With what appears to be vast reserves of frozen water, Mars "is nearer terrestrial conditions, much better than the Moon and any other place," Aldrin, 78, said in a visit to Paris on Tuesday.
"It is easier to subsist, to provide the support needed for people there than on the Moon."
It took Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins eight days to go to the Moon -- 380,000 kilometres (238,000 miles) from Earth -- and return in July 1969, aboard Apollo 11.
Going to Mars, though, is a different prospect.
I hereby volunteer.
4 comments:
I agree on all counts. One, that if we go we should plan on staying and two, that if we go you should be among the pioneers. That way at least we would all know what was going on as we could count on your maintaining Posthuman Blues throughout. Couldn't we?
Michael
As bizarre as it might sound, I would even relinquish blogging for a shot at helping to colonize Mars.
I believe you are serious and I wish you might have the chance, but I fear not. I believe that robots will continue to be our sole representatives off planet for many years to come.
Unfortunately, you're probably right -- but I'm still hopeful that a fast, reliable (and relatively inexpensive) form of propulsion will force space agencies to seriously consider crewed missions in the foreseeable future.
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