Possible show stopper for any potential Mars mission...

https://news.yahoo.com/possible-mars-mission-showstopper-vision-risks-astronauts-105551947.html

later! OL JR

Whoever wrote this wasn’t up on the science. The idea of spinning all or part of a spacecraft to simulate gravity can only work if you can spin the vessel along a hugely wide arc otherwise the carioles effects would be debilitating.

Your feet would feel one half G while your head would feel one tenth.

I seen concepts where the vessel is placed on one end of a long tether and spun against a counter weight, some picture this as a nuclear reactor that could supply power. Not sure how well this would work and I know I wouldn’t trust it; can you imagine the results should that tether snap?

The simple fact is we don’t begin to have the technology for successful long term manned deep space missions. We haven’t even figured out all the problems those folks might face much less have developed answers for them.

Personally I believe that until we develop some propulsion technology that would allow for constant boost for the duration of the voyage and thus a trip to Mars might take days instead of months, we’re pretty much stuck to near Earth and the Moon.

SOLUTION: blind people fitted with "bionic" eyes.

https://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__c...alpha/en/images/5/5b/Geordi_La_Forge_2364.jpg

or the latest fashion from Paris:

https://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080528214527/memoryalpha/en/images/d/d4/Miranda_Jones.jpg

Obviously, a long distance flight to Mars is not a cake walk. Some recent articles have pointed out that ethics demands that astronauts to Mars be explained the long term consequences to their health. I have a feeling that many highly qualified astronauts would readily agree to the risks especially if things could be done to mitigate those risks. Space is hard, it is not easy. Even going to the bottom of the ocean is hard, but it can be done. If done carefully, the exhilaration of success will outweigh the risks.

Historically, the possibility of going blind has never been an effective deterrent, as long as the activity is sufficiently rewarding.

There is a county in WI named for that.
(original name was "Obi luba possa wadamy" which means "Land of the big, gassy Possum.")

10fttall said:

Historically, the possibility of going blind has never been an effective deterrent, as long as the activity is sufficiently rewarding.

Click to expand...

10fttall said:

Historically, the possibility of going blind has never been an effective deterrent, as long as the activity is sufficiently rewarding.

Click to expand...

Giggles galore!
-Ken

Yup. How pathetic would that be for a bunch of folks to head off to Mars, only to arrive Blind.

Like a Twighlight Zone Episode. "There was finally enough Mars!!!"

It is like they are developing reverse glaucoma. Instead of pressure building up inside the eye, it is building up around the eye.

10fttall said:

Historically, the possibility of going blind has never been an effective deterrent, as long as the activity is sufficiently rewarding.

Click to expand...

That's just a myth! Unfortunately, hairy palms are real, but they can be mitigated by shaving.

TopRamen said:

Yup. How pathetic would that be for a bunch of folks to head off to Mars, only to arrive Blind.

Like a Twighlight Zone Episode. "There was finally enough Mars!!!"

Click to expand...

Burgess Meredith

I have been advocating within NASA that the efficient way to Mars relies on a one-way trip. It is far more efficient to toss supplies to the planet than it is to bring live people back. Technologically and monetarily it is a one way trip. The real issue is that, other than Earth, there is no suitable place for humans in our solar system. Spending $$$$$$ to go to Mars is really a waste of funding. What we really need is the technology to travel to nearby stars. Let's say that my point of view has not been widely acknowledged.