[FPSPACE] A Monkey to Mars? Reportage on Russian aspirations to do so

[LARRY KLAES]

I think virtual reality will solve the lonliness/boredom problem, or at

least do much to relieve it.

 

Well, Phobos-Grunt is carrying Earth microbes to the vicinity of Mars

and returning them to our planet, so ya never know....

 

I should not joke.  There are those who will take such things to the 

leve of 2012.  Which, BTW, I am sad to report that my local Barnes &

Noble has devoted nearly an entire bookcase to the subject of 2012.

 

Maybe it is the end of the world.

 

Larry


 


From: DavidLRickman at aol.com
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:45:58 -0500
To: fpspace at friends-partners.org
Subject: Re: [FPSPACE] A Monkey to Mars? Reportage on Russian aspirations to do so


Seasons Greetings, FPSpacers!
 
The very thought of sending a monkey to Mars is fascinating, but only if it is a round trip. A one way flight would not give us much real practical hope of a human mission to Mars. Just the opposite, it emphasizes our current technological inability to accomplish such a feat at its most basic level.
 
It would be interesting to see how the designers engineer faux real-time attention to the primate passenger to prevent the sensation of loneliness.
 
Happy Holidays!
 
David L. Rickman
 
P. S. There is also the danger of the AstroApe bringing back a hidden virus that kills off the entire cat and dog population, leading to a mass of people taking on apes as pets and eventually training them to perform basic and tedious task thereby leading to a caste of enslaved and disgruntled (but intelligent) primates primed for revolt against their human masters! 
 
It could happen.
  		 	   		  
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