on to mars!

link to bbc news article about mars team testing

So...do you think they will last the entire 18 months in their test capsule? Or will the project managers open the doors a month later to find one wild eyed, crouching creature chewing on a human legbone?

Either way, a manned mission to mars sounds cool.

discuss...

all I can say is...finally.

18 months in confinement? I could do it.

I could too I think. I tend to enjoy tight cozy places where most everything is at my fingertips. Maybe I shoulda tried to be an astronaut, or work on a submarine

A year and a half ago, and I would've enjoyed it, too. Notsomuch now that I'm married.

I don't think I'd do well with that. But sounds very interesting anyway.

30 Seconds to Mars? Just sayin'.

most would be able to do it i think. but do it with others...thats the thing. spending 24/7 with somebody creates murderous thoughts.

This discussion makes me think of the movie Moon.

andrew, that's a great movie. i saw it in the theatre and i think it was the best movie i saw last summer actually.

Yep, one of my favorite movies.

http://www.popsci.com/node/46619

I think that what would get me first is the food. I like fresh food and hearty, which is the farthest thing from space food. Next it would be the boredom, unless maybe one of the other astronauts could teach me another language. That would actually make it a lot better for me. At some point though, I would just want to be connected with stuff on earth and know what's going on in the real world.

All the money spent to poke at the great cold expanse of space and send us back samples and data and pictures of barren spheres at close range. Space exploration is a very profitable venture, that it is.