

Proposed one-way trip to Mars complete with a Big Brother style reality show. - amichail
http://news.skymania.com/2009/06/one-way-trip-to-big-brother-on-mars.html

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DrJokepu
The lack of ethical standards of some people just frightens me.

First, he proposes sending some people to their death. I mean, seriously, do
you expect to find anything but death on Mars with our current level of
technology if you can't come back?

Second, he's trying to convince people and the passangers/lemmings of the
proposed expedition that's it's not actually sending them to death by fake
science. Anyone familiar the very basics of statistics knows that you can't
talk about 'life expectancy' of four people. And living in (yet to be
discovered) lava tubes? Is that his plan?

And last, he wants to broadcast the agonizing death of these people worldwide.
Am I the only one who thinks that this is, at very least, questionable morals?

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arien
Well, if you put it like that it sure sounds awful. Why do you assume they
will die?

I sincerely doubt they'd send anyone to their deaths nor that anyone would
accept it, that would be absurd (tho accidents can happen). Consider the
amount of effort, time and money such a trip would take. With the right focus,
in 50 years we could have the technology to sustain life in space. However,
the right focus probably means "if we have something to gain from it". I guess
that's why he thinks of a "Big Brother in Space" program that would cover part
of the costs. I see the idea has some logic, even if I don't agree completely
with it.

On a side note, I always heard that Biodomes
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_ecological_system>) would be the answer
to living on Mars or other planets in the initial phases. Not sure if I'd want
to live in lava tubes.

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inklesspen
We've had an awful lot of problems getting biodomes to work here on Earth. I'd
want them to be pretty much perfected before we try them on Mars.

~~~
arien
Well, what makes you think a lava tube is safer? :P I think they'd have to be
conditioned and sealed and that might be just as problematic.

But what I said before applies here, too. With enough focus and budget we can
advance in pretty much any technology we want. The question is, the ones that
can make it happen (investors, governments), do they really want to do it?
Does it pay for them?

~~~
inklesspen
I think you may be confusing me with the author of the article; I never said
lava tubes were safer.

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TrevorJ
Space travel is dangerous. It is very likely that at some point a mission such
as this would end in tragedy. Turning that into the media circus that is
reality television is an awful idea and cheapens the contribution those brave
astronauts would be making.

