I would gladly volunteer, one way or not, im 16 years old, ive got a whole life ahead of me but the prospect of being the first or one of the first people on Mars is amazing. When we first went to the moon our undertsanding of space and its effects on our bodies were unkown, we still took the risk, why dont we do it again?

Communcation with Earth would be available, supplies wouldnt be a problem for a one manned flight, were obviously just worried about the exposure to radiation for a prolonged amount of time, but given the correct protection, e.g. polythylene blocks as stated in Mcleans report thing, the oppurtunity is there, but our sense of risk and adventure isnt.

I just had an idea about inflatables as protection for a Mars ship. I'm wondering if a sleeve of inflatables could fit around the whole ship and be assembled months earlier in space.

No,I invented the airbags used for the Mars rovers Pathfinder,Spirit,Opportunity.I realized they could only handle limted weight for secure protection.So if you put down a few tons,instead of a few hundred pounds ,you lose in all likelihood,with airbags.I'm not saying it CAN'T be done,but not easily.Instead of a controlled crash,you'd just get the CRASH. The next step up would be inside a CRASH SHELL. I don't see that as very practical,and yet someone will probably try it. I was thinking of the inflatables as storage containers that served the dual purpose of RADIATION protection.In other words ASSEMBLING a ship from the outside/outer shell in space,docking with the people carrier at last stage.Think of it like a HOT DOG and BUN.The bun is the inflatable exterior with the luggage inside.The personnel carrier is the last to leave Earth/hot dog,and doesn't even carry most of the fuel. However,momentum would be lost during docking,so there is a trade-off. Maybe someone more familiar with "orbits" could tell if that is practical. No doubt it's a sacrifice.

i do not see the use of wasting a life on Mars, the aim should be to bring the person back. Send robots and bacterias to make Mars OK for humans first!

Sty,this may shock you you,but I'm pretty convinced that nasa lies about life on Mars,the color of the sky,the temps,the oxygen level etc. I'd like an independent agency to run the same tests as nasa has run to see the amount of discrepancies. I see humanoids there already (natives) and thousands of animals masked,eager to see the rovers especially,but also around all the landers. I see micro animals,smaller than your pinky,inhabiting the Opportunity's heat shield shell in great numbers,reminding me of artificial reefs(when ships are sunk near the coast to reviatlize undersea life). I think we'd need Mars suits,possibly minimally pressurized,oxygen tubes up our noses,HATS to offer some protection from heavy duty UV rays,and all told the suit may weigh 5-10 lbs not counting oxygen tanks. I know that sounds very overly optimistic,but the natives wear no breathing devices. But they do tend to wear hats. Dogs don't wear hats...undignified.

na,
i don't think i could do it. i think it's been shown that you would eventually go crazy being alone till your end days. even if you had the amenities of a phone and video games, etc.
i think you would just crack at some point. especially if living in a confined area.

would be fun for a bit though!

Instead of looking for volunteers, how about this: A worldwide vote to vote someone off the planet like Survivor. I bet George W Bush would win THIS election by a landslide, not a Supreme court decision. George W Bush, the Governor of Mars!

The voting off of Bush would surely unite the world like nothing else, and our sponsoring it would be our reparation for giving this dolt the presidency twice.

Absolutely. I would gladly go one-way to Mars. It would be the most glorious and epic event of my life. I can't understand why our space program is so hampered. Mankind is doomed to die if we don't get off of this rock. Is the mission important? Am I supposed to set up a habitat or something for people coming later? (I would laugh if I'm being sent for the hell of it, but I would still go)

IF my baby boy wasn' supposed to be born in a few weeks .. and i wasnt married...

I would already have hijacked my own rocket and been in orbit by now = P

A one man, one-way trip. Hmmm.

Well, there would have to be a contract. In this contract I'd demand that my family and one generation be finacially secure for the rest of their lives, $10 million to spend any way I like 90 days prior to the mission (and I do mean ANY WAY I like) and all the beer I could possibly drink for the rest of my life when I get there (I prefer Pabst Blue Ribbon).

That's all and I'd be out of here so damned fast you'd think it was yesterday.

[edit on 7/1/09 by Intelearthling]