Two groundbreaking achievements by the Perseverance mission on Mars

[rhd]

There's so much bad news these days and I think we can use a good news story once in a while. First, the first ever helicopter flight on another celestial body was achieved. The helicopter, called "Ingenuity", flew for only a few seconds and only a few meters off the ground but it was still a momentous achievement in the this Martian atmosphere, which has less than 1% of the pressure of the Earth's atmosphere. But even more significant was the second item. A device called "Moxie" became the first to create oxygen from the atmosphere of another celestial body. This link is to a good video about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgybmrTyd8U

This synthesizing happened on the very first test of this device. The Martian atmosphere has practically no oxygen so we will need these devices if we are ever to colonize Mars, which I think we eventually will. In addition to being used for breathing, the oxygen could also be used as rocket fuel to return to Earth. Also, it's nice to know that w all the issues the USA has these days we still can do amazing things and remain the leader in space exploration and travel.

[Mithrandir]

There's so much bad news these days and I think we can use a good news story once in a while. First, the first ever helicopter flight on another celestial body was achieved. The helicopter, called "Ingenuity", flew for only a few seconds and only a few meters off the ground but it was still a momentous achievement in the this Martian atmosphere, which has less than 1% of the pressure of the Earth's atmosphere. But even more significant was the second item. A device called "Moxie" became the first to create oxygen from the atmosphere of another celestial body. This link is to a good video about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgybmrTyd8U

This synthesizing happened on the very first test of this device. The Martian atmosphere has practically no oxygen so we will need these devices if we are ever to colonize Mars, which I think we eventually will. In addition to being used for breathing, the oxygen could also be used as rocket fuel to return to Earth. Also, it's nice to know that w all the issues the USA has these days we still can do amazing things and remain the leader in space exploration and travel.

Very cool!

Why do you think we will colonize Mars? And should we? Is it worth the money spent?

[rhd]

Very cool!

Why do you think we will colonize Mars? And should we? Is it worth the money spent?

If humankind can keep from destroying itself, then eventually there will be disasters that will make it difficult to survive on Earth, at least temporarily. Like an asteroid/comet impact or megavolcanic eruption. It could take years or decades for the Earth to become livable again. Being able to survive for a time on another planet or moon might mean the difference between our species (and others) surviving or not surviving. That, to me, is the main reason for colonizing Mars. But exploring Mars also would yield a lot of significant scientific info, including about the origin and development of our solar system. There's also the potential of resources to be mined. You can debate whether we should do it or not, but the bottom line is if we develop the technological ability to do it, which I think we will eventually, someone will do it no matter what. There's no stopping it, only hopefully ways of effectively managing it.

[GwynnInTheHall]

If humankind can keep from destroying itself, then eventually there will be disasters that will make it difficult to survive on Earth, at least temporarily. Like an asteroid/comet impact or megavolcanic eruption. It could take years or decades for the Earth to become livable again. Being able to survive for a time on another planet or moon might mean the difference between our species (and others) surviving or not surviving. That, to me, is the main reason for colonizing Mars. But exploring Mars also would yield a lot of significant scientific info, including about the origin and development of our solar system. There's also the potential of resources to be mined. You can debate whether we should do it or not, but the bottom line is if we develop the technological ability to do it, which I think we will eventually, someone will do it no matter what. There's no stopping it, only hopefully ways of effectively managing it.

If it can be kept from becoming just another battleground for people trying to make money with little or no regard to the ramifications of their greed, then yeah--cool go for it.

And FWIW, I'd rather put the tech and effort into making THIS planet habitable before striking out to the rest of the System. But that's just me.

[heyelander]

If it can be kept from becoming just another battleground for people trying to make money with little or no regard to the ramifications of their greed, then yeah--cool go for it.

And FWIW, I'd rather put the tech and effort into making THIS planet habitable before striking out to the rest of the System. But that's just me.

My guess is this isn't a zero sum game and the astrophysicist working on it are not qualified to fight malaria in africa.

[GwynnInTheHall]

My guess is this isn't a zero sum game and the astrophysicist working on it are not qualified to fight malaria in africa.

I was referring to the money, but yeah I get what you said.

[heyelander]

I was referring to the money, but yeah I get what you said.

there's a billion better places to get that money from... or maybe just Defense, but regardless, R&D is something the country is lagging in. Stuff that comes out of NASA has applications all over the place.

I just get annoyed with these false equivelencies...



I think the worst one I see is about how much it costs to provide healthcare for undocumented individuals vs. providing healthcare for Veterans. Like this is an either/or rather than "we really should do both and get that money from somewhere else"

[Mithrandir]

If it can be kept from becoming just another battleground for people trying to make money with little or no regard to the ramifications of their greed, then yeah--cool go for it.

And FWIW, I'd rather put the tech and effort into making THIS planet habitable before striking out to the rest of the System. But that's just me.

Agree 1000000%