# Would you go to Mars? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 26, 2011, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841 "2011-10-26T12:25:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/21 "2011-10-26T15:45:08Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > 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. That’s funny… I watched a bit of the movie “2010” yesterday and apparently people in 1984 were _optimistic_. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/22 "2011-10-26T15:59:17Z")
Nope. I have absolutely no interested in space travel. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/23 "2011-10-26T16:05:17Z")
I hope to be established as a paleontologist in the 2030s, so if that’s the reason I’ve been asked to explore Mars, that’s extremely interesting! But even if they’re just asking people at random, I’d probably still go. In 2034 I’ll be the same age Alan Shepard was when he went to the moon. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/24 "2011-10-26T16:12:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Would you go to Mars? No, age & health reasons. > [@](#): > > Do you think its worthwhile even trying to go? No. It’s been discussed many times here on the Dope that the cost (not to mention the risks) of just \*\*one \*\*manned mission would be enough to fund a dozen or more probe missions. > [@](#): > > A round trip could take between 400-450 days. I was under the impression that it would take more like 700 days, give or take. That wouldn’t leave much time on the ground. I think any time frame less than 50 years is overly optimistic. Also given the currant mood in the country (U.S.) I don’t see anyone agreeing to fund a project that could cost several hundred of billions of dollars (maybe even a trillion?). ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/25 "2011-10-26T16:50:31Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > 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.” Yeah, while I can see the appeal, giving up 1-2 years of my life is just too much. There are a lot of magnificent places right here on earth that I will likely never have time to see that I can’t see giving up all that time going to Mars just for the experience itself. Now, if the fame and fortune from that trip to Mars allows me to quit my job and be able to make up for that lost time and then some, I might reconsider. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/26 "2011-10-26T18:35:46Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Nah. I’m married and Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids. And there’s no one there to raise them, if you did. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/27 "2011-10-26T18:43:38Z")
In a New York minute. If I were 10 years younger. By the time 2030 comes around, I would still go if there were a Retire to Mars option. That would be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/28 "2011-10-26T20:48:17Z")
I’d do it. I’d do it even if I knew it was a one way trip, no coming back. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/29 "2011-10-26T22:44:48Z")
What is the pay, sir? If it’s for an astronaut’s wages, hell yes. If it’s for free? No. They’d at least have to cover storage for my shit and make sure I have a job when I get back home. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/30 "2011-10-26T22:58:42Z")
Mars? There’s no there there. Much like Oakland. ---
**Author:** ![BigDadWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@BigDadWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDadWolf)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/31 "2011-10-26T23:08:00Z")
I’d take a one-week trip to orbit in a second but months if not years traveling in space stuck in a small enclosed habitat makes me feel queasy just thinking about it ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/32 "2011-10-27T00:05:52Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Sure, sure, it’s cold as hell, but bring a coat and leave the family at home. What an adventure! Yes, yes, a hundred times yes! I’m not establishing a colony or anything per the OP’s later comments. So I’m missing a three years of my childrens’ lives to visit a red rock and kick around for a while collecting dust samples before heading home. I’d stick with the adventure of raising my children 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Bosstrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstrain)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/33 "2011-10-27T00:52:12Z")
Blow Mars up, that way it can never attack again! Who’s with me!! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/34 "2011-10-27T01:07:10Z")
I’d go even if we weren’t coming back. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/35 "2011-10-27T10:22:32Z")
I’d jump at the chance, even if it were one-way. But I’d try to get my partner and pets on-board too. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/36 "2011-10-27T11:52:41Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > You’d be with a small team. Assume the mission is a copy of [Apollo 11](http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_11i_Timeline.htm), but with a much longer trip and the subsequent increased danger. You’re not establishing a colony or anything like that. > [@Jophiel](#): > > Nah. I’m married and Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids. > [@Bricker](#): > > Sure, sure, it’s cold as hell, but bring a coat and leave the family at home. What an adventure! Yes, yes, a hundred times yes! > [@ShibbOleth](#): > > And there’s no one there to raise them, if you did. With all the science I don’t understand, I’m not sure I’d be much help to the crew, but given the opportunity, yes, I’d definitely go, even if there were no possibility of return. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/37 "2011-10-27T13:50:20Z")
Assume we’ve overcome all the technological obstacles, and there are no glitches in the journey: You’re still going to be in cramped confines with several other people for a year and a half—and there’s no getting away from them. There will be a big psychological challenge for people to spend that much time that close together and not REALLY start grating on each other’s nerves. I guess you’d get used to the collective body odor, too, since hot showers would be just a distant memory. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/38 "2011-10-27T13:56:03Z")
Hell yeas I’d go, and I’ll only be 50. Given advances in medical technology I doubt very much that would preclude me from service. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/39 "2011-10-27T15:59:10Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > … pets on-board too. Something tells me that “I’ll go if my pet(s) can come along” might cause you to miss the first couple of missions. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841/40 "2011-10-27T16:03:29Z")
I’ve never been that interested in space. It bores me. Plus the journey there sounds unpleasant. Using diapers…no freaking way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-mars/600841.md?page=3)