Not Going Anywhere

[ladysprite]

So they're actually working on the first ever manned mission to Mars.

It'll be one-way. And it's not going anywhere until 2022. And it's privately funded, and looking for volunteers.

And I don't qualify.

I know that even if I did qualify, my odds of being picked as one of the four to go would be miniscule. And I know that if I did go, I'd die out there. By definition. That's what a one-way trip means. But still.... no Mars for me.

Staying here means I'll still get to lie out on the grass. I'll get to see my friends. I'll get to have pets, and go in the ocean, and bake pies. It means flowers and Thanksgiving dinner and walking to the ice cream parlor. It means tabletop RPG's and tango classes and making plans to go to the Grand Canyon.

Going would mean 22 months in transit, and then spending the rest of my life in a hut smaller than my living room, with 3 other people for company - maybe more; about 2 more every 2 years. It'd mean wearing a space suit every time I leave the damn hut. It'd mean cold and limited resources and potentially dying in a thousand unpleasant ways. But it'd mean I'd be on Mars.

MARS.

I am glad beyond words that this is happening in my lifetime, and that I'll get to watch. And I know it's for the best that I can't be part of it. But right now? I am heartbroken like I have never been before that I will not be part of it....

Comments

[deguspice.livejournal.com]

If you want to go to Mars and comeback, Dennis Tito announced a private project to send a married couple on a flyby of Mars (500 days round trip) with a launch in 2018.

http://www.space.com/19981-private-mars-mission-married-2018.html

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

I don't know, call me an old poop, but that seems like an incredible amount of faff and danger to not go to Mars. Like a hugely magnified version of having your business-trip flight to Germany stop for fuel partway there, and then spending the rest of your life bragging about The Time You Went to London.

[deguspice.livejournal.com]

A lot of good research will come out of it. There is a lot of work involved in designing a space capsule that can support two people for 500 days in space. Also, there is a lot of useful research data that will come from the trip.

And then there's just the coolness-factor for doing it.

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

Also, you might meet Carl Sagan there.

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

That was pretty much my reaction when I heard about the project. Oh, well, next generation ship...