Poll: One Way Trip to Mars

[Reptillian]

[youtube]6QoEEGySGm4[/youtube]
Mars One introduction film - YouTube

So how about it? If in ten years we start to colonize Mars, would you be willing to go there on a one way trip?

 

[InformedIgnorance]

Not without company... and I would be a little concerned that everything we do will no doubt be recorded and transmitted back to earth... plus there is the chance one of the others might be a killer... scary stuff.

 

[Reptillian]

Not without company... and I would be a little concerned that everything we do will no doubt be recorded and transmitted back to earth... plus there is the chance one of the others might be a killer... scary stuff.

I'd be worried about being one of the first crews sent. It would pretty much be a death sentence for the initial explorers. I'd be amazed if the first colonists live more than 5 years.

 

[InformedIgnorance]

Well it WOULD be pretty high risk... still, you would have the potential to go down as one of the first in human history settlers of another planet... its a tempting concept though one I doubt would be an open offer... theyd send scientists and the like first - those with the skills necessary to determine future project feasibility, identify and troubleshoot problems.

 

[Reptillian]

Well it WOULD be pretty high risk... still, you would have the potential to go down as one of the first in human history settlers of another planet... its a tempting concept though one I doubt would be an open offer... theyd send scientists and the like first - those with the skills necessary to determine future project feasibility, identify and troubleshoot problems.

You're probably right about the first few crews being highly trained and skilled...still I'd think it would be tough to find people who're willing to give up their lives on Earth. I can't imagine knowing that you'll live the rest of your life without smelling the wind or feeling sun on your face. No chirping birds or waving blades of grass. Basically spending the rest of your days couped up inside and wearing spacesuits. Just a red lifeless desert wasteland as far as the eye can see. (much like Australia...lol, just kidding)

I think this project would be better if it were tried on the moon first. At least with the moon, there is the possibility of rescue if something goes wrong.

 

[Kerr]

I would go... I mean, it would be risky and I would probably miss everything back on Earth, but it would be travelling to another planet! As a science fiction lover I could not say no to that.

 

[Reptillian]

I would go... I mean, it would be risky and I would probably miss everything back on Earth, but it would be travelling to another planet! As a science fiction lover I could not say no to that.

You're an enthusiastic adventurer and a braver soul than I.

 

[InformedIgnorance]

True, the moon COULD be a useful intermediate step... however perhaps it is just that sort of incremental approach they are attempting to avoid - to maximise the payoff rather than the chances of mission success they need to take a bigger gamble - Mars holds more mysteries than the moon after-all.

Basically the sort of people they would be interested in are loners, people with high functioning intellects highly skilled individuals who have little need for interaction with other people - those who will happily sit in their little capsule surviving on rations as they do little apart from the tasks assigned to them and watch tv or play video games. Basically they want anti-social nerds for the first stage... then, after they build some sort of commons they can have 'regular folk' come in lol

 

[Heathen Hammer]

Is Lt Shakira coming too? Otherwise, no way.

 

[Kerr]

You're an enthusiastic adventurer and a braver soul than I.

There is also the possibility that I have watched too much Star Trek for my own good .

 

[Iti oj]

sure i love adventure and discovery

 

[Gjallarhorn]

I would prefer it being terraformed...

 

[Reptillian]

I would prefer it being terraformed...

What if there's already life there? Not necessarily complex life, but microbial. Would terraforming be ethical?

 

[Gjallarhorn]

What if there's already life there? Not necessarily complex life, but microbial. Would terraforming be ethical?

About as ethical as washing your hands.

 

[Madhuri]

Why would I go to Mars when I could be on Earth? I may as well move to the outback. Actually that might be more interesting.

Maybe I would if I had nothing else to live for.

 

[Quintessence]

About as ethical as washing your hands.

Really? You're comparing the scale of your hands to an entire planet as if they are the same? Really?

 

[Reptillian]

About as ethical as washing your hands.

The thing is though that it would be alien life on it's planet. Who's to say it wouldn't evolve into something intelligent over time. Imagine if early Earth would have been colonized by creatures from Venus who pumped stuff into the atmosphere to turn it into Venus II.

What if it wasn't just microbial? Where do we draw the line and say, "It's wrong to wipe out indigenous life on this planet to promote our kind of life"?

 

[Gjallarhorn]

The thing is though that it would be alien life on it's planet. Who's to say it wouldn't evolve into something intelligent over time. Imagine if early Earth would have been colonized by creatures from Venus who pumped stuff into the atmosphere to turn it into Venus II.

What if it wasn't just microbial? Where do we draw the line and say, "It's wrong to wipe out indigenous life on this planet to promote our kind of life"?

If we were colonized by Venusians and eliminatedin the early stages, I would have no problem with it because I literally could not complain. As for larger than microbial life, depends on the size and nuisance.

 

[tumbleweed41]

Where do I sign up?

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

Sign me up. Don't care about the details. Don't care if I ever come back. Don't care if it's a hard life. Just send me into space and I'll be happy.