Quote:
Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel
No... Ares isn't designed to go anywhere. It also isn't a craft. It's the rocket stage for the Constellation project. Ares I is the light lifter, Ares V is the heavy lifter. Orion is the orbiting module and Altair is the lunar lander. The plan is to modify the Orion/Altair pairing for a Mars mission later using information they get from the lunar missions. The target date to put humans on Mars is 2037 though, so it is very possible that the plan will change before then.
And you can't carry enough supplies right now. The ISS has enough power to stay in orbit, not to fly 50,000,000 miles. The Orion/Altair pairing just isn't big enough to hold everything yet and you can't power something the size of the ISS to Mars. I think the idea is to eventually boost up supply capsules that Orion can rendezvous with on the way, but that's still kind of a pie-in-the-sky idea at this point in time.
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Hint: Lunar (luna) is Latin for...?
Either way, man will have to land on the moon again and establish a base there before they go to Mars...but I doubt seriously they are taking capsules..and part of that testing that you are referring to includes making something that can break from orbit and go to Mars...
So I agree and disagree with some of your points but we both can agree with all of our money going elsewhere **coff* fugging up Iraq and AIG speinding bailout money *coff* we can't afford Mars!
heh!