I’d like it if he could tie it in with the serious science. I know astronomers that would love to get an orbiter to the ice giants. Unfortunately, missions like that don’t provide instant gratification.
2 Likes
For better or worse, technology in its current state exists because humanity pushed to go to the moon. Wish Musk just focused on this rather than censoring people online on the behalf of dictators.
4 Likes
Yep , I should be able to appreciate what spaceX is doing even when detesting Musk as a person.
Will be a 10th the price with SpaceX to launch though. Get NASA to do the science, Musk to do the rockets. Scrap SLS, save billions and siphon off to NASA’s science division.
That’s IT! Reported!
2 Likes
You’re reporting a Stephen King reference? Odd…
My view on this is mixed.
Mars is daft imo. The moon maybe, as many nations, including China have their eyes on it. The possibility of water ice at the poles makes it a possibility for future bases for mining, and onward journeys.
I also think multiple launch rockets are essential. Firstly we’re creeping closer to having to do a space clear up of low orbit (see Kessler limit) but also I also believe that ultimately our energy needs will be best served by off planet system of some description. This in my opinion is where our efforts should be focussed not on some glory trip to Mars.
2 Likes
Just build half a dyson sphere, job done 
Something like that ultimately yes. It’s the resources and getting it there (plus some tech leaps too) that are the issue.
Nah, just mine the fuck out of Mercury with robots. Mars will be the dry run. We’re not sending humans there till the base is built. Whether we’ll see it or not I don’t know.
Yeah couldn’t agree more. The idea that we can colonise Mars is beyond stupid. Even if we manage to somehow create a breathable atmosphere, it has no magnetic field so it will get stripped by the solar wind. It’s too small to hold onto water, and the gravity would cause all kinds of health defects. Colonists can look forward to living inside hermetically sealed domes or space suits, fending off radiation and bone wasting.
If Elon wants to throw his money at saving the human race he ought to be ploughing it into dealing with climate change, which includes not enabling fat fucking orange climate change deniers into the White House. But he won’t do that, because basically he is a tit.
The sensible future application of space exploration is to get heavy industry and energy generation off world, and protect the earth as residential. That’s donkeys years off though, and we won’t be able to get to that point if we don’t sort shit out down here over the next decade.
1 Like
Yeah that should be the focus, but Musk has a pretty twisted view on climate change before he attached himself to Trump. So he doesnt really give a shit.
1 Like
What’s on Pluto that isn’t available more conveniently and accessible closer to home?
1 Like
Been giving more thought to my initial comment on mining the moon and while it may happen to think about with our current tech capability is madness.
The energy needs are enormous, and to think along these lines before resolving the energy issue feels utterly daft and has if anything convinced me that the Mars shot is kinda backwards and actually not that clever.
1 Like
i suppose the point im asking is, not that i wished hed stop exploring, or mankind stopped wanting to eat carrots from dragons breath or some such, but do you think all the effort to land a rocket could be better spent elsewhere…
im happy with the answer that you could launch multiple satelites etc etc, so yes, that’s a good point…
perhaps the greatest benefits from travelling to Mars would be the advances in anti cancer research…is Musk doing anything in that field? now that would truely be heroic…
off earth Energy systems seem very far fetched
ill give Musk the benefit that what hes doing is better than building a 1k wide mirrored long wall city in the desert for elites…
2 Likes
Proximity to the sun. Use it to build half a Dyson sphere, hang on……
Far more up to date with actual numbers on what is needed.
Oh it’s not a 5 minute job and probably a millennia off. But it’s a good idea in theory. Just need to use another star for a full sphere.
Brain fart above, Mercury, not Pluto. Berk.
1 Like
Prefer this guy.
