Aldrin: NASA Needs To Put People On Mars

WASHINGTON — Former Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin says NASA should set its sights on a bigger target in the future: Mars.

Aldrin made the comments on the eve of the 40th anniversary of his landing on the moon on the Apollo 11 mission. He says the space agency was right to stop sending men to the moon back in 1972.

Aldrin says Mars is "much more suitable to earthlings, much more habitable. It's possibly the source of life."

He also recalled taking his first steps on the moon, a place that was "so desolate, so totally lifeless. It probably hadn't changed much in 100,000 years."

Aldrin, who spoke on "Fox News Sunday," was to appear Sunday evening in Washington with fellow Apollo 11 crew members Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins.

Comments

[mmcginty]

For a funny book on how NASA faked the moon landing, check out "Elvis and the Blue Moon Conspiracy"

http://markmcginty.wordpress.com/about/

[SonofLiberty1]

EVEN FUNNIER IS THAT THE LRO SPACECRAFT JUST SENT PHOTOS BACK...

SHOWING THE APOLLO LANDING SITES.....

MMCGINTY, I GUESS YOU MISSED THAT NEWS HUH?

[twisted-european]

Sending humans to other planets is such a waste of money and resources. Let's send more probes, take a deeper peek into space and find out about meteorites heading towards us.

[FerrisValyn]

Except that you can develop those other planets, and create new money and new resources.

Spaceflight does not end and begin at science

[C0Y0TE2]

"you can develop those other planets"

Ha ha ha ..............................not likely in a long time without some kind of major breakthrough like a 'time-brake' or some sort of Quantum Shifter.

You know folks trapped in coal mines can eat coal to survive for a while, yet we have discovered no coal on Mars.

[pallmallguy]

The cynics posting opposition to NASA and to going to Mars are most likely selfish babyboomers, the worst generation in American history. NASA doesn't even receive 5% of the budget and they've invented lots of things from space experimentation. Just who do you think monitors all the telecommunication satellites hovering above our heads that let you place calls on your cell phones?

[samjung23]

The worst generation is X and Y, the most selfish, egotistical, spoiled and clueless generation ever.

[SonofLiberty1]

I must agree with you. My generation..really Obama's was born with the space program.

[nomoredead]

People are dying without healthcare.

Think what the NASA money could do for the cost of healthcare.

[FerrisValyn]

Not much, considering NASA gets .5% or so of the entire federal budget

[LLeGrande]

Humans will NOT be going to Mars during this century, for certain.

There is a big problem not even near to being solved. Muscle mass is lost in weightlessness. Only a few days in earth orbit often causes severe conditions in human health requiring weeks to recover.

A trip requiring atleast 14 months round trip of near weightlessness could be a killer of these astronauts.

That's all before the technology to get humans there, land them, set up livable camps, get back in orbit, return to earth. This is all grandiose planning by this Agency and their shills.

All things considered, our current economic condition and incredible debt says that NASA will be getting smaller, not larger. The big spending days are over for NASA. And, rightly so.

[FerrisValyn]

Actually, we can easily deal with zero-g, by deploying things like tethers.

We should be spending more money on NASA, and in particular, becoming spacefaring - there is a lot of resources and money to be made by developing space

[MBryant]

Aldrin is right. It is apparent we have the power and/or stupidity to essentially destroy this planet as a life supporting ecology. We need to diversify and find other planets to assure the survival of our powerful and/or stupid species.

Even bird-brains know not to spoil their own nests - but when they do - they find another nest!

[C0Y0TE2]

Ha ha ha ...........................hubris and foolishness to assume that we are even remotely capable of surviving (no less thriving) on inhospitable planets if we are not capable of the same here on such a friendly planet.

Folks who think like this are the reason that we are destroying what we have, because they actually believe that the world is without limits.

[MBryant]

I completely agress that we have much greater prospects of restoring some sense of biological order on Earth than surviving on another planet and that this should be the higher priority. However, the recognition that we have the capability and even the not entirely unlikely prospect of failing in such an effort should also draw our attention to diversification.

The world certainly has limits, but they are much larger than you imagine...

[Kevin Robles]

Why do I feel your copying and pasting your remarks and reply with them to every post you don't like?

[Citizen4Justice]

Perhaps our problem is myopic greed facilitating the public's willful ignorance.

[ThinkPink]

I think the Republicans would do well on Mars, myself.

[MadamRoma]

Buzz off.

[ckfan]

LOL.

[Srkdqltr]

Aldren thinks going to Mars would be wonderful. I think Aldren should foot the bill. He is wealthy and probably has wealthy frineds. How cool would that be????

[ManiDeli]

Manned space flight is a huge waste of money especially in these bankrupt times. We should spend that money on efficient energy research and rebuilding our corroding infrastructure.

Tax the churches! Make Bush ambassador to the moon.

[FerrisValyn]

Space infrastructure is corroding, and needs rebuilding.

And if you want energy, lets talk about Space Solar Power

[amitofu]

When Kennedy set our course for the Moon in 1961 the US was in a deep recession. It was Apollo in part that stimulated the economy into a decade of 5-6% growth by funding high-technology companies that spun off their developments for the Apollo program into other areas of the economy.

It's not like you launch the money itself into space. The money is spent here on Earth, in the United States. The space program is what drives a large percentage of people to become scientists and engineers. And they're the ones that are going to invent our way out of this mess.

Going to Mars is an investment in humanity on Earth. Apollo double the number of science and engineering grads. The ones who ended up being responsible for the economic boom of the 1990's. If we want to grow as a country we need scientists and engineers. And the cheapest way to get them is with a space program.

[JumpDownTurnAround]

"NASA needs to put people on Mars"

Well, folks, I think we now know what Sarah Palin's "Higher Calling" is!

[RobtBrock]

She should go to Uranus...

[toxicbrainpoison]

Why give us one more planet to f**p up? Lets fix this mess first.

[FerrisValyn]

Because you can't clean up the mess on this planet without utilizing space resources

[rucognizant]

The NASA Mission gives the kids the false idea, that when we mess up this planet too badly, we can just all fly off to mars...............

[macintoshsauce]

We cannot go to any planet until we develop the capability of a better fuel to power a spaceship for such a long journey.

[lentinelia]

You want to know what they will find when they land on Mars?

Burger King.

[TheWanderer]

A year after we get there Chevron will be buying up the oil rights and Halliburton will be providing independent "contractors" to protect astronauts from the Martians.