Survey finds a majority of physicists do not think we will have a mars colony within 5000 years.

Since we can send rovers to mars, we can send humans to mars as well. We could have a mars colony this year if we wanted to, I'm not sure why it wouldn't be possible within 5000 years. There are at least two companies that are sending humans to mars within 20 years (spacex and mars one).

I wonder if these scientists are being pessimistic because of bias they have from their environment.

Literaly those in the university environment that voice themselves the loudest.

Those who say "just because we can do a thing doesn't mean we should"

Over and over I even see the same sentiment here on ATS...let me quote
"we have no business spending billions of dollars on space exploration when people are starving in Darfur"

If I heard that over and over from the people I was teaching at university...I would imagine it would take 5000 years for the technology and the desire to meander its way into what seems to be the majority of the public desire.


I know the desire is there, it is just not apear to be the predominate desire