I understand that some plastics have been developed that can guard against radiation problems on Mars. I do have more information on this. ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: utah-astronomy-request@mailman.xmission.com To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:52:07 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 127, Issue 61 Send Utah-Astronomy mailing list submissions to utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to utah-astronomy-request@mailman.xmission.com You can reach the person managing the list at utah-astronomy-owner@mailman.xmission.com When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Utah-Astronomy digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Mar's Mission unlikely NASA says (Jay Eads) 2. Re: Wheeler Friday, Granite Saturday (Enid A Norton) 3. Re: Mar's Mission unlikely NASA says (Joe Bauman) 4. Re: Mar's Mission unlikely NASA says (Chuck Hards) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 14:01:00 -0600 From: Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Mar's Mission unlikely NASA says Message-ID: <CANCdW8ewN4gX5THUzu0yuteBg=YDHw-W41KfZKtEXc8dVjVjHw@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/22/radiation-exposure-make... Guess we aren't going to Mars anytime soon. ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 14:16:43 -0600 From: "Enid A Norton" <enierae@yahoo.com> To: "Utah-Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Wheeler Friday, Granite Saturday Message-ID: <9BADCAEFA60C4CD89D1977AC5B3D224B@EnidANortonHP> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" It is true that the Sat Granite star Party was not part of the official SLAS publicized meetings. I take this one on myself and invite SLAS or public WITH telelscopes. but I do not publicize it as I cannot handle more than 10 on my own.. any one is welcome though on the opposite weeks of SLAS parties usually Friday nights. Enid ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 13:26:22 -0700 (PDT) From: Joe Bauman <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mar's Mission unlikely NASA says Message-ID: <1379881582.95331.YahooMailNeo@web125106.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Agreed, Jay. Mars is looking less and less attractive. This inhospitality is another reason that I think NASA should concentrate much of its effort in sending unmanned probes to Europa. Fresh material in the form of ice from the interior ocean is always spreading across the surface. If complex life evolved in the warm water beneath the ice, remnants should show up on the surface. We have focused on Mars because for many decades it was seen as the romantic planet next door, where canals stretched across deserts to keep cities alive. Today we know that's bunk, but the old drive to land astronauts on Mars persists. For scientific studies, Europa may be far richer than Mars. -- Joe ________________________________ From: Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Sunday, September 22, 2013 2:01 PM Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Mar's Mission unlikely NASA says http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/22/radiation-exposure-make... Guess we aren't going to Mars anytime soon. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options". ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 14:51:16 -0600 From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mar's Mission unlikely NASA says Message-ID: <CAHmuOYoC_Yfxn8jCrEnzm=DEzvjqShgxrBVvMDEBXFLKYTCpUA@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 I've been pretty sure I wouldn't live to see humans on Mars for the last ten or fifteen years. Most people don't seem to realize that human space exploration is still in it's infancy. Because many of us grew-up with highly optimistic science-fiction, we tend to expect more than current technology (and our wallets) can provide. We also desperately want to see certain things happen in our own lifetime, and each of us probably has different goals from that perspective. We still build "tinker-toy" spacecraft, both manned and unmanned. Every one of them is a roll of the dice whether it works or not. When spacecraft are the size of battleships, adequately shielded, and have practically unlimited endurance and power, either nuclear or otherwise, then we can consider ourselves a space-faring species. Debate about targets for robotic missions at this stage is just so much banter based on personal opinions of what is "important". If we don't kill ourselves off first, the entire solar system will eventually get explored in the next 100 to 300 years and I'm good with that timetable. It doesn't matter where we go next year, next decade. "Bang for the buck" is short-term, budget-limited thinking and not part of a long-term philosophy about space exploration. It's more about public perception than anything. Even a ten-year project is peanuts when considering humanity's long-term goals for space exploration. Let's set a grand goal that will span generations and actually make a difference in the long run. The sad part is, most taxpayers will never think like this. I sometimes think we need to take an evolutionary step ourselves, before our social dynamics will change enough to make a difference. "Homo Sapiens" may not be destined for space travel. It might be up to the next branch in the tree of evolution. My 3 cents. On Sun, Sep 22, 2013 at 2:26 PM, Joe Bauman <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> wrote:

Agreed, Jay. Mars is looking less and less attractive. This inhospitality is another reason that I think NASA should concentrate much of its effort in sending unmanned probes to Europa. Fresh material in the form of ice from the interior ocean is always spreading across the surface. If complex life evolved in the warm water beneath the ice, remnants should show up on the surface. We have focused on Mars because for many decades it was seen as the romantic planet next door, where canals stretched across deserts to keep cities alive. Today we know that's bunk, but the old drive to land astronauts on Mars persists. For scientific studies, Europa may be far richer than Mars. -- Joe

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