what kind of space mission would cause the same buzz as apollo?

[coppercone2]

Do you think a manned mars mission would cause the same buzz as the apollo program back in the day?

I am kind of surprised that there is not more hype about the Chinese moon robots. Even the mars lander was not really that interesting in the eyes of the public, in my opinion, compared to the excitement that was said to have happen in the early days of space exploration. I kinda even feel like if we put some people on the moon it won't be that exciting for most people.

What do you need? Martian explorers? giant moon colony? giant mars colony?

I thought space-x would be an interesting company but if you read about it in popular media like slashdot (ok maybe its not that popular but more so then this forum), it seems to turn into some kind of political/economics debate about privatization of space and the conduct of Elon Musk most of the time. I never got the feeling that people feel its some kind of golden moment or whatever, it just seems to suck in politics and nationalism like a garbage disposal.

IMO space definitely has a sort of cult following with die hard fans, but in the media it seems really short lived.

[In Vacuo Veritas]

None, people are aware that space is an immense sucking vacuum, a dead end for people. People in space is a stunt.

https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2011/10/why-not-space/

a=ISS
d=Moon

You figure it out.



People don't get excited for bottom of the ocean dives either...

Never mind the quasi-religious fervor about "the species" and "must explore" and all this weird adolescent garbage some people believe.

[coppercone2]

yea and what prevents nuclear drives and stuff from getting there?

are people just too cheap and lazy to walk long distances?


this is what I mean, its literary hip and wise for people to hate on space exploration and novel technologies. It's like those irritating statements that tend to agree with old people that want others 'off their lawn'. Because its not powered by a v8 in a mustang or whatever.

[coppice]

No future space project could create a Buzz like Aldrin.

[coppercone2]

No future space project could create a Buzz like Aldrin.

how about multi trillion dollar mars colony? i mean colony or space university, not just some outpost cost focused on doing mars things. I feel like you are going to end up needing to teach classic literature and psychology on mars to make it 'normal' not like a mixture of siberian research center and oil rig (just look how weird the EE department is in a university, now imagine that for a entire planet.  '

but with more geologists. I think the whole idea of a one way trip to a mining shanty town is extremely negative. When I read about those ideas (driven by cost) I actually got creeped out when I started thinking about the psychology of the people that will be there for the rest of their lives.

Even with early colonization of earth you at least had indigenous culture, animals and plants there. this is like starting your own martian culture. it has to be done right or people are just gonna think its a weird idea. I kinda wonder if the public just seems to associate it with 'ghetto corporate outpost' now.

poets, filmographers and artists of mars might at least get a good youtube channel and art gallery going.. the Russian movie Stalker (kinda corny but its a philosophical film) comes to mind, kinda like mars (rather then a anomaly) maybe will allow creative people to make novel works? like writers, artists etc that are situated there. Enough to make it cool again.. Mars symphonic orchestra? new compositions made there?

some good artists/creative types go to weird places to write or write about their travels (hunter s thompsons 'rum diaries' comes to mind). Maybe it would give it some appeal to the public? Even gonzo works need a seed to start from. In terms of media output of some kind of lunar or mars mission, what can you expect more then shop/repair videos?

All the great science fiction films have alot of unique culture in them that makes them appealing and interesting. I think thats what the public wants, and not too much has been produced. Like I think you used to get hype from politicians, generals, etc.. now alot of it is kinda like watching an office work...

[mfro]

People's priorities appear having changed since the seventies.

Space is boring empty.

Even worse, it has miserable WLAN and mobile coverage.

[coppercone2]

People's priorities appear having changed since the seventies.

Space is boring empty.

Even worse, it has miserable WLAN and mobile coverage.

but how can you change that? like when I was younger I was seriously considering trying to get a job in Antarctica. But then I saw how crappy it looks, like you get stuck in an office for a year. Like I would not even have a decour to talk about or whatever.. looks like a mixture of cheap office stuck in the 70's and a machine shop. You can tell its bad as soon as you look at the corrugated walls.

About 7 years later I found a nearly identical structure to Palmer Station in the separatist part of Moldova. 

[In Vacuo Veritas]

People's priorities appear having changed since the seventies.

Space is boring empty.

Even worse, it has miserable WLAN and mobile coverage.

but how can you change that?

You can't. The end. Find some other hobby. Practical fusion power seems more likely than the 1960's LSD space dreams.

[coppercone2]

People's priorities appear having changed since the seventies.

Space is boring empty.

Even worse, it has miserable WLAN and mobile coverage.

but how can you change that?

You can't. The end. Find some other hobby. Practical fusion power seems more likely than the 1960's LSD space dreams.

a ridiculous belief, the differential equations relating to stability of reactor are just as unknown. Research could determine the solutions are completely not engineering viable.

[Fungus]

The first man/woman on Mars will be some billionaire, IMHO. I think there's a whole bunch of rich people who'd pay everything they've got to be the first person on Mars. That's something only one person in history can ever do.

Maybe one with a fatal illness, so he can justify it being a one-way trip.

(getting back from Mars is orders of magnitude more difficult than going there in the first place)

[coppercone2]

I think there's a whole bunch of rich people who'd pay everything they own to be the first person on Mars. That's something only one person in history can ever do.

The first Mars flight will be some billionaire, IMHO.

Maybe one with a fatal illness, so he can justify it being a one-way trip.

(getting back from Mars is orders of magnitude more difficult than going there in the first place)

yea the one way trip thing is not viable at all for anything but robots, people should stop trying to design solutions for one way human travel. it makes as much sense as sending dying people out on canoes into a ocean. It's antediluvian and seen as uncivilized. It's literary putting a economic price on human life. Who the hell wants to die alone in space anyway, most people want to die with their family present. Economic price on human life = what desperate ass military men do when they are trying to win a war that threatens everyone.

It's seen as brave to go on a difficult mission, but no one besides primitives straps on suicide vests. There is a difference between a scenario like in the movie "Fail-safe' where the pilots go on a suicide mission to shoot down a bomber because of fuel and lack of time, vs someone strapping on a bomb vest. At least even with a terminal illness you have hope, no matter what, and you think you might be with your friends or family for a while longer.

[Fungus]

the first person on Mars. That's something only one person in history can ever do...

...although it may be cheaper/easier to try and be the first person to have sex on the moon.

[fsr]

Probably a mission to Mars. But i don't know if it will cause the same hype, as the Moon was the first time a human set foot on another "world".
Easier said than done, however. There are many problems to solve. Like radiation.

[SiliconWizard]

This is not restricted to space missions. Looks like nothing much get people excited over great human achievements anymore. Except maybe the FIFA world cup.
Draw your own conclusions.
 

[German_EE]

I'm a space geek and I've been one since the days of Mercury amd Gemini, yes, I am that old. The answer to Coppercone's question is easy, ANYTHING, but at least do something. Mankind have been pissing around in low orbit for a generation and it's about time that we started heading out there.

[Fungus]

This is not restricted to space missions. Looks like nothing much get people excited over great human achievements anymore. Except maybe the FIFA world cup.

A lot of the need for fantasy imagination has been removed from the population since the Apollo days. These days people can sit down in front of a 50" screen and see almost anything without the need to fill in any details mentally.

[mfro]

but how can you change that?

Why would one want that?

I personally consider the overview effect one of the basic achievments of the Apollo programme. If only more humans could have that - there is no place we can flee to once we damaged our home.

[coppercone2]

that's living in fear man

but it is interesting, imagine a mars effect as a cultural evolution of writing and stuff.

[james_s]

I doubt anything will. Space is a kind of "been there, done that" thing now. We can send autonomous probes and rovers to distant planets, we have orbiting space telescopes. There will be exciting developments but nothing is going to come close to the early space race, it will be mostly incremental unless we find a way to violate the laws of physics as we currently understand them or stumble upon another inhabited planet.

[apis]

A moon base is cool and something new and will generate a lot of interesting science for a long period of time.

A person on mars is a big technical achievement but I suspect that to most people sitting at home in their sofa it is not so different to going to the moon, and the US already did that, so meh. It would look the same on TV: a guy in a space suit in a desert looking at rocks. I don't think most people have a concept of the difference in distance between mars, the moon or the international space station. A base on mars would be cool too, but it is much more difficult and probably less useful to earth and science than what a moon-base would be. (And for those who are dreaming about mars, a moon base is a logical first step.)

[coppercone2]

I doubt anything will. Space is a kind of "been there, done that" thing now. We can send autonomous probes and rovers to distant planets, we have orbiting space telescopes. There will be exciting developments but nothing is going to come close to the early space race, it will be mostly incremental unless we find a way to violate the laws of physics as we currently understand them or stumble upon another inhabited planet.

I see hot dog carts and tents, its not really impressive. I have yet to see a badass moon buggy that would make it to the cover of American muscle cars or a space structure that would be shown proudly in a architecture magazine.

[coppercone2]

A moon base is cool and something new and will generate a lot of interesting science for a long period of time.

A person on mars is a big technical achievement but I suspect that to most people sitting at home in their sofa it is not so different to going to the moon, and the US already did that, so meh. I don't think most people have a concept of the difference in distance between mars, the moon or the international space station. A base on mars would be cool too, but it is much more difficult and probably less useful to earth and science than what a moon-base would be. (And for those who are dreaming about mars, a moon base is a logical first step.)

I like the idea of a actual base, but not a corporate thing or just a research center. you would need to be able to do something there, even go shopping for unique craftsman goods. At least some kind of high end nice looking rec center for lunar sports or something.

Otherwise:

IBM in space: no one can hear the paper shredder scream.

[coppice]

No future space project could create a Buzz like Aldrin.

how about multi trillion dollar mars colony?

Apollo, and the projects which preceded it, were military spending at the height of the cold war. Although Neil Armstrong had the biggest TV audience ever, that was only partly about people watching a triumph of human achievement. It was far more about "our side got there first, and we are watching them cross the finishing line". Apollo 12 had quite weak audiences by comparison, and they went downhill rapidly from there.

If you want the public to be interested there needs to be a contest, hopefully with horrifying potential consequences for the loser. That will keep the public interested and the cash flowing, but it means you don't need one spectacularly expensive space project. You need at least two.

[coppercone2]

what sport would be good on the moon? Maybe you can bring back the olypmics.

[Fungus]

A moon base is cool and something new and will generate a lot of interesting science for a long period of time.

Yep, a lunar hotel is a lot more practical and attention-grabbing than a couple of guys going to Mars.

It would be like Disneyland for billionaires.