International Space Station

[Bertie Horak]

So if I dust off my space ship in the garage, and pack some snacks for the road, and then travel at the speed of light (think I'll have to make a few adjustments to the VW beetle engine), I'll be there when I'm 650 years old? 

[Michael Alexander]

But due to the lack of gravity, will you not age slower in space?

[Bertie Horak]

A few minutes maybe, Mike. Not going to help much!!!

[Robert Bruce]

My hypothesis from reading a few studies and articles about the ageing effects of long duration spaceflight on humans = you will die! Dead as a doornail if effective remedial measures are not found quickly. This planet we live on is already on its final legs so a new planet is needed that will permit human habitation. Mars is the first stage to acquiring the knowledge and skills to allow us to survive long duration flight to distant habitable planets. Habitable = planets with water or able to extract it from wherever and whatever form it is in.

If we screw up the Mars project then we are extinct! And we need a USS Enterprise that can travel at the speed of light or can 'warp' to distant sectors of the universe in the blink of an eye. Until we develop better and faster fuel efficient means of propulsion, we are well and truly screwed to seeing the end of this planet as its sun slowly burns itself out OR we will see humans die due to increased population demanding more and more of what little arable land is available on Earth to live on. Converting desert to nutritious crop-growing soil is a much needed requirement. Arable land will become a high premium commodity. Buy a farm now. We humans need to stop procreating and increase practising instead....    ;0)

Below is a synopsis of an article I found some time ago:

"....For a mission to be successful, crew members must remain healthy and able to complete a variety of tasks including launch and re-entry, system maintenance and repair, extravehicular activities, surface exploration, and in-flight and Mars surface-based experiments.

Crew members on 4- to 12-month missions to the Soviet Mir spacecraft and International Space Station have experienced losses in bone mineral density and bone strength, decreased muscle volume and peak muscle power, expansion of intervertebral discs, and alterations in balance and other sensorimotor functions.

Evidence also suggests that the ability to heal skeletal fractures and other injuries is reduced in a microgravity environment. Because a mission to Mars will involve travel outside the Earth's magnetic field, the effects of radiation may exacerbate bone loss and result in compromised fracture healing capacity. Countermeasures for the effects of long-term space travel on the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems are currently being developed and tested.

Possible countermeasures for a future trip to Mars include exercise regimens, sensorimotor adaptability training systems, nutritional supplements, pharmaceuticals, and mechanical and electrical stimulation devices. A combination of these countermeasures will be needed to ensure the health and safety of crew members on a mission to Mars that is expected to span multiple years. "

"A human mission to Mars will be physically demanding and will present a variety of risks to crew members. For a mission to be successful, crew members must remain healthy and able to complete a variety of tasks including launch and re-entry, system maintenance and repair, extravehicular activities, surface exploration, and flight-based and Mars surface-based experiments.

Humans have evolved in and adapted to a terrestrial environment with an ubiquitous1-g gravitational acceleration and geomagnetic shielding from solar and cosmic radiation. The reduced gravitational loading and exposure to cosmic radiation that occur in long-duration space missions are known to have adverse effects on the human neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems.

Unless effective countermeasures are developed prior to a Mars mission, it is likely that crew members will experience debilitating losses of bone mass, muscle strength, cardiovascular fitness, and endurance; changes in sensorimotor functions (e.g. impaired balance control); swelling of vertebral disks; and an impaired ability to heal bone fractures and other injuries.

Crucial gaps remain in our understanding of the biological mechanisms and variability of the physiological changes that occur during long-duration space missions, and further development and testing of potential countermeasures for each of these risks is needed to ensure mission success."

You can see from above that a lot of work has to be done BEFORE a manned mission to Mars lifts off.

[Michael Alexander]

For what it's worth, I use to have a cardboard cutout of the USS Enterprise in my7 bedroom in 1st ave.....

What about a form of cryogenics to freeze ourselves to slow it all down, not using anything during the journey?

Is there anyone out there that doubts the moon landing?

[Bertie Horak]

I do not enjoy xtreme temperatures, so I dont think cryogenics is the way for me, sadly.

Moon landing? I dont doubt it, no. But then again I believe there is really life out there, and that we've been visited by people from other worlds as well... so who's going to believe me anyway?

[Carl Wrbka]

Is there anyone out there that doubts the moon landing?

Yea, definitely! There are just too many questions still unanswered by NASA.

[Robert Bruce]

Do you seriously not believe that twelve men risked their lives to pilot six LEMs (Apollo missions 11-17 except Apollo 13 which aborted their mission) down onto to the surface of the moon?

[Carl Wrbka]

     It remains a controversial topic. There have been full length documentaries made featuring top scientists and well learned engineers etc that provide many unanswered questions that NASA wont or can't answer. A particularly good documentary is " A funny thing happened on the way to the Moon". Try Googling for it or check on YouTube.

[Robert Bruce]

Can you name any of the top scientists, phycisists, engineers, aeronautic experts, propulsion technicians who subscribe to the conspiracy theorist Bart Sibrel or David Percy?

"Most astronauts have refused to grant him (Bart Sibrel) interviews. The most infamous incident involved Apollo 11 crew member Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. According to Aldrin, he was lured to a Beverly Hills hotel under the pretext of an interview on space for a Japanese children's television show. When he arrived, Aldrin claims Sibrel was there demanding that he swear on a Bible that he had walked on the moon.

When Aldrin refused, Sibrel called him a "coward", a "liar", and a "thief".[1] An exasperated Aldrin punched Sibrel in the jaw, which was recorded. Sibrel later attempted to use the tape to convince police and prosecutors that he was the victim of an assault. However, it was decided that Aldrin had been provoked, and, based on Sibrel's unfazed, nearly instant reaction to his cameraman, did not actually injure Sibrel, so no charges were filed. Many talk shows aired the clip, making Sibrel the butt of jokes.[2] Sibrel said later that he wrote a letter of apology to Aldrin."

Here http://vimeo.com/12760955 is one of three avaialable videos completely and utterly debunking the "negative on a window" theory propounded by David Percy (see him at 3 mins 35 secs into the video).

Another debunking is the "dust" theory. The claim is that the moonwalks were filmed in a studio. How big was the studio to take in the moonbuggy rides, the LEM and the area covered by the walks? Also if the walks were filmed on the earth, where are the dustclouds created by astronauts walking in the powdery moondust or kicked up by moonrovers traversing across the moonscape?

Luckily truth proves these conspiracy theorists so woefully wrong. You see, on the moon there is no air so no dust clouds are created. Dust falls almost instantly to the ground.Sibrel and Percy's top scientists, phycisists, engineers, aeronautic experts, propulsion technicians seem to have forgotten this scientific fact! And what about the live TV transmission from the CM that Sibrel and Percy fail to address?

Everyone is fully entitled to an opinion, I respect that but when you see how easily the hypothesis in its entirety is totally debunked, it begs a review.

Sibrel & Percy are just conmen aiming to fleece you of your money. Or am I now being a consiracy theorist......?!

[Carl Wrbka]

Sibrel & Percy are just conmen aiming to fleece you of your money. Or am I now being a consiracy theorist......?!

   Frankly, I've never heard of these two gents before, nor have I ever paid them any money.

[Robert Bruce]

Carl,

Was not inferring you had paid over your hard-earned money to them. Was being general.

It struck me as wierd that Sibrel has had nearly four decades to get his conspiracy theory proved. But he has not.

I did not know he is a cab driver!

The conspiracists undoing is that they do not test their theories. They do expect us to accept their theory as the default.

Anyway they do bring some colour and vibrancy to an otherwise dry subject.

[toonfandangl]

Carl,

Was not inferring you had paid over your hard-earned money to them. Was being general.

Bruce you been promoted again General!!..........................

Do you believe in something you can't see?

We believe electromagnetic waves exist, but we can't see them.
We see a smile, but we can't see if it is genuine or not,
We believe in the idea of freedom but cannot see it.
What else do you believe in that you cannot see?

..............................