Poll

If cost considerations were eliminated, would you go to Mars?

My feet are planted on this Earth (No)
21 (12.2%)
I'd visit, but not move there permanently
69 (40.1%)
Sign me up. I am ready and willing to move there in the next 12 years
62 (36%)
I want to move there, but need more time to prepare my affairs (more than 12 years)
20 (11.6%)

Total Members Voted: 172

Voting closed: 06/01/2016 04:50 pm


Author Topic: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?  (Read 18460 times)

Offline CraigLieb

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Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« on: 05/02/2016 04:50 pm »
In honor of the announcement that an unmanned Red Dragon Mars mission is scheduled for NET 2018:

We can hope that in 10-15 years, regular manned missions will follow leveraging the BFR/BFS (MCT).
Let's see if we can fill up an entire BFS with volunteer NSF explorer pioneers.

Getting the financial "BUT" out of the way, would you could go/move to Mars if you could? 
Post comments and questions too.
Note: Given the serious nature of the decision, this poll allows participants to change their votes. Poll closes in 30 days.
On the ground floor of the National Space Foundation... Colonize Mars!

Offline RonM

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #1 on: 05/02/2016 05:41 pm »
Sign me up! I'm ready to go.

I'll probably be too old to go in 12 years, but then again 0.38g would help a lot.

Offline nadreck

Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #2 on: 05/02/2016 05:44 pm »
Sign me up! I'm ready to go.

I'll probably be too old to go in 12 years, but then again 0.38g would help a lot.

I just figure that I would be to old to worry about coming back ;-)
It is all well and good to quote those things that made it past your confirmation bias that other people wrote, but this is a discussion board damnit! Let us know what you think! And why!

Offline The Amazing Catstronaut

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #3 on: 05/02/2016 05:46 pm »
I'd go, will likely be able to afford it if current plans hold, but my current employment path is in  creative academia, so I'd likely have to go into higher education again (which is entirely attainable), gain another skill set and probably labour hours in another career in order to have a realistic shot at eligibility in the first few decades. Right now I'm barely a twenty something, so this gives me a considerable amount of time to attain any pertinent qualifiers. Providing a Mars colony happens, it's at least plausible I'll be able to go barring disability or death - I just wouldn't be in the first handful of transfer windows.

If I go (and it's contingent on any hypothetical colony growing sufficiently in my lifetime), I'd go as a citizen rather than a pioneer. The social fabric of any martian society would be fascinating to me and I'd revel in the opportunity to witness its formation. How does the justice system operate on Mars? What do people do in their spare time? What will people craft out of an airless, freezing desert world? What passes for the Martian concept of "nature" which has been oh so critical to our sociological development on Earth? We use animal metaphors to define ourselves, indeed, the concept of what it means to be Human has been long explored through the attempt to philosophise the differences and similarities between us and other fauna. Emotions have long been compared to natural forces such as the wind, the tides, the rain. We're used to the concept of having a singular moon. We're used to the sky being a very particular set of shades. Blue, green, yellow and brown are the common colours through which we view the supposedly "natural" world.

Mars contradicts all of these deeply rooted socio-cultural pre-expectations. For us the idea of feeling atmospheric gas against our face whilst outside is something that we crave. For a martian, such an experience is equivalent to realising you're at the bottom of the ocean without a diving suit - the stuff of nightmares. We view ourselves through our interactions with animals, but Mars has no natural advanced fauna except what we take with us from Earth. What then do the Martians compare themselves to? The regolith? Rocks, boulders, dust devils, eddies in the sand? Perhaps Martians will view water as the embodiment of nature in the same way we view nature as plants. Does even the concept of nature have any meaning to them? Will all the Martians, living on a world where advanced life equates to humanity, be vegetarian? Will they equate the consumption of meat on Earth, a world teeming with advanced life, to be senseless barbaric and wasteful?

It is likely Euro-American cultural icons, traditions, diet, practices and religions will be defining on protogenic Martian culture, since many of the initial settlers will likely be American under the given colonial architecture - but that cultural experience will become intermeshed soon enough with citizens from most nations. It's probable that the language of Mars will be English due to its status as a global lingua franca, but they will not be an example of any global mean. Stratified by expertise, education, physical ability and (to a certain, although not exclusive) degree, wealth, most immigrants from Mars will be people who have been at least relatively successful at forging a stable life for themselves on Earth,  yet still wish to pioneer. Mars is the ultimate opportunity to start again. You cannot bring your house with you, your BMW is a squandering of valuable steel, you will have to adapt to living in areas significantly smaller than Earth analogues - a big, comfortable, steadily expanding submarine. Unlike on Earth, the fruits of your labour would become immediately apparent to you; most of the employment you will find yourself in will have some direct, measurable ramification for the wider colony. This will likely cause Mars citizens to have a significantly greater sense of self-worth than that of their terrestrial analogues. Just as interesting is what Martians call citizens of Earth. Are we the (somewhat difficult to pronounce) Earthians? Earthers? Terrans? How well will Earth spirituality, religion and practices translate to Mars? Where is Mecca relative to your position in the solar system? Do you pray in the direction of Earth? Can the end of days happen if you're not even on the same planet? Was Jesus a Martian? What holidays and special events will they celebrate? Planetfall day? Earth day? Yuri's Night? Where do all of these dates fit into the Martian calendar? In the place of flowers what do you give to a loved one? Food? A rock? Do they teach kids Martian history, Earth history, the history of spaceflight?

With the skillset that I'm currently acquiring I could readily become a teacher. Mars is going to need teachers because Mars is going to need children - but I wouldn't put that job opening out until a good twenty years after initial planetfall. How will martian kids view Earth? The birthplace of humanity, somewhere quasi-sacred? Certainly the Martians won't have complete autonomy from Earth for decades on end, perhaps centuries. Will they learn disdain for us, will the Martians, in their fragile, intimate communities, find Earth politics, nation states and war utterly repugnant? Will they see us as Neanderthals and Earth a violent place with animals that can eat you, food that decays too quickly, volcanoes that can explode from under you and weather that can pummel you? Will they watch over the Martian internet our natural and human disasters with anger and dismay?

Or will they like us? Will the next generation of Martians consider us benefactors?

These are the questions that are critical to human life on Mars. You're bringing humans there - people are going to ask human questions. The chance of being a human on Mars - in community where everybody needs to pull together to help each other out, fascinates and entices me. The opportunity to observe, document or contribute to it happening is one that is impossible to pass up.

Of course, it might all never happen because people like us who wanted it to happen were too lazy to make it happen. There's that too.
« Last Edit: 05/02/2016 05:47 pm by The Amazing Catstronaut »
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Offline JasonAW3

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #4 on: 05/02/2016 06:13 pm »
     If I could contribute to said mission/colony, and my current age wasn't a factor, (I was seven when I watched the Apollo 11 moon landing) I'd go in a heartbeat!

     Setting foot on a world that had never seen a human foot print...  I would relish the sensation.

      Regardless; when someone DOES land there, they'd better have a poet with them.  Neal Armstrong said it well, and the next step is a far grander leap for all mankind...
My God!  It's full of universes!

Offline IRobot

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #5 on: 05/02/2016 07:27 pm »
I love sailing, eating well and drinking wine too much to move to Mars.

But I would spend several months on LEO or up to 1 year on a Mars visit.

I would be willing to spend something as half my savings on that, for both me and my family.

Offline CraigLieb

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #6 on: 05/02/2016 07:40 pm »
...Just as interesting is what Martians call citizens of Earth. Are we the (somewhat difficult to pronounce) Earthians? Earthers? Terrans?

Old Worlders?
Pre-Martians?
On the ground floor of the National Space Foundation... Colonize Mars!

Offline Bynaus

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #7 on: 05/02/2016 07:50 pm »
...Just as interesting is what Martians call citizens of Earth. Are we the (somewhat difficult to pronounce) Earthians? Earthers? Terrans?

Old Worlders?
Pre-Martians?

Dirters? And what might they call themselves - Martians? Muskites? :)

I'd go, one day, setting foot on an other world is a dream I have always had. When, and how, and for how long would depend on the details of my future life, family, income, etc, but going to Mars will always be a goal I'd work towards. To stay? We'll see.
More of my thoughts: www.final-frontier.ch (in German)

Online zodiacchris

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #8 on: 05/02/2016 08:10 pm »
I'd go, perfect place for a geologist to retire! Should be able to get another 15 years productive life out of me once we leave in 12 years.
Drank enough wine, dived enough in the ocean, will be done dancing with the clouds, and had enough sun on my naked skin. I'd be ready for a new, and last phase of life, in a place I always wanted to go. And what better way to honour your place of birth than looking up to the blue dot in the night sky and yearning for the kiss of a fresh breeze...

Offline cro-magnon gramps

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #9 on: 05/02/2016 08:45 pm »
Sign me up! I'm ready to go.

I'll probably be too old to go in 12 years, but then again 0.38g would help a lot.

I just figure that I would be to old to worry about coming back ;-)

hey, if they put a head, air, food and water (no need for extensive radiation protection) in a Dragon, 2018, I'd go... great 70th Birthday Present... no worries about bringing me back in 2 years, I'd be too old and weak for Earth by then... If I have to wait 12 years, I'll be 80... that "might" (he said tongue in cheek) be too old... just make sure that they let me take MY music with me... I don't want to end up like that guy in the Movie... probably get Bieber or something like that... first lunatic or suicide on Mars...  :o
« Last Edit: 05/02/2016 08:49 pm by cro-magnon gramps »
Gramps "Earthling by Birth, Martian by the grace of The Elon." ~ "Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but it has not solved one yet." Maya Angelou ~ Tony Benn: "Hope is the fuel of progress and fear is the prison in which you put yourself."

Offline eric z

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #10 on: 05/02/2016 09:02 pm »
 Maybe they could drop me off at the NASA-Lunar retirement Village on their way! ;D

Offline daveklingler

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #11 on: 05/02/2016 11:58 pm »
I think of Martian colonies as very much like the Survivor or Big Brother reality shows.  The last human on the planet doesn't get eaten, and just has to stay alive until the next shipment of colonists arrives. At that point the game begins again.

Just as interesting is what Martians call citizens of Earth. Are we the (somewhat difficult to pronounce) Earthians? Earthers? Terrans?

Food! Food oh food oh food oh precious food!  Thank God they sent another batch of colonists!
« Last Edit: 05/03/2016 12:04 am by daveklingler »

Online punder

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #12 on: 05/03/2016 12:04 am »
I'd go, perfect place for a geologist to retire! Should be able to get another 15 years productive life out of me once we leave in 12 years.
Drank enough wine, dived enough in the ocean, will be done dancing with the clouds, and had enough sun on my naked skin. I'd be ready for a new, and last phase of life, in a place I always wanted to go. And what better way to honour your place of birth than looking up to the blue dot in the night sky and yearning for the kiss of a fresh breeze...

But if you plan on building a Mars Zodiac, better get a REALLY wide garage.

Offline llanitedave

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #13 on: 05/03/2016 12:17 am »
I'd love to work there for a few years as an exploration geologist.  I don't think I could make it permanent though, as I'm pretty attached to my lovely patch of green at home.
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Offline Zed_Noir

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #14 on: 05/03/2016 04:25 am »

hey, if they put a head, air, food and water (no need for extensive radiation protection) in a Dragon, 2018, I'd go... great 70th Birthday Present... no worries about bringing me back in 2 years, I'd be too old and weak for Earth by then... If I have to wait 12 years, I'll be 80... that "might" (he said tongue in cheek) be too old... just make sure that they let me take MY music with me... I don't want to end up like that guy in the Movie... probably get Bieber or something like that... first lunatic or suicide on Mars...  :o

 I am very disappointed with you view. :( Do you think any Martian colony with input from the SpaceX CTO will be without access to the Internet? ;D
« Last Edit: 05/03/2016 05:20 am by Zed_Noir »

Offline nadreck

Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #15 on: 05/03/2016 06:08 pm »
The evolution of the answers over time here is interesting. The majority of those who answered the poll quickly were willing to go permanently. Now they aren't in the majority anymore.  Go figure that the more likely you are to answer this immediately the more likely you are to be willing to go.
It is all well and good to quote those things that made it past your confirmation bias that other people wrote, but this is a discussion board damnit! Let us know what you think! And why!

Offline Barrie

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #16 on: 05/03/2016 07:32 pm »
The evolution of the answers over time here is interesting. The majority of those who answered the poll quickly were willing to go permanently. Now they aren't in the majority anymore.  Go figure that the more likely you are to answer this immediately the more likely you are to be willing to go.

Or the quicker you answer, the less you've thought about it, and the less you think about it, the more likely you are to say you would go     :)

Offline PahTo

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #17 on: 05/03/2016 07:42 pm »

My love affairs with the North Cascades, the Pacific and water in general would preclude my permanent migration, but I'd love to spend months or a year there, especially the pole(s) and Olympus Mons.

Offline Rocket Science

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #18 on: 05/03/2016 07:48 pm »
Yeah, I'm willing to move there in the next 12 years if I make it... I've spent 2/3rd of my life here on Earth, so why not the rest of it on Mars... I'll be old and not much use except maybe watering the potato garden... ;) Maybe I'll baby sit the young Martians while their folks are out working the land... :)
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Offline Ixian77

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #19 on: 05/03/2016 07:52 pm »
No, never.
Have you seen the place?

Offline Rocket Science

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #20 on: 05/03/2016 08:04 pm »
No, never.
Have you seen the place?
Yeah, it kind of looks like this place... ;D
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Offline RonM

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #21 on: 05/03/2016 08:44 pm »
The evolution of the answers over time here is interesting. The majority of those who answered the poll quickly were willing to go permanently. Now they aren't in the majority anymore.  Go figure that the more likely you are to answer this immediately the more likely you are to be willing to go.

Or the quicker you answer, the less you've thought about it, and the less you think about it, the more likely you are to say you would go     :)

You people have no sense of adventure. Common sense perhaps, but not adventure.  :)

Offline Big Al

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #22 on: 05/03/2016 09:09 pm »
I would go, in fact I've all ready asked my wife and adult children if I could go. They all said if that is what I want to do , it's OK by them.
 My first challenge is to come up with the half million dollars that Musk quoted for the trip.
 Second challenge is that I will be 82 years old by then! I guess a carbon fiber tombstone wold be part of my baggage!


Offline cro-magnon gramps

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #23 on: 05/03/2016 11:04 pm »
The evolution of the answers over time here is interesting. The majority of those who answered the poll quickly were willing to go permanently. Now they aren't in the majority anymore.  Go figure that the more likely you are to answer this immediately the more likely you are to be willing to go.

Or the quicker you answer, the less you've thought about it, and the less you think about it, the more likely you are to say you would go     :)

OR you have thought about it for 40 years and now it is happening...
Gramps "Earthling by Birth, Martian by the grace of The Elon." ~ "Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but it has not solved one yet." Maya Angelou ~ Tony Benn: "Hope is the fuel of progress and fear is the prison in which you put yourself."

Offline CraigLieb

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #24 on: 05/04/2016 03:11 am »
I expect the poll to shift and people can change their vote as they contemplate this awesome possibility.

With a commercial capsule planned to leave in 2 years, it feels like it is more real. And so maybe they are more serious in their answers.
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Offline fishbait

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #25 on: 05/04/2016 03:28 am »
If any thing happens to me send my dust there in a capsule 2018.

Offline HankinNM

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #26 on: 05/04/2016 07:15 pm »
I would love to go, and have been wanting to get off of this planet ever since I watched the Apollo moon landings on Dad's b&w TV.  I'll be in my mid-70's by then, but will still be able to work (dishwasher or waiter at a swanky Martian resort!) :)
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Offline TomH

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #27 on: 05/04/2016 09:13 pm »
I'd visit and return. Alternately, if I outlive my wife and my daughter gives me no grandchildren, I'd go for good late in life.

Offline guckyfan

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #28 on: 05/05/2016 12:55 am »
I voted yes I would go.

Ignoring that I am too old and not fit enough. ;)

Offline FinalFrontier

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #29 on: 05/05/2016 01:14 am »
Yes without a second thought even if it were a one way trip.

If SpaceX was willing to put a volunteer on top of FH in 2018 for Red Dragon on a one way trip I'd put myself on that vehicle without a second thought, just so I could have that chance even if it meant death.


Without a second thought. There are some things worth dying for Mars is one of them.
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Offline KelvinZero

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #30 on: 05/05/2016 01:46 am »
No vote.

It all depends on what infrastructure is actually on Mars, not just for my own comfort but also before I could decide if I would be any use there or a dead weight.

I would possibly be interested in living a few years in an isolated trial Mars community here on earth somewhere, which would be an extremely good and (comparatively) cheap project from a technical standpoint also. It would also be an excellent requirement for anyone before actually going to Mars.

Offline RonM

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #31 on: 05/05/2016 03:48 am »
I would possibly be interested in living a few years in an isolated trial Mars community here on earth somewhere, which would be an extremely good and (comparatively) cheap project from a technical standpoint also. It would also be an excellent requirement for anyone before actually going to Mars.

That's a good idea, especially for the early missions. Make each crew stay at the test Mars community for a year to see if the individuals can stand the isolation. Changing your mind once you're on Mars isn't a good option.

Thrown in a BFS trip simulation too.

Offline AJW

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #32 on: 05/08/2016 02:39 am »
I might consider going so long as I have access to NSF and can still keep up with the latest in space flight news.
We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.

Offline The Amazing Catstronaut

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #33 on: 05/08/2016 03:22 am »
I might consider going so long as I have access to NSF and can still keep up with the latest in space flight news.

You can check on NSF updates to the launch you're sitting on top of. That'll be surreal.
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Offline CraigLieb

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #34 on: 05/08/2016 10:40 pm »
I might consider going so long as I have access to NSF and can still keep up with the latest in space flight news.

You can check on NSF updates to the launch you're sitting on top of. That'll be surreal.

Or better yet, post stream of consciousness NSF exclusives.
On the ground floor of the National Space Foundation... Colonize Mars!

Offline philw1776

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #35 on: 05/09/2016 06:27 pm »
Need a category would go but odds overwhelming that won't be above ground when BFS flies folks to Mars.
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Offline CraigLieb

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #36 on: 05/09/2016 06:29 pm »
Need a category would go but odds overwhelming that won't be above ground when BFS flies folks to Mars.

that would fall into the willing, but not able (feet and everything else) planted on/under the ground.
On the ground floor of the National Space Foundation... Colonize Mars!

Offline KelvinZero

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #37 on: 05/11/2016 02:19 am »
I would possibly be interested in living a few years in an isolated trial Mars community here on earth somewhere, which would be an extremely good and (comparatively) cheap project from a technical standpoint also. It would also be an excellent requirement for anyone before actually going to Mars.

That's a good idea, especially for the early missions. Make each crew stay at the test Mars community for a year to see if the individuals can stand the isolation. Changing your mind once you're on Mars isn't a good option.

Thrown in a BFS trip simulation too.
I just stumbled on this link:


Place might be going cheap too. I would love someone to figure out a way to keep these places going, perhaps as some sort of IT hermitage or something. I just really like the idea of a city around a mall with great internet right next to true wilderness, and you only need one good road/rail line connecting you to other 'nodes', the opposite of urban sprawl. This place does look a bit dank but I think we could design much nicer ones.

Offline The Amazing Catstronaut

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #38 on: 05/13/2016 06:08 pm »


Place might be going cheap too. I would love someone to figure out a way to keep these places going, perhaps as some sort of IT hermitage or something. I just really like the idea of a city around a mall with great internet right next to true wilderness, and you only need one good road/rail line connecting you to other 'nodes', the opposite of urban sprawl. This place does look a bit dank but I think we could design much nicer ones.

I'm an indoors type - I'd live in Whittier in a heartbeat if there were any residences going (there aren't right now). For some reason I revel in being able to do a certain thing in a certain space, just so long as I have lots of new and interesting tasks to do and skills to learn and acquire. That in itself is as benign a journey in my eyes as a thousand square miles.

It's partly why I feel I'd be good for Mars. I wouldn't be retired by then and I wouldn't really mind being locked in an airtight bank vault for the rest of my life, so long as it was a productive bank vault and I felt I was advancing the human race.

Besides, needing more personal volume is an incentive to build.

Only thing I'd miss is flying fixed winged aircraft. But hey, I'd have a good part of a year in a spaceship. That's some reassurance.
« Last Edit: 05/13/2016 06:10 pm by The Amazing Catstronaut »
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Offline JasonAW3

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #39 on: 05/13/2016 06:57 pm »
I think Whittier is probably a pretty good model of a Mars type community, however; A bit more interior room would likely be a good idea, at least for psychological reasons.

     While having access to windows and that is great, on Mars you'd want to limit this as radiation hazards as well as depressurization issues would come into play.

     Should it prove possible, through some form of "sandwiching" of polymer layers between quartz glass, cheaply, the Whittier format might be acceptable, but having some at least semi-open green spaces, like in a mall type surrounding, would likely be a very good idea.

     I suspect having a central open area, likely domed over and covered with regolith, as well as using light pipes to bring in supplemented sunlight, (as we all know, there's a lot less sunlight on Mars than on Earth) would go a long ways to help in both the psychology area, as well as physiologically.  (It's quite common that places in the northern and southern regions of the world, that have several months of darkness during the year, often use supplemental sunlamps to help generate vitamin D in the bodies of people isolated like this).

     Also, by making the colony more enticing in appearance, it is more likely to draw more colonists than if it more resembles an Antarctic military base.  (Of course, having a facility that is reminiscent of either base in the movies, "The Thing" is something that tends to reside in the collective unconscious.  Yeah, I know it's just a movie, but does the deep reptile part of the brain know that?)

     Besides, if I'm going to blow my entire life's savings on a one way trip to Mars, I, by gosh, want something nice that I can live in!
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Offline CraigLieb

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #40 on: 09/28/2016 02:54 pm »
poll is closed, but with the announcement of the ITS architecture, anybody change their mind and want a trip on the Heart of Gold? I want to go, even for a visit still. Very exciting to see that tank prototype. Didn't expect that one!
« Last Edit: 09/28/2016 07:23 pm by CraigLieb »
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Offline Roy_H

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #41 on: 10/16/2016 11:52 pm »
Only just noticed this poll, now long closed.  I would have voted no, mostly because I see no attraction to living on a barren planet with 1/3 gravity. However a spinning wheel type space station in LEO with 1g living space would be perfect because I would revel in the ability to go to the center and experience/work in a zero g environment and know that trips back to Earth would only take a few hours.
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Offline MATTBLAK

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #42 on: 10/16/2016 11:59 pm »
My 'space ambitions' don't really extend to Mars - I would just be happy to live long enough to see some humans land there. I think I would be more than satisfied with just two space missions:

1: A Space Adventures trip to the ISS for roughly a couple of weeks.
2: A Space Adventures trip around the Moon and back (Figure 8, free return) with that hair-raising re-entry!
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Offline high road

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #43 on: 10/17/2016 02:07 pm »
Add a 'space adventures explore the moon in a variety of transportation mods' (on foot, lunar buggy, comfortable pressurized rover) and the ability to enjoy the scenery along the way to and from the moon, and all my desires are covered.

Wether that's on the moon or Mars doesn't matter to me, as long as the total trip time is reasonable. No two and a half years shenanigans.

Offline JAFO

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #44 on: 10/18/2016 06:16 am »
I remarried a few years ago after a long time single, up until that point I would have happily gone on a one-way mission to further human exploration. This might sound suicidal, but remember that for many centuries travel on trips of exploration was often one-way.
« Last Edit: 10/18/2016 06:17 am by JAFO »
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Offline CraigLieb

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #45 on: 11/01/2016 06:24 pm »
Some days this proposition is more compelling than others... ::)
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Offline PDZiemer

Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #46 on: 11/08/2016 05:38 pm »
Once today's election results come out here in the US, the list of interested parties wanting to escape the planet and go to Mars will likely increase.  No matter the outcome, one group or the other will be ready to throw their hands up in disgust and go for a brand new start.  Personally I am planning on staying here and toughing it out and making what little difference I can!

Online oldAtlas_Eguy

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #47 on: 11/20/2016 06:29 pm »
The % of those going to Mars from the survey show that 46% will go as tourists. So if 1000 go to Mars every synod then 460 will be going to visit. This means that a very large tourist industry could be established on Mars pulling in significant revenue from Earth sources.

Although the POLL shows a high visitor number % I do not think the visitor % will be allowed to go over ~20%. Some of that is that the return trip is capable of only 25% of the outward trip.

But this also gives a big positive on tourist industry for other destinations like cis-Luanr orbits and Lunar surface.

Another item is that of people answering the POLL a possible 80 would go to stay and more than 20 that would go to visit. That's enough to fill fill half the capability of ITS.

The final item is that there is 151 positive responses for a total membership of 33879 members for a 0.45% response. For just the US alone that gives an upper bound for those that possible would go of 1.34 million people. Something to think about. The real number will obviously be lower than that but even if it is 1/100th of that that is still 13K people. At $200K each that is $2.6B.

As more go more will want to go.
« Last Edit: 11/20/2016 06:30 pm by oldAtlas_Eguy »

Offline Hauerg

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #48 on: 11/20/2016 06:47 pm »
I would not draw to many conclusion considering the sample is:
small & only the small part that took the poll of that small part of the space fans that is that forum here.

Offline CraigLieb

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Re: Would you go to Mars on the BFS?
« Reply #49 on: 11/21/2016 01:06 pm »
I would not draw to many conclusion considering the sample is:
small & only the small part that took the poll of that small part of the space fans that is that forum here.

18,300 people applied this year alone to be astronauts with NASA (including me). Although the hurdle was low to apply, and most would not qualify, this represents an interest in going to space. I am not concerned that there will be a lack of desire to go to Mars or on any other trip.

Will there be enough qualified candidates? I don't know.
Will there be enough candidates with the required resources ($$)?  Again that remains to be seen.
 But interested people?
    Plenty.
« Last Edit: 11/21/2016 01:07 pm by CraigLieb »
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