On the first manned mission, that is - to set your foot on the Red Planet then return to Earth.
It’s estimated that by the 2030s humanity might be ready to take its first voyage to another planet. A round trip could take between 400-450 days. There is also the inevitable danger that comes with space exploration and psychological issues.
By the 2030s, most of us would be too damned old, but assuming it could be done sooner than that, would you go if asked? Do you think its worthwhile even trying to go?
You’d be with a small team. Assume the mission is a copy of Apollo 11, but with a much longer trip and the subsequent increased danger. You’re not establishing a colony or anything like that.
No. I’m a type one diabetic, which would bring all sorts of food complications. Hell, I won’t even go backpacking in Asia like many of my friends have.
No hesitation at all. I would do it. What an opportunity! I would love to see Earth from orbit someday, and watching my planet drift further and further away in the window as I head off to Mars would be so incredible. Plus, I’d be part of history and contributing to science, so even if I were to die on the mission - what a great way to go.
I’d have to say that I’d cut off my right nutsack for the chance, even if it meant my death. The trickiest thing I think would be keeping all the tech knowledge in mind.
10 years ago the answer would have been “hell yes!”. But now, what my deteriorating physical condition, I’d just have to volunteer to feed the cat and water the plants.
The thrill of just experiencing something one time would not be enough for me. I could never give up my outside exercise routine for more than a week, let alone 400 days. The risk/reward ratio is outlandishly high in my opinion. I just don’t see any gain in going for free.
I think I’d want to take at least a brief look at the quality of the preparation, the other astronauts, etc. to get some notion of the chance of success. If I decided it was something like 80% or better, I’d go.
I want to experience being out in space looking back at Earth and all but I don’t know whether I’d choose Mars as a particular destination. Perspective of space from Mars can’t be all that different?
Spend over a year cooped up in a tin can? Forget it. We’ve got plenty of pictures of Mars already, it doesn’t look worth the trip.
The fact that no human’s ever set foot there before mildly increases the appeal of the trip, but that just ratchets it up from “no fucking way” to “fuck, no.”
FWIW, I think they’re being overly optimistic about the 2030s. Hell, nobody’s been back to the moon in nearly four decades, and Mars has to be at least 100 times as difficult.