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posted by janrinok on Wednesday October 12 2016, @04:18AM   Printer-friendly
from the off-we-go-again dept.

President Obama has released an op-ed at CNN entitled "America will take the giant leap to Mars":

One of my earliest memories is sitting on my grandfather's shoulders, waving a flag as our astronauts returned to Hawaii. This was years before we'd set foot on the moon. Decades before we'd land a rover on Mars. A generation before photos from the International Space Station would show up in our social media feeds. I still have the same sense of wonder about our space program that I did as a child. It represents an essential part of our character -- curiosity and exploration, innovation and ingenuity, pushing the boundaries of what's possible and doing it before anybody else. The space race we won not only contributed immeasurably important technological and medical advances, but it also inspired a new generation of scientists and engineers with the right stuff to keep America on the cutting edge.

[...] Last year alone, NASA discovered flowing water on Mars and evidence of ice on one of Jupiter's moons, and we mapped Pluto -- more than 3 billion miles away -- in high-resolution. Our space telescopes revealed additional Earth-like planets orbiting distant stars, and we're pursuing new missions to interact with asteroids, which will help us learn how to protect the Earth from the threat of colliding with one while also teaching us about the origins of life on Earth. We've flown by every planet in the solar system -- something no other nation can say. And we continue to drive down the cost of space exploration for taxpayers.

This week, we'll convene some of America's leading scientists, engineers, innovators and students in Pittsburgh to dream up ways to build on our progress and find the next frontiers. Just five years ago, US companies were shut out of the global commercial launch market. Today, thanks to groundwork laid by the men and women of NASA, they own more than a third of it. More than 1,000 companies across nearly all 50 states are working on private space initiatives. We have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter of America's story in space: sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day remain there for an extended time. Getting to Mars will require continued cooperation between government and private innovators, and we're already well on our way. Within the next two years, private companies will for the first time send astronauts to the International Space Station.

The next step is to reach beyond the bounds of Earth's orbit. I'm excited to announce that we are working with our commercial partners to build new habitats that can sustain and transport astronauts on long-duration missions in deep space. These missions will teach us how humans can live far from Earth -- something we'll need for the long journey to Mars.

More specific details are available in this article by John P. Holdren and Charles Bolden.

Then you have articles like this about the risk of "space brain":

Cosmic radiation exposure and persistent cognitive dysfunction (open, DOI: 10.1038/srep34774) (DX)


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  • (Score: 1) by Sarasani on Wednesday October 12 2016, @09:41PM

    by Sarasani (3283) on Wednesday October 12 2016, @09:41PM (#413656)

    Good luck building your giant spaceship while you're trying to keep your head afloat in your sea of patent trolls. So, maybe fix patent law first before you start having these grandiose ideas?