Do we need to increase the race for Mars

[Outlaw Yogi]

The general thinking is we could get to mars in 39 days with a plasma rocket,

Interesting development, but still experimental fringe science for now.
NASA's current plan is to use hydrogen fueled scram jets (Ozzy version, Jap version failed). During ignition/combustion in our atmosphere the oxygen is sucked in from the air. Ignition/combustion in space or an atmosphere deficient in oxygen would require oxygen tanks like current space shuttles.

A plasma rocket would negate need for oxygen for hydrogen combustion, but would require carrying a large power source to function.

Terraforming a planet like our own, with a thick atmosphere is physicly possible, but would require expending vast resources over a long time frame. Terraforming a planet like Mars with a thin atmosphere seems a bit too fantasmical to me. I'm inlined to think it'd be like flogging a dead pagasus.

It would require a lot of energy to simulate the magnetosphere. maybe we could get the core of the planet heated up enough to have molten metal again.

A lot of energy indeed, and way beyond our current capabilities.

Changing the orbit of a moon may do it over time.

Phobos and Deimos are believed to be Martian gravity captured asteroids.
The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter has many asteroids which without Jupiter's gravity would/could become grave threats to life on Earth.
Mucking with orbits of Martian moons/satelites could potentially set it adrift, only to be picked up by Earth's greater gravity and cause an impact extiction event.

[Outlaw Yogi]

This makes far more sense to me .. other than sending anything but robots to Mars ..

US starts project to find alien life
http://au.news.yahoo.com/tech-news/a/-/ ... en%20life/

The United States has inaugurated a massive radio telescope to listen for and tap signs of alien life on 86 “Earth-like” planets, astronomers have said.

The huge steerable radio dish installed in rural West Virginia has begun functioning to gather round-the-clock data on each of the planets, identified from a list of 1,235 possible planets.

"It's not absolutely certain that all of these stars have habitable planetary systems, but they're very good places to look for ET," Andrew Siemion, one of the scientists working on the project, was quoted by PressTV as saying.

The telescope will reportedly stare for about five minutes at each of the candidate planet’s main star.

This star will help establish if the selected planet has a surface temperature at which liquid water could be maintained.

“We’ve picked out the planets with nice temperatures – between zero and 100 degrees Celsius – because they are a lot more likely to harbor life,” said physicist Dan Werthimer, chief scientist for SETI@home and a veteran SETI researcher.
The project will likely take about a year to complete, and will be helped by a team of one million at-home astronomers, known as SETI@home users, who will help process the data on personal computers.

[HIGHERBEAM]

Mars on the cheap with private enterprise

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj

[Jovial Monk]

Rockets, becoming rather outdated. Interplanetary spaceships should leave from the moon using electrical energy that can be harnessed on far side 24/7 and more intense than under our ocean of an atmosphere.

[HIGHERBEAM]

http://panelsonpages.com/?p=37995&cpage=1

One of Einstein theories of warping time and space has been finally proven correct by NASA so how long before we use the technology not yet invented to travel to mars,

http://www.time.com/time/health/article ... 38,00.html

J/M if you want to play with the big boys put a link in so we can have a look at your theories and where you have come up with it.

[Outlaw Yogi]

So still largely theoretical/conceptual or hard to justify costs.
But yes propulsion would have to be a crucial factor for space travel.

Slightly off tangent, but last night ABC or SBS ran a program about UFO sightings and how USAF, US navy and CIA addressed and then ridiculed such sighting accounts publicly ... and how plenty of credible witnesses from a state governor to high ranking military personel are making the US denial stance look pretty silly.

Now it just so happens I have witnessed (seemingly unconventional) aircraft that many would define as a UFO on 3 seperate occasions over an 11 year period. All viewed from the same place, on my block (and not stoned). Of course I can't say for sure what these aircraft were, but all 3 were totally silent, so seemingly unconventional by current human aircraft tech.
And so in there lies the mystery ... what propels these things?

Taking this tangent a step further .. is the question that if such air craft are of non human origin, what are the occupants/pilots interest in Earth? .. and why do such sightings seem to concentrate in particular areas?
It just so happens on the other side of the range in which my block is in the foot hills of, there's a 7 km wide volcanic crator with a heap of ilmenite (titanium & iron oxides) in it, and so considering metallurgical properties of titanium, if I was a space traveller that's what I'd build my space ship out of. Thus I speculate if ET is hiding out between Gin Gin and Monto, he's mining titanium.