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As cold as Antarctica is in winter, with sunlight two and a half times dimmer than on the Earth, bombarded with cancer-causing radiation and practically airless, surviving on Mars will take a special kind of person. Separated from the rest of humanity by nine months of mind-numbingly dull travel in a cramped metal spaceship, if space does not kill the crew, they may very well kill each other—it has been said that many of the ingredients for homicide would be present on a three-year-round trip to Mars. Who would ever want to go to such a dangerous, hostile and barren environment?
Well, if the volunteers for the now-canceled Mars One project are any indication, many healthy, highly educated, sociable people would. The human drive to explore and expand into new environments is simply too strong. The thrill of establishing new civilizations is too exciting for all of our species to remain on our tiny planet. As Russian visionary and rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky said:
“The Earth is the cradle of the mind, but one cannot live in the cradle forever.”
In today’s program, Dr. Jay Lehr and Tom Harris are joined by mathematician Donald E. Pauly, a space travel enthusiast who has followed Elon Musk’s work on electric vehicles and reusable rockets for several years. After a start in the Bergstrom Air Force Base aeroclub, Don was a USAF cryptographic repairman and achieved a Commercial Pilot rating (Airplane and Helicopter 1,500 hours). He has worked as a television broadcast engineer for eight years and holds two color television patents. His current work is in crystal oscillator and switching power supply design.
Join Jay, Tom, and Don this week on The Other Side of the Story to hear about how a trip to Mars would be carried out and whether Elon Musk’s dream of sending people there in this decade is realistic, or even is something we would want to do.
References relevant to this show:
- “Will Humans Get to Mars Anytime Soon?,” by Dr. Jay Lehr and Tom Harris, February 16, 2022, America Out Loud.
- “Manned Space Exploration Is Crucial for Our Future,” by Tom Harris and Dr. Charles D. Laughlin, Carleton University emeritus professor of anthropology and religion, July 21, 2014, PJ Media, Los Angeles, California.