Certainly not in the next few years, but never is an awful long time.
Obviously, you would not be a very good candidate for the space program. Do you really need to ask this question? So you feel going to the moon was a big waste of time too?
What does that have to do with anything? It's usually these kinds of comments that motivate others. Some people do things specifically because they are hard. You must have challenged yourself at some point, no?
Hmmmm, whatever could there be for a scientist (any discipline) to study on an extraterrestrial earth-like planet. Certainly anything discovered there (or in the pursuit of getting there) couldn't be applied here in any way.
Maybe the solution isn't something quite so obvious. I don't have anything particular in mind, but nobody has yet asked me to come up with a plan.
How does the line go? "One small step for bragging rights..."
Certainly large government expenditures with a scientific purpose couldn't possibly stimulate the economy, advance scientific progress and scholarly pursuit worldwide, and produce technologies which may benefit all of humanity (even those who never leave their hometown). What a spirit of adventure!
Betcha I know more about the Space Program, and astronomy and astrophysics than you do. Betcha.
Since when did I equate establishing a human colony on Mars with landing on the Moon? I didn't. You made the assumption.
Oh, I wouldn't be a very good candidate for the space program? Is that a fact? Did you know I volunteered for the Shuttle program back in the late 70s, while in the military? Naturally I wasn't qualified - few are. Did you also know I worked in the Space Shuttle program for 2 years as a contractor to NASA?
Oh, I see, I take the easy way out, is that what you are implying? Really? How many people do you know who write screenplays? Or run their own business, started from scratch? Ever been to Russia? Ever been inside the Great Pyramid at Giza? Ever been on commercial radio as a disc jockey? Ever go on acting auditions? I've done them all. And still kicking.
Are you actually stating that Mars is an Earth-like planet? And just what would you consider is Earth-like about it? Its atmosphere? Its atmospheric pressure? Its gravity rating? Its weather? Its electromagnetic fields? Its orbital inclination? Its seasons? Its topography? Its temperature? Its plate tectonics? Its volcanic activity? Its oceans? Its life? Mars, in fact, is a completely alien and harsh world that could only sustain humans encapsulated within an artificial bubble. At best.
I'm all for space exploration and colonization. But this isn't the way to do it. Look at the Moon. 35 years since we went. And it's next door. Going to a planet, planetoid or moon just for the hell of it - today - isn't gonna provide quite as much ROI as you indicate. And Mars? Cannot be compared to hopping and skipping to the Moon. It is true interplanetary travel. To do that - you start with the vehicle. And my proposal is to start - immediately - gaining all knowledge necessary to power, shield, navigate and habitize asteroids as space vehicles. That's the only way we'll ever attain the Holy Grail of interstellar travel. So we start with interplanetary travel. By making the vehicle itself - a mini-Earth.
