It's either something like this (a space enthusiast billionaire like musk, bezos, ...) or nothing.
People die all the time when skydiving, wingsuit flying, mountain climbing, etc. You don't see a huge public movement to outlaw these activities. Why should space be any different?
I hope for alternate options but fear you are right. Bezos might have deep enough pockets. I think some sort of govt(NASA) HSF BEO mission is likely during next decade, but unlikely Mars.
Quote from: rklaehn on 02/22/2013 02:06 pmIt's either something like this (a space enthusiast billionaire like musk, bezos, ...) or nothing. I hope for alternate options but fear you are right. Bezos might have deep enough pockets. I think some sort of govt(NASA) HSF BEO mission is likely during next decade, but unlikely Mars.
Quote People die all the time when skydiving, wingsuit flying, mountain climbing, etc. You don't see a huge public movement to outlaw these activities. Why should space be any different?Your list contains activities of only leisure nature, personal thrills. There is no taxpayer funded multi-billion dollar/euro programs doing skydiving, or mountain climbing with ultimate goal of settlement on top of the mountain. But space is mostly about those expensive government programs and the perpetual question is how to justify them to Joe and possibly get Joe exited about them so that Joe might be willing to invest even more taxmoney on them. If things go south with highly publicized (it will get attention then) similar but private program wouldn't that have impact on Joe's willingness to fund related activities with his taxes.
Quote from: GoforthSC on 02/22/2013 12:31 pmQuestion is will children be able to be taken along and, if so, what is the age cut off for travel? Could I be the first young mom space traveler with my son subsequently growing up on Mars? I believe that they have announced that the minimum age for children allowed on this flight is 5. However, you could probably negotiate that. For instance, if you wanted to bring two 2-year-olds that might be allowable, although they would have to calculate the volume and mass required for diapers. However, as somebody else helpfully suggested here, one way to increase the available room inside the spacecraft is to tie things on the outside, so that might work too!As for your second question, unfortunately, this mission will not land. But it would be a great way for kids to see Mars, which would inspire them to want to live on the planet when they are older. So why not contact the group and tell them about your situation and see what they say?
Question is will children be able to be taken along and, if so, what is the age cut off for travel? Could I be the first young mom space traveler with my son subsequently growing up on Mars?
Quote from: muomega0 on 02/22/2013 02:29 pmFree return--do not expect trips every 2 to 4 years.Yes, this is almost certainly a one-off stunt, just to prove that it can be done.The best comparison is maybe SpaceShipOne. It only flew to space a few times, the minimum number it needed to win the X Prize. But in the process, it proved that it could be done, and elevated commercial spaceflight from dreams to reality. Now, they sell tickets to space in Superbowl commercials, and SpaceShipOne hangs from the Smithsonian's ceiling.Inspiration Mars has a chance to do something similar, but in an even more dramatic fashion. Unlike SpaceShipOne, this isn't just rehashing the 1960s, this is genuinely going where noone has gone before. Engage!
Free return--do not expect trips every 2 to 4 years.
Spend $1-2B or more on this free return mission to prove something *or* deploy a LEO depot to address one of the largest potential mass (cost) savings for BLEO exploration?
When aircraft were first developed, there were expensive government programs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langley_Aerodrome in competiton with private efforts that were on a shoestring budget and often got people killed. Should the private inventors have refrained from their efforts in order not to risk the public willingness to fund the government effort?
Anyway, let's see if they have serious funding. We don't have to worry about somebody getting himself killed in space if they can't get there to begin with due to lack of funding...
People are going way too far with this possible fly by mission.The number of humans that are capable, technically and mentally, of a 500 day mission in a tin can mission like this one, is minuscule. This would be only for select few, mainly previous astronauts. The average space enthusiast overestimates his capability. Lock yourself in a your closet (or storm shelter) for 500 days straight, and see if you can hack it.
Quote from: rklaehn on 02/22/2013 05:56 pmWhen aircraft were first developed, there were expensive government programs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langley_Aerodrome in competiton with private efforts that were on a shoestring budget and often got people killed. Should the private inventors have refrained from their efforts in order not to risk the public willingness to fund the government effort?Quick googling told me that $50,000 in 1898 is about $1,3M in 2010 dollars. We are at least three orders of magnitude from space programs. And it was Army money, budget less connected to public opinions.
Its worth noting, I think if you fly by, your closest position to Mars is likely to be on the dark side as you whiz by...
Depots are infrastruture, that's for governments and corporations. Noone builds a bridge to prove a point.
Biggest issue and difficulty would probably be to not go insane out there all by myself during the loooooong trip...
Sure it's dangerous. But come on, what isn't? Now don't jump on me as being insensitive but lets get real. Last year in the US alone over 32000 people died just commuting in their autos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year). That’s about 90 people per day. And we are going to get all angsty if one or two don't make it in a LOC on a very adventurist mission? If the chances of success were good I would give it a go! We have become very risk adverse as a nation. Yet we still do mountain climbing, skydiving, base jumping, etc. so what is wrong with a little bit of Mars fly-bying?
Quote from: aquanaut99 on 02/21/2013 11:44 amBiggest issue and difficulty would probably be to not go insane out there all by myself during the loooooong trip...A PlayStation and a good supply of games would might help there.