Wow, small world - I know her! She was in wife's MBA program.
DrCaleb DrCaleb:
saturn_656 saturn_656:
If my life situation were different I'd jump at the opportunity, despite the risks and not being able to return. Colonization of Mars isn't an "if" but a "when" and "if" this venture pans out these people will be the first.
Sure they may all die enroute, on landing, or from environmental hazards on the surface. Pushing the boundaries is dangerous, settling new frontiers is risky... but the prize!
Ditto!
I'd go in a heartbeat.
Exploration is what we do, and quite often we die in the process. People don't remember names like 'Franklin' or 'Shackleton' because they succeeded but because they failed, or died trying.
Take a look at Portugal - they lost somewhere in the neighbourhood of 75% of the men they sent during the Age of Discovery. Even Magellan, who is credited with circumnavigating the globe, didn't survive the entire trip.
Fortunately, things are looking up in this regard.
Thousands of people died during the first few decades of powered flight, and only a relative handful died in the Space Race.
As long as the trip to Mars is funded by an organization that cares more about the crew than it does the almighty dollar, odds are it will be fairly low risk.