back to article Squillionaire space tourist offers oldsters a holiday to Mars

A new organisation led by Dennis Tito - the world's first space tourist - wants to send an older couple on an all-expenses-paid 501-day trip to Mars. Artist's impression of the Inspiration Mars spacecraft How the Inspiration Mars spacecraft could look Mega-rich engineer Tito announced yesterday that his Inspiration …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Shasta McNasty
    Go

    Reason for an older couple?

    I presume the reasoning for an older, married couple is that the woman will manage to talk for the whole journey satisfying her need to waffle on and the man will keep his sanity by feigning interest/deafness?

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Happy

      Re: Reason for an older couple?

      Do Guinness currently have a world record for the number of times one man has said, "yes dear", over a 17 month period...

    2. DJV Silver badge
      Mushroom

      Re: Reason for an older couple?

      I nominate David Cameron and Nick Clegg... or aren't they old enough yet?

      1. JohnMurray

        Re: Reason for an older couple?

        http://newsthump.com/2013/02/28/cameron-and-clegg-perfect-couple-for-mars-mission-insists-everyone/

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Reason for an older couple?

      Married couple locked in a capsule for 500+ days...

      I hope they supply plenty of fluids and viagra....

      1. Steve Crook
        Unhappy

        Re: Reason for an older couple?

        I asked Brigitte and at first, she thought I was joking, then NO! (please imagine double underline, italic and a much bigger font). I suppose I was unsurprised, and will console myself with the thought that they probably wouldn't have accepted us anyway....

    4. Grave

      Re: Reason for an older couple?

      thats wrong on so many levels. if you're worried about space madness then you should not send extrovert people in a first place (they wouldn't be married otherwise). what you need is introvert people who are capable of dealing with solitude over extended periods of time. not many are because people are extensively conditioned into socializing right from birth.

    5. Don Jefe

      Re: Reason for an older couple?

      In space no one can hear you nag.

      1. Mips
        Childcatcher

        Re: Reason for an older couple?

        Woman: I thought we would go to Mars. It will only take 500 days

        Man: Yes dear. That's great (saves me from going to your Ma's for 500 days. Whoo! Whoo!)

  2. Sir Barry

    I wonder how many men will nominate their Mother in Law....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @Sir Barry

      "I wonder how many men will nominate their Mother in Law...."

      Wow. You want to spend seventeen months in a capsule with your mother in law? Obviously if she's Helen Mirren then many will applaud you, but otherwise we may question your sanity.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @Sir Barry

        Just a guess but I think the poster intended the mother in law and her husband as a way of getting rid of her for a bit. Not to go themselves as an extended bonding session

        1. Martin Budden Silver badge
          FAIL

          Re: @a/c

          *WHOOOSH*

          It's amazing how some people can miss such an obvious joke.

          1. Barry 2

            Re: @a/c

            In space, no one can hear you *WHOOOSH*

        2. zoogler

          Re: @Sir Barry

          Just a guess, but I think that was tongue-in-cheek.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not for me..

    Honestly, who would spend that long a time in something that looks like a bedroom appliance?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not for me..

      I would. What an amazing opportunity.

      1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

        Re: Not for me..

        You do realise that it would be fitted out with cameras. ("Day 500 in the Big Brother Spaceship...") Also, given the deliberate simplicity of the mission, you'd hardly get any of the credit for the mission. Rather, you'd go down in history as being the most sex-crazed and shameless couple in human history.

        I'll pass, thanks, but I might tune in for some of the later episodes.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Not for me..

          "Rather, you'd go down in history as being the most sex-crazed and shameless couple in human history."

          Sooooooo - Madonna and who else? Bill Clinton is (amazingly still) married.... Charlie Sheen, perhaps?

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Not for me..

          Don't care. I don't care about the credit, I don't care about anything except going in to space. Wouldn't even care if it killed me, or if I didn't return. I just want to be out THERE.

          1. Intractable Potsherd

            Re: Not for me..

            Does anyone else thank that any man whose wife says "Yes" to this is lucky beyond all telling?

            I don't often resent my wife, but just at the moment I really do.

  4. flawed_logic

    Meh....without the actual landing bit, it seems to be a flawed idea and more about space endurance which you could do in orbit.

    1. lglethal Silver badge
      Go

      Wrong...

      Wrong the idea is about showing that we can get to and fly past Mars without any major technologies beyond what we have today. Once something like that is done, it would hopefully lead to performing incremental updates which would allow landing on say Phoebus first, then maybe entering orbit around Mars, and finally landing on Mars.

      Normally, once something is shown to be able to be done, humans jump at the opportunity to take it further (sea exploration, flight, computing, etc.), but for some reason manned space travel never followed that same path, maybe this will be the rocket up the bum of civilisation that gets us moving in that direction!

      1. Brandon 2
        Linux

        Re: Wrong...

        "but for some reason manned space travel never followed that same path"

        I think that has a lot to do with the fact that just getting into space is way, way more dangerous than sea exploration, flight, computing, etc. On average, 1 out of every 67 space shuttles blew up. Would you get on an airplane if 1 in 70 ended in a fireball? Not to mention we find incredibly useful things via terrestrial exploration. Until we haul a million ton, platinum asteroid into orbit, I fail to see any benefit from going into space. Granted, technologies that are developed trying to get there can be valuable.

        The penguin will never make it higher than 20m AGL, without a rocket attached to its back, either...

        1. lglethal Silver badge
          Thumb Down

          Re: Wrong...

          How many ships were lost at sea through the early millenia of human exploration? I guarantee it would be more than 1 in 70. How many of the early attempts to fly a plane across the Atlantic were lost? A lot more than 1 in 70.

          Humankind is used to taking risks in the name of exploration. Loss of life is always tragic but without that adventurous spirit we would still be sitting up in the trees, scratching ourselves and picking the fleas out of each others fur...

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Wrong...

            "without that adventurous spirit we would still be sitting up in the trees, scratching ourselves and picking the fleas out of each others fur..."

            Sitting in trees sounds terribly dangerous !

      2. Pat 4

        Re: Wrong...

        I would suspect that the problem with a Mission to Mars isn't getting there, surviving the trip and all that. We could do that with technology available to us today!

        The real challenge for a trip to Mars involving a landing... is the return trip. We can get to Mars, we can land on Mars... but landing on Mars with something that would allow you to subsequently take off again and come back home... THAT is the real challenge.

        1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

          Re: Wrong...

          With all the multiple redundancies they had in the Apollo program, they were still stuck with using the same engine and fuel tank on the lander that was going to get them off again. And they were pretty damned nervous when it came to launching back off the moon that the engine wouldn't fire.

          Not helped by the fact that the landing went right down to the wire on fuel - due to the radar glitch. I assume that what would have happened if they'd gone over wouldn't be running out, and going splat into the moon, but would have been not having enough to get back to orbit to rendezvous with the command and service modules - hence no way home. Then poor Michael Collins would have had to say bye-bye guys, and flown off and left them.

          Fortunately they made up for lack of redundancy by doing lots and lots and lots of testing.

          And to think that in the 1970s my Dad had to take his spark plugs out and dry them in the oven, in order to get his engine to start on a cold morning...

      3. Michael Dunn
        Headmaster

        Re: Wrong...

        I think you mean Phobos - Phoebus is the sun.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Space endurance? Relationship endurance, more like.

      But I'm disappointed the Reg missed the opportunity for a real bout of Finbarr Saunders. At least the lucky couple will resolve the paucity of knowledge concerning doing the wild thing in zero gravity. Hopefully the ships thrusters can make sure the ship isn't knocked off course. Build a special small port on the side of the ship, and the chap can experiment with vacuum enlargement, etc etc

    3. annodomini2

      Cost...

      The fuel and or mechanisms to enter orbit, lander, survival crap etc. All add weight and resulting launch costs.

      Doing a flyby for under 20t might be feasible.

      Landing mission you're probably looking at >50t for one way and >200t for return.

      This is just a pod and enough fuel, oxygen, food and other sundries to last 2 years.

      SpaceX launch costs are around $2000/lb, so you're looking at, as a min, an extra $133m for the one way lander, and $800m for the return mission. That is just launch costs not developing any of the systems.

      2 years playing [insert generic popular console] in zero g. I'm sure there'll be applicants.

      1. Danny 14

        plus we have no practical method of radiation shielding once we are outside our own magnetosphere. Even the spacestation isnt perfect. There are a few lab ideas but not to the scale of a habitation module.

        1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
          Happy

          "plus we have no practical method of radiation shielding once we are outside our own magnetosphere. Even the spacestation isnt perfect. There are a few lab ideas but not to the scale of a habitation module."

          Apart from using a large bag of water and polythene for shielding

          And launching at the minimum stage of the solar sun spot cycle (which is what they are targeting)

          And the possibilities of using radioprotective additives to the atmosphere in the capsule.

          And the possibilities for similar work on food.

          1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
            Pint

            Don't you have to drink red wine, in order to mitigate radiation exposure. I can't remember why now, but I believe it was one of the things carried on nuclear subs.

            In which case, I might reconsider my decision not to sign up. Just think, 17 months of wine every day, all the computer games you can play, and no phone calls offering you PPI refunds or trying to get you to change your energy tariff. Also, no customers. Of course there's the risk of dying horribly, and alone, and on telly. But for 17 months off from talking to customers I reckon I'll risk it.

            Shame to go all that way and not go out for a walk when you get there though. But I did once go all the way to Edinburgh to make a delivery and came back without stopping for more time than it took to buy a cup of coffee and go to the loo. No difference really...

            1. Michael Dunn
              Happy

              @I ain't Spartacus

              Don't you have to drink red wine, in order to mitigate radiation exposure. I can't remember why now, but I believe it was one of the things carried on nuclear subs.

              For that excuse many thanks!

  5. Neil Barnes Silver badge

    I'd volunteer

    But I'm not sure the missus would last that long without the opportunity to buy new shoes...

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Re: I'd volunteer

      She can buy all the shoes she wants - there'll be oodles of time for online shopping. Admittedly the sites might load a bit slowly, and delivery could be an issue. But just think of the piles and piles of packages waiting for her when she gets back.

      1. Michael Habel
        Trollface

        Re: I'd volunteer

        But, by then they'd surly be outta fashion or?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I'd volunteer

      Shoes? Me & the missus would spend most of that time naked... they had better ensure that everything is water proof...

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
        Happy

        Re: I'd volunteer

        NEWS HEADLINES:

        First couple to fly to Mars drown in shock accident. Sources close to the mission today said, "we wish we'd picked the mad shoe-buying couple now."

        In other news after the death of the new Pope last month, Boris Johnson has been selected as the new Pontiff by the Council of Cardinals. Pope Boris I said that he was delighted by the news and was hoping to play whiff-whaff in St Peters as quickly as possible.

  6. JDX Gold badge

    happening during the 11-year solar minimum

    I thought 2013 was the peak of the cycle.

    1. Isendel Steel

      Re: happening during the 11-year solar minimum

      "If Inspiration Mars misses the 2018 window, it won't get another chance at a free-return Martian expedition until 2031."

      So ... not this year

      1. Martin Budden Silver badge
        FAIL

        Re: happening during the 11-year solar minimum

        "If Inspiration Mars misses the 2018 window, it won't get another chance at a free-return Martian expedition until 2031."

        Bullshit. There are an infinite number of chances at a free-return Martian expedition between 2018 and 2031, they can launch any time they like. It'll just mean a longer journey when the planetary alignment is sub-ideal.

    2. JeffyPooh
      Pint

      Re: happening during the 11-year solar minimum

      "I thought 2013 was the peak of the cycle."

      Thus making 2018 near the bottom of the 11-year (half) cycle.

  7. Frankee Llonnygog

    Can I nominate ...

    ... Francis Maude and Martha Lane Fox?

    1. Rob
      Go

      Re: Can I nominate ...

      As long as we can ask Anon to hack the guidance system and redirect it to the sun.

  8. Danny 14
    Stop

    How have they solved the radiation shielding issue? Graphite sandwiches was the last attempt and wasnt too great from the very few papers available.

    1. Silverburn
      Coat

      Graphite sandwiches

      Not very tasty either I suspect, though I imagine Heston Blumenthal could do something creative with them.

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
        Trollface

        Just spike them with a bit of horse.

  9. Silverburn
    Happy

    Round trip?

    Who fancies an all-expenses-paid 501-day trip?

    It's not clear if it's one way or not.

    If it is one way...tricky, as there's so many deserving candidates needing one, and I doubt i could fit the entire house of parliment in the capsule.

    Round trip? I vote...myself.

    1. Fatman

      Re: Round trip?...doubt i could fit the entire house of parliment in the capsule.

      I can think of a large number of US politicians you could use in your 'stuff the phone booth' attempt.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Flame

        Re: Round trip?...doubt i could fit the entire house of parliment in the capsule.

        Especially if you can't get them all to fit in without a hydraulic press.

        1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
          Thumb Up

          Re: Round trip?...doubt i could fit the entire house of parliment in the capsule.

          But no need for radiation shielding means you can increase the volume!!

      2. Michael Habel
        Thumb Up

        Re: Round trip?...doubt i could fit the entire house of parliment in the capsule.

        Yes I nominate Barrack Hussein Osamba, and Mrs. Hillery Rotten Clinton.

  10. John H Woods Silver badge

    Just suggested it to my wife ...

    ... she says she'd do fine once she had got me out of the airlock.

  11. amkalenak

    "...doesn't have the life support systems and radiation protection necessary..." -

    What do you call the ISS ?

    Been flying how long ?

    The technology is out there

    and is proven and is being refined daily , i'm sure

    1. Neil Barnes Silver badge
      Boffin

      Isn't the ISS within the Van Allen belt and thereby subject to a lot less radiation?

      1. Shrimpling

        It is also re-supplied regularly from earth which won't be an option when you are half way to Mars.

    2. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      amkalenak,

      The ISS is paddling in the shallow end, protected by the earth's magnetic field. The only people to have left that protection were the Apollo astronauts, and they were only gone for a short period of time. Had there been a solar flare, they'd have been in serious trouble. Over 17 months, that risk really mounts up.

      Plus whatever nasties the solar wind contains (and won't be blocked), which will steadily mount up over 17 months of long exposure.

    3. No, I will not fix your computer
      Paris Hilton

      The ISS

      While it's great, they schedule 18 hours maintenance a day, it's in LEO, regularly supplied, has very little sheilding, look at when the water recycler broke.

      The ISS is like popping to the shops, a Mars mission is a no rescue, no resupply, no maintance (for most of two years) that level of technology is not out there.

      Modular pods in LEO such as the ISS is a great start, but next could be moon orbit then lagrange stations, each one learning more, testing more, no reason not to step up to a moon base or an automated ISS around Mars, or a base on phobos/deimos, after all the moon missions were preceded with impacts, unmanned landing (and soil retrieval), to the unaware this seems like an appropriate first step, but it's a massive one, to the really unaware it's seems like a tiny step, perhaps 2031 is the more reasonable timescale?

    4. Michael Habel
      Headmaster

      1) The ISS is with-in the Earths Magnetic Field (a.k.a The Van Allen Belt), Think of this as a "Magic" Force Sheild if ya like!

      2) The ISS is in an incredibly low Earth orbit. The ISS is about 255 Miles straight up but that's just Peanuts to the 22,236 Miles up to say Astra 2 A/B/C/D/E/F & G, and Eurobird 1 @ 28.2°E (i.e. BSkyB & Freesat among others)

      Once you break free of the Earths protective Shell (e.g. The Van Allen Belt), only then are you in "Deep Space" in the tense that your placing it in, and I sure that even then there will be someone who'd find some fault with that thought.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Men are from mars ...

    ... but the wife will send them to Venus when she holds the map upside down!

  13. andy gibson

    The reason for an older couple....

    is because Tito has seen what elderly couples in the UK do - drive long distances, stop (without getting out of the vehicle) to look at the scenery through the window while consuming a picnic, then driving back home again.

    1. Andy Gates
      Happy

      Re: The reason for an older couple....

      They'll need to send up a thermos of tea and a nice tartan blanket.

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

        Re: The reason for an older couple....

        COMFY IN SPACE!

  14. The Serpent

    Radiation roulette with the goolies?

    Sounds like a chance for the most ambitious Darwin Award ever

    1. The Serpent

      Re: Radiation roulette with the goolies?

      3 thumbs down? Either some people have odd sensibilities for me to offend, or they are fuckwits who don't understand how the Darwin Awards work

      1. Intractable Potsherd

        Re: Radiation roulette with the goolies?

        Which bit of "elderly couple ... beyond child-bearing age" didn't you understand? That makes the lucky pair clearly not Darwin Award candidates.

        Down vote for lack of comprehension.

        1. The Serpent

          Re: Radiation roulette with the goolies?

          Ah, the first fuckwit raises their head. At what point do you expect the a male human to be beyond child-bearing age? Downvote for a gaping hole in your supposed intellect? Wouldn't bother as I hate the upvote/downvote system

          I admit I am assuming the couple will either be a male and a female, or two males. Men can remove themselves from the gene pool at any time up to death and are therefore candidates for a Darwin Award for life unless they remove or disable their nads.

  15. Chris Hawkins
    Linux

    Another Likely UK Pair

    Wallace and Grommit???

    They've already done the moon, just need the Wensleydale and a cuppa!!!! ;)))

  16. Anonymous John

    Preferably a married couple with no children.

    "Are we there yet?"

    1. Silverburn
      Coat

      Re: Preferably a married couple with no children.

      Not to mention the unsavory situation of what to do with the kids if this is a one-way trip, and "colonisation" is planned.

      Though this will be less of a taboo issue for our midwestern citizerns...

  17. Don Jefe

    Older Couple

    Part if the older couple but is risk mitigation, 'eh, they're old', the bigger part is to show that you don't need to be a young super fit military automaton to survive in space. It will be interesting to see who they choose. Even if they don't get to go because if technical issues, the training and learning would be fun!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Older Couple

      "he bigger part is to show that you don't need to be a young super fit military automaton to survive in space"

      You don't hence the average NASA 'naut age of 36.

      From 2008: "Forty five is the best astronaut age," says Gerhard Thiele, an experienced spaceman who, as flight operations chief for Europe's answer to NASA, now commands a team with an average age of 50.

      1. Silverburn
        Unhappy

        Re: Older Couple

        45 is a good age for most things:

        - physically, you've suffered no significant physical deteriation if you've been keeping fit and avoiding the beer and pies.

        - Mentally you're still sharp

        - ...and this one is crucial I suspect...you're experienced without being set in your ways and emotionally mature, and far better at performing under stress.

        Having said that, I'm nearly the same age - but feel 65 - and have an irrational hatred of children on my lawn.

      2. The Serpent

        Re: Older Couple

        I've long held the belief that almost anyone who can climb into a rocket and sit down can go into space with no trouble whatsoever. The reason they use people from academic and military backgrounds with half a dozen degrees and a doctorate or two is that those people are inclined to do as they are told, and unlikely to have the imagination to break stuff doing the things you or I would wonder about doing in zero G

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Boffin

          Re: Older Couple

          Perhaps you forgot the troll icon? There's quite a gulf between what NASA seeks and Gunnery Sergeant Hartman produces.

          Somebody with an interesting doctorate has worked independently on a novel problem, commonly for years with light supervision - this is the very stuff of judiciously applied imagination. And for the first intakes of the US manned program the original selection criteria demanded not just military but test pilots, i.e. people accustomed to systematically exploring the behaviour of a new and poorly understood vehicle, learning its problems, collaborating with engineering teams to develop solutions, and teaching others. Manned spacecraft have certainly become increasingly automated but remain finicky bespoke vehicles requiring a lot of hands-on care.

          Modern airline pilots would be a better example for your thesis: Boeing engineers used to joke that the 777 would have a dog seat beside the pilot seat: pilot's job being to feed dog, dog's job to bite pilot if he fucks with the controls. However the aviation environment is far more forgiving and far better explored than rocketry and even so situations arise where pilots are necessary. So as a result airlines generally avoid fully exploiting flight automation to limit just-follow-orders behaviour where pilot stops thinking or goes to sleep.

          1. The Serpent

            Re: Older Couple

            I didn't say they would lack imagination of any kind, just that they might be less inclined as a group to play zero g football with their lunch. Military/academic life encourages a disciplined outlook which ought to make for safer capsule inhabitants than sitting any other random bugger in the driving couch

  18. JeffyPooh
    Pint

    Suggestion

    Humans left to their own devices will settle into a ~27-hour day. The makes the 501 days into just 445 'days', a savings of roughly 12% for certain daily-cycle supplies.

    Will they be able to upload TV shows such as 'Wheeler Dealers'?

    1. Silverburn

      Re: Suggestion

      Send them the entire "strictly" series, while remembering to change the code on the suicide capsule safe.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder

    If they'll still be eligible for duty free on the way back.

  20. NomNomNom

    "to take off on the psychologically gruelling journey to the Red Planet in just five years time. "When you're out that far and the Earth is a tiny, blue pinpoint, you're going to need someone you can hug," he told Space.com. "What better solution to the psychological problems you're going to encounter with that isolation?""

    What a load of rubbish. Put me in a room for a year and a half on my own with a PC and copies of Doom, Civilization, Minecraft, etc

    Day 207: "Come in Mars Explorer, what is your mission status?"

    "Creepers attacked my mine, blew the roof off. Have reinforced the entrance with obsidian. Still looking for diamond. Over."

    Day 403: "Come in Mars Explorer, what is your mission status?"

    "Requesting mission extension by 100 days to give me time to complete my Aztec empire. Over."

    1. Steve Foster
      Devil

      @NomNomNom

      Surely it's got to be Alpha Centauri? (no idea if the game is actually any good, but it does have Sid's name on it)

      1. John 62

        Re: @NomNomNom

        The game is too good. I can't have it installed or I end up playing for hours every day.

        Also, it may have Sid's name on it, but it is generally regarded as Brian Reynolds's game. Which is no bad thing.

        Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri = SMAC, which is very addictive. Need I say more????

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Devil

      @NomNomNom

      You don't think playing Doom on the way to Mars is tempting fate?

      1. Grave

        Re: @NomNomNom

        "You don't think playing Doom on the way to Mars is tempting fate?"

        it's called practicing for unforeseen mission objectives :)

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Flawed

    This is based on the premise that the couple will have a "proven ability to withstand each other's company".

    Yeah - proven in normal earth environments, where they are both free to do their own thing or just walk out of a room if things get touchy.

    In a tin can in space for a couple of years? With nowhere to go? The most likely result is that only one will return - the other having been disposed of via the airlock after nagging/snoring etc once too often.

    It'll be interesting to see how that plays out legally : what state would have jurisdiction for the murder trial?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Coffee/keyboard

      Re: Flawed

      I'd do it. Worst case, she kills me. Big fucking deal, I got to go (at least part way) to Mars.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        @theodore - Re: Flawed

        I'd do it too, if there was the opportunity to actually land on Mars or one of its moons.

        As it is, though, it would just be [go there, swan around for a bit, head back, kill the wife or be killed by her].

        I just know that she would eventually tire of my snoring/farting or I would tire of her continual desire to watch Strictly Come Dancing or anything else with bloody Artem Chigvintsev in it.

    2. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

      Re: Flawed

      In space, no-one hears you snore..

  22. 3 wheeler

    Got a jetpack with our name on it....

  23. JimmyPage Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Is it just me, or is this a little bit of a wasted opportunity ?

    Whilst I admire the ambition, is this project actually the best way to advance space exploration ?

    Why not concentrate closer to home first ? I'm thinking more about lunar exploitation - which might then make a Mars mission a bit easier .

    That said, thumbs up for giving us a little bit of inspiration. Seems crazy we last went to the moon over 40 years ago, Concorde is history, and wages are falling ....

    1. Anonymous John

      Re: Is it just me, or is this a little bit of a wasted opportunity ?

      It's a useful first step to actually landing on Mars, and it would be a shame to miss a launch window when the next is 13 years later.

      And why not do something spectacular 50 years (almost) after Apollo XI?

  24. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Thumb Up

    Anyone own a '55 Chevy ?

    Because at the press conference they said the life support would be getting stripped down about as often as one of these.

    Joking aside the record for the longest continuous period in space seems to be the Russian who was up for 274 days.

    Likewise the ISS is re-supplied on roughly a monthly basis and it's said running an environmental control and life support system for 501 day is

    And the endless fun to be had from the ISS piss water re-cycling system are well known.

    While it's true nothing formerly exists there is a fair degree of certainty that they will a crew rated Dragon capsule and Bigelow has launched 2 generations of inflatable habitat already. . ECLSS is likely to be the long pole in this field. Developing a reliable (or at least on orbit repairable) closed cycle ECLSS is a major challenge.

    Is the schedule tight? Very. Possible. Maybe. Will it look like the pictures? Probably not.

    And BTW this really would be a case of going "Where no one has gone before."

  25. A Nother Handle
    Holmes

    I think the request for an older couple "past child-bearing age" is to prevent the usual consequence of a fertile couple shagging like rabbits.

    On the other hand, being the first people to create extra-terrestrial life would be quite an achievement. It's certainly something to tell the grandkids!

  26. Beachrider

    The accomplishment for the risk?

    Given that we could just-as-easily do this experiment without the risk of a Martian path...

    What are we gaining (besides bravado) from sending these folks to Mars? Maybe we could send that Iranian monkey!

    The downside of a problem is considerable. It would set-back sympathy for other Mars pursuits.

    The $2K/lb number is a long-term objective for LEO with SpaceX. They are nowhere near that number now. Costs for this mission runs well past a Billion (support staff, support launches, etc.) perhaps many times that.

    1. Beachrider

      One day later, Risk Assessments come to the fore, again...

      Today, SpaceX did a COTS launch to the ISS. The initial launch F9 ran nominally. As this is written, there are difficulties with the capsule thrusters. Hopefully, this can be worked out. Time will tell.

      The potential for a lost capsule is real on this mission. The hardware is still quite new. Problems can always occur. Given the reduced benefit of a fly-by for the Mars mission, the risks of technical glitches could set-back the drive to explore Mars.

      No one wants the drive for Mars to stall unless considerable gains are at hand.

  27. Timmay
    Joke

    BT whingers

    All the way up there, you'll still get people complaining about how slow the broadband is, and how crap BT are that they haven't got anything quicker, and how Virgin would probably go a million times quicker

  28. jubtastic1

    Old married couple

    What you want are a couple of old gay institutionalised prisoners, granted it wont look as nice on the PR materials but, and I cant stress this enough, they'll cakewalk the two years in TV friendly good spirts while your married couiple are almost guaranteed a fatality within 6 months.

  29. Peter 82

    Solo

    I'd have thought that the easiest way to deal with the pysch issues is to send a loner with no-one else. A computer + games, Kindle + books. With the contact (even time delayed) to some semi-decent humans back on earth, this shouldn't be too much of a strain. Especially if you include some turn based games; Chess, Civ, Sword of the Stars

    1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

      Re: Solo

      There is a risk you'd end up creating the biggest case of repetitive stain injury in the history of mankind..

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    One word...

    Jedward.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Re: One word...

      No. This mission has a guaranteed return, as it'll slingshot round Mars and come back to earth.

      If we're going to send Jedward, we need to do it on one of the early ones, that has to slow down to orbit Mars and then fire the engine again to head back to Earth. Then make sure the engine can't be re-lit. There's no point in getting everyone's hopes up, only for them to re-appear 17 months later.

  31. Derpity
    Thumb Up

    Not just Americans

    If they pull this off it wouldn't just be something great for Americans to brag about but something the entire Human Race could be proud of. I hope they pull it off.

  32. FanniM

    I'm still within child-bearing age but don't want children - so I'm ideal. I've been with my partner for 17 years, so I reckon we'd get on ok crammed together all that time. I volunteer!

  33. Rick Brasche

    story is lacking

    where's the link to sign up?

    the wifey loves sitting on FB almost all day as it is. Give us plenty of videogames and we're all set.

    seriously :)

  34. Anonymous Coward
    Alien

    Halfway to Mars and the wife asks....

    You did remember to put the cat out?

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Coat

      Re: Halfway to Mars and the wife asks....

      You did remember to put the cat out?

      Why, was it on fire?

      Shame-facedly gets coat. But Spike Milligan would never have forgiven me if I'd not done it.

      1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
        Happy

        Re: Halfway to Mars and the wife asks....

        "Why, was it on fire?"

        Well you can hardly take it with you.

        There's not enough room in that hab to swing one.

        And Spike would recognize that one as well.

  35. Irk
    Trollface

    How adorably heteronormative.

    Send up two men or two women and you wouldn't have a risk of children at all.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: How adorably heteronormative.

      Not much risk if you wait until halfway home to get pregnant...more or less.

  36. xyz Silver badge

    GREAT!!

    I can kip for 2 years whilst she does the cleaning! ONLY JOKING!!

    Last thing you want on a 500 day mission is 2 blokes each trying to bash the bishop without the other one seeing.

  37. Scott Pedigo
    Big Brother

    Of course, once the capsule leaves Earth orbit, for the next 500 days, the inhabitants will be presented with a great opportunity to buy a time-share condo.

  38. Don Jefe
    Unhappy

    Wife Said Yes

    She said yes! I couldn't believe it that she said we could volunteer!!!

    Ten minutes later she asked if we would be able to watch TV if we were selected. I haven't told her how that simple question has crushed my dreams.

    1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge
      Coat

      Re: Wife Said Yes

      Did you mention she would have to come too?

  39. LordHighFixer

    It is a good test

    This will prove to be a good test for the Mars one Project equipment (booster and capsule) http://www.mars-one.com/

    I am trying to convince the wife to go for this trip before mars one is ready. She still thinks I am crazy.

    1. notIvy431
      Angel

      Re: It is a good test

      Hmm, thinking :) Health problems of returning are something to think about, as well as claustrophobia. However, sure beats you going with MarsOne where they say it a one way trip with goal of populating Mars! (Yes, he is applying for that, we will have been married 31 years when they lift off, abandoning his family, so yes, he could be crazy :) ) So you are asking me to join insanity now, LOL. Hmm, thinking.

  40. rcorrect
    Alert

    Political Correctness

    / ! \ In the name of being politically correct they should add elderly gay/lesbian/transgendered couples to the list. / ! \

    1. No, I will not fix your computer
      Thumb Up

      Re: Political Correctness

      One man and one woman would be representitive of most of the population of the world (>90%), biologically there are differences which would need to be measured, simple things such as the fact women tend to sweat less (and not until higher temperatures) all add into the mix as far as environment.

      That said, if it was a larger experiment, say 100 people then there is an opportuinity for a broader test bed and a 50/50 hetronormative men/women split would be inappropriate to represent a society.

  41. Stevie

    Bah!

    I'll go if the missus has to stay behind.

  42. armyknife

    'We' need to do this.

    'We' need to do this.

    After the first step, humans seem to have stumbled, time to put the other foot forward, make an footprint in the sands of time and see humanity eventually get into its stride.

  43. Don Mitchell

    Send Bart

    Can we sent Bart Sibrel to Mars? "I'm in a television studio! This is fake!"

  44. Fred Flintstone Gold badge
    Coat

    Heard in the control room..

    ".. can you check up on the thrusters?"

    "They are asleep right now"

  45. Gazman

    I'm older and married but...

    just the mere thought of spending 500 days in a tin can with my missus is enough for me to think about ending it all.

  46. RealitySpike
    Thumb Up

    I nominate this couple

    A bit young but their experience driving across the Congo does it for me...http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/50799-Democratic-Republic-of-Congo-Lubumbashi-to-Kinshasa

  47. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No biggie

    Just send that acrobat team who featured in the "MRI sex" scan a few years back.

    They are probably past childbearing age now, and are used to um, performing in public.

  48. ecofeco Silver badge
    FAIL

    Cabin Fever

    Without diversions, this will not end well.

    And I mean some SERIOUS diversions.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Pint

      Re: Cabin Fever

      So it will be like Frank Herberts "Destination: Void" (not one of his best ones), where the crew is being constantly stressed out by a ship designed to fail on them with deadly consequences.

  49. Herby

    A few problems/questions?

    How's that internet connection. Can I stream videos? Funny, it seems that the telnet session has a few characters 'in transit'.

    What is the iso code for the planet mars? I really do need a domain name up here.

    Will my wife bug me about not asking for directions, or saying "keep up" or "we're not in a race".

    How long will the 'prep' take. It not like I just need to show up 1 hour before launch.

    Will TSA screen me OK? Will I need a boarding pass?

    Will the environment be "customizable"? Need to "pimp my ride"!

    Big question: What's the food like? The way to a man's heart is through his stomach!

    Has a re-entry been tried before?

    Apollo 13? Just sayin'

  50. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Entertainment?

    Do they get to take eight gramophone records, one book, one luxury, and Kirsty Young?

  51. Rattus Rattus

    Any two humans stuck together that long

    are likely to kill each other. Just send a single introvert, with plenty of solitary entertainment. I would go, if it was on my own and I had plenty of games and ebooks.

  52. F111F
    Trollface

    I Hereby Volunteer

    ...and I volunteer my wife, she doesn't know much about these space things, so I'll pitch it as an intimate vacation for two...

  53. Barry 2
    Alien

    The Missing Link

    One thing missing from the article-- where do we apply?

    It is realistically my only chance to go into space, a dream of mine since I was a child. If my wife won't go, I'll happily take another married woman.

  54. JDX Gold badge

    What they should do first

    Is make two people think they've been selected, and then lock them in a super-realistic simulator for the same time-frame.

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like