humans on... by RugnirViking on Thursday July 13, 2017 @12:14PM (#14762539)

'Wouldn't it be a much more rewarding goal to research and execute systems that could send humans one way to planets in our galaxy'

Presumably a precursor to this is creating ships that can get to planets within our solar system, for example mars. This is just one step in a long line of potential goals as we learn what's possible

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Re:NASA admits it doesn’t have the funding to land humans on... by gallerdude on Thursday July 13, 2017 @10:43AM (#14761634)

Most people see Mars as great potential for a "back-up" for the human race. If something catastrophic happens on earth, humanity will continue.

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Re:NASA admits it doesn’t have the funding to land humans on... by CydeWeys on Thursday July 13, 2017 @02:39PM (#14763942)

I don't see much purpose in the Wright brothers' airplane either, but it was a necessary intermediate step between not being able to fly and today's modern commercial jetliners.

In space travel as in software engineering, you need incremental progress.

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Re:NASA admits it doesn’t have the funding to land humans on... by gorkonsine on Thursday July 13, 2017 @05:55PM (#14765638)

Very soon after the Wrights demonstrated their warped-wing technology worked, they were already trying to sell planes to the military. It didn't take long at all for people to figure out they could use airplanes for surveillance and bombing.

There's no such obvious commercial use to going to Mars. If you want resources, they're much more easily available in nearby asteroids.

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