Will mankind reach Mars?

[MoonRocker]

a) What sort of technical advances will be required to reach Mars?
b) How long do you think it will be before the first man on Mars and subsequent safe return?
c) What are the benefits to mankind of working towards this goal?

[HowardKennitby]

intersting

http://www.ctv.ca/CTV...mission-study-101029/

[jomifl]

The reasons that I suggested that the Chinese might be the first people to visit Mars are as follows.
1. The government being unelected by the people is not answereable to them.
2. They probably wouldn't not have any conscience about funding a one way trip (albeit a return trip that 'went wrong') just for the kudos.
3. They don't have to account (financially) for what they do.

[JayPaul]

Mankind can build a permanent base on Mars to explore natural resources over there. A fusion-powered plasma turbine can take us to the Red Planet in less than one week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSkxPghXTCg

[modeller]

The question of funding is always the basic problem especially as so many scientists look for a technological answer for a problem whereas a simple answer may be to hand. Some years ago it was reported that the Americans spent $100,000 trying to make a ball point pen that would work in zero gravity , they failed ! When the Russians heard about it they said " We solved that years ago for 10 cents, we use pencils. "

[douglas9401]

I seem to remember hearing this mentioned on TV (QI?) and it was said that after all the money and research, ordinary ballpoint pens worked fine.

[Old_Geezer]

I believe the pencil thing is an urban myth. (Don't need graphite dust all over the place.)

One doesn't fund this sort of thing for financial benefit one does it "because it is there". It is a challenge to be overcome. If one does not expand into the rest of the universe when one can who is to say the Earth's resources won't become insufficient to make a start and the human race gets stuck here ?

As for the cost, as a lump sum I'm sure it look awful, but as a contribution from each individual I suspect it'd be negligible and already much more spent on other things.

I'm unsure when it'll happen but it saddens me that I was born into a space age only to find those able to achieve seem not to want to do anything spectacular any more. Anyway I'm sure a few years back someone called Robert Zubrin had the outline of a plan that could work already. 'Mars Direct', or something like that.