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Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

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Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#41

Post by onetimeuse001 »

shawnee_ wrote: post #15

On the assumption that people will be living on earth for some time, Musk is cooking up plans for something he calls the Hyperloop. He won’t share specifics but says it’s some sort of tube capable of taking someone from downtown San Francisco to Los Angeles in 30 minutes. He calls it a “fifth mode of transportation”—the previous four being train, plane, automobile, and boat. “What you want is something that never cra…

The estimated cost projections for the bullet train project keep getting bigger. I've seen estimates as high as $68 billion

Wait until it starts, it will at least double the initial projections. It sure makes you wonder if it's just payback to certain groups or spending to create (very expensive) jobs for a while.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#42

Post by damoncali »

dasil003 wrote: post #40
damoncali wrote: post #32

Enough of the hero worship. If Musk gets on one of his rockets in 15 years and launches it towards Mars, he will certainly die. Long before he reaches Mars. Yes, he's a great, fascinating man. I enjoy observing this stuff as much as the next guy. But Good God - stop slobbering on yourselves. This is marketing fluff of the highest order.

Is it "of the highest order" because it's marketing something substantive?

Exactly the opposite. It's the grand marketing of an even grander vision - the ultimate vaporware.

Where people with can dream up supersonic aircraft that are massively more efficient than the highly refined subsonic craft that have been built by thousands of very smart people over decades.

Where magic tubes will transport people near the speed of sound whenever they want for a mere $6B.

Where the realities of space flight are to be ignored because, well, the leader of the venture is a really good business man and has a lot of charisma.

Is this not the same hacker news where people get bent out of shape when Apple bends the truth on their iPhone marketing copy?

Fuck Mars. I'm going to Jupiter. In 2015.

The emperor has no clothes.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#44

Post by waterlesscloud »

kilroy123 wrote: post #12

I sure hope SpaceX ends up being a success. I also hope, if successful, they put a lot of money toward research on carbon nano tubes. Hopefully, they or some other organization, could move towards building a space elevator sometime in the next 50-100 years.

I'd really like to hear more about Google's rumored work on space elevators.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#45

Post by codex »

mc32 wrote: post #27
codex wrote: post #10

Given Mars' weak gravitational field, extremely low atmospheric pressure, lack of breathable oxygen, deathly cold temperatures, and weak magnetic field (leading to high levels of radiation), he may well get his wish. Many others will likely get this wish against their will. If he would like to get a taste of realistic Martian colonization here on Earth, may I suggest living underground in a windowless tank, surrounde…

Where's the sense of adventure and romance in that? Lots of explorers of yore could have met with the similar arguments. Some people can stay behind and man/woman? the home front, others can go off to explore and expand our existence. Not that there's no cost to it, but let's hope, that overall, it's a net plus. As a species we have wanderlust built-in, perhaps.

When I was young and was reading a lot of pulp science fiction books, I was in love with Mars. But those books are fiction. The reality of Mars is not a great cosmic adventure. Mars is a shithole.

Don't get me wrong--Mars should be explored, and we will find some truly breathtaking things. And if we find life on Mars, the scientific paydirt will be huge.

However, the great finds and exploration of Mars will be done by robots. Sending humans to Mars (or colonizing Mars) is a lot like sending humans to the Sahara desert. Colonize the Sahara? But it's so... dull. And not fun. That's not very romantic. Ultimately that is the reality of 99.9% of Mars.

If people are going to die on Mars, they should know that they are not doing it in the name of science and exploration--that task is best left to the robots--but rather in the name of vanity and human tourism. Until Mars can be terraformed to the point where it has 100% of Earth's gravity (I don't even want to contemplate the effects of 1/3 of Earth's gravity on a developing fetus, for example), and a breathable atmosphere, it will be visited only by tourists and robots.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#46

Post by loceng »

marcoamorales wrote: post #17
Bud wrote: post #8

Now that Jobs is gone, Elon is probably the coolest guy in the world. Can't wait to see what he comes up with in the next 10-20 years.

Jobs was never a cool guy in my book. For me, Steve Jobs was an egocentric and self-centered. Elon is a visionary, just read this quote: “I came to the conclusion that we should aspire to increase the scope and scale of human consciousness in order to better understand what questions to ask. Really, the only thing that makes sense is to strive for greater collective enlightenment.” Steve isn't even near to the impact…

I believe that quote was his conclusion to the question of what is the purpose of life.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#47

Post by jfoutz »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #21
codex wrote: post #10

Given Mars' weak gravitational field, extremely low atmospheric pressure, lack of breathable oxygen, deathly cold temperatures, and weak magnetic field (leading to high levels of radiation), he may well get his wish. Many others will likely get this wish against their will. If he would like to get a taste of realistic Martian colonization here on Earth, may I suggest living underground in a windowless tank, surrounde…

If only humans had demonstrated some ability to construct defenses against hostile environments. You know, like they've done since the invention of fire and the construction of lean-tos.

The self sustaining communities in the middle of the sahara give me enormous hope for these types of projects. The self contained undersea habitats as well.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#48

Post by iandanforth »

codex wrote: post #45
mc32 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where's the sense of adventure and romance in that? Lots of explorers of yore could have met with the similar arguments. Some people can stay behind and man/woman? the home front, others can go off to explore and expand our existence. Not that there's no cost to it, but let's hope, that overall, it's a net plus. As a species we have wanderlust built-in, perhaps.

When I was young and was reading a lot of pulp science fiction books, I was in love with Mars. But those books are fiction. The reality of Mars is not a great cosmic adventure. Mars is a shithole. Don't get me wrong--Mars should be explored, and we will find some truly breathtaking things. And if we find life on Mars, the scientific paydirt will be huge. However, the great finds and exploration of Mars will be done b…

Have you ready the Red / Green / Blue mars trilogy? It might change your mind. Also, not that it's possible, but why would you want to increase martian gravity? 1/3G would be awesome for sport.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#50

Post by anamax »

codex wrote: post #10

Given Mars' weak gravitational field, extremely low atmospheric pressure, lack of breathable oxygen, deathly cold temperatures, and weak magnetic field (leading to high levels of radiation), he may well get his wish. Many others will likely get this wish against their will. If he would like to get a taste of realistic Martian colonization here on Earth, may I suggest living underground in a windowless tank, surrounde…

> Given Mars' weak gravitational field, extremely low atmospheric pressure, lack of breathable oxygen, deathly cold temperatures, and weak magnetic field (leading to high levels of radiation), he may well get his wish. Many others will likely get this wish against their will.

Who is sending folks to Mars against their will? More to the point, how do I provoke someone to do it to me?

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