Obama wants us to go to Mars, calls Moon old hat

[DieselBoy09]

Re: Obama wants us to go to Mars, calls Moon old hat

On the surface of the moon? Do you really want to live in a house that is spinning around wildly on the moon?

Not so much on the moon since the moon already has its own gravity, something rotating would appear rotating because of the already existent gravity. However, in space, for a long space flight to another planet, why not? You wouldn't notice its rotation unless you were looking out a window. Its like the earth, the earth rotates very quickly, but since we are going the same velocity as its rotation, we don't notice the effects.

Its one of those physics tricks. Its like how astronauts in the space station are not actually in zero g, rather they are in constant free fall that overshoots the earth and hence gives the sense of zero g.

An easier solution for the moon is just wear a weight suit that would equal your proportional weight on earth. (eeerrr scratch that. Your internal organs, and bodily systems wouldn't be addressed by this increased weight, although it would help with muscle deterioration)

[Feba]

Re: Obama wants us to go to Mars, calls Moon old hat

However, in space, for a long space flight to another planet, why not?

We weren't talking about that. We were talking about potential colonization, the negative effects of low-gravity on the human body (loss of bone density and so on), and the potential to develop technology to combat that on the moon. Centripital forces are neat for space colonies; not Lunar or Martian ones.

[DieselBoy09]

Re: Obama wants us to go to Mars, calls Moon old hat

Oh, well I'm sooo sorry. And if the best solution we had at the time was a wildly spinning house, as long as it worked. Cry me a river.

[Malacite]

Re: Obama wants us to go to Mars, calls Moon old hat

Mars actually has an atmosphere similar to Earth's, frozen ice caps of clean water and soil. The first step would be to build up the Planet's atmosphere by gradually introducing more and more plant life to thicken it. Once the air is breathable we can go from there.

The biggest kink is the water however. Mars has plenty of water, but it's all frozen and since the planet is 4th from the sun, it's also a lot colder than on Earth. There's a whole slew of technical problems, but the point is it's actually feasible. It'll take a long time, but I'm confident it will happen.


As far as the Moon goes, I'm afraid of 2 things;

1 - Any kind of commercialization of it being it mining or non-scientific civilian habitats (see: Futurama >_>) especially mining operations since hollowing out the Moon could theoretically have a dramatic impact on Earth's climate. In short, don't fuck with it please.


2 - Militarization of the Moon. This isn't Gundam/Halo/whatever where Earth is under some kind of (largely) united/monolithic government body. That means if anyone is likely to try and put up some kind of Military Base on the Moon, it'd be the U.S. I actually don't have an issue with this. What perturbs me is the potential global shit storm that would arise from this.

A lot of countries are already iffy about how far reaching the U.S. Military is, never mind them suddenly getting paranoid of moon-based attacks. I'm inclined to believe that it will happen, I just hope the consequences aren't too severe (lord knows someone has to police the world, which is sad but true.) Also I have to wonder about the costs of maintaining such an operation as well.

It would probably be far, far more prudent to use the Moon as a hub for space travel. I.E. it would basically act as a depot and/or transitway for the ISS.


EDIT: I forgot one thing. People going from Earth to Mars would likely be able to adjust just fine, but suppose in the future Mars is a full blown colony and people are actually being born there. Would they be able to physically cope with being on Earth? I mean, wouldn't the different gravity and atmosphere eventually cause some kind of evolution in the people there that would make it harder for them (if not impossible) to adjust to life on Earth? I may just be talking out my ass here but it's something I was pondering about earlier while listening to Obama.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Obama wants us to go to Mars, calls Moon old hat

It is only a matter of time...

Amen!

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Obama wants us to go to Mars, calls Moon old hat

EDIT: I forgot one thing. People going from Earth to Mars would likely be able to adjust just fine, but suppose in the future Mars is a full blown colony and people are actually being born there. Would they be able to physically cope with being on Earth? I mean, wouldn't the different gravity and atmosphere eventually cause some kind of evolution in the people there that would make it harder for them (if not impossible) to adjust to life on Earth? I may just be talking out my ass here but it's something I was pondering about earlier while listening to Obama.

I would assume that if you grew up in Mars gravity and came to Earth, you probably wouldn't be as strong as someone from Earth because the demands of weight and mass were totally different. Earth girls would not be easy.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Obama wants us to go to Mars, calls Moon old hat

spinning.

spinning!?

spinning!

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJv5qLsLYoo"]YouTube- Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)[/nomedia]