Inflatable habitats are in the works, but for the moon. Well… that's what The History Channel's “The Universe” showed anyway. I'd say it's ideal for the moon because there's no weather there. On Mars we'd need something like the biodome. The show mentions that the reason why the biodome experiment went awry was because a lot of the oxygen that was supposed to be produced by the plants was being sucked up by the concrete that made up the structure. The result was an oxygen level inside the place equal to the amount you'd find near the tops of very tall mountains (like Everest). Eventually fresh oxygen had to be pumped in from the outside.

Personally I think the reason was something like cabin fever, but only in a larger building..

qqq
Once promised things like mapping the human genome or the ISS are still not done and way over time.

Uhmm. The genome project is long done and it was done pretty much on time.

And the ISS project was delayed because there was a lack of funding and also because the space shuttles, which were a crucial part of the project were grounded for years after the Columbia disaster.

The reasons behind the difficulty of building that space station is due to the giant hurdle that space explorers have to deal with, every single time they send up a rocket. Overcoming the massive barrier that is the Earths gravitational pull. Most of the mass sent up into orbit actually consist of nothing but fuel that is need to get the intended payload up there.
If more efficient methods could be developed, space exploration would increase tenfold, if not hundred fold. Also, the moment corporations can afford creating lucrative projects in outer space, we'd see allot more space exploration.

qqq
Who would want to colonize space any way? It's a suck place to be, your bone erodes away, you have to conserve energy, no parks, nothing.

Assume the earth gets to full and half has to go to another planet. I'd rather be in the half that stays here, and I guess a lot of people share my like for comfort, so you're more deporting people away, and probably people that don't have a lot of money. So it's slavery all over again.

I actually believe that many would want to become space explorers given the opportunity. There's always a certain percentage of people who dream of exploring and become restless whenever they stay in one place for long. These are what made the explorers of the past and will make the explorers of the future.

However, I am a believer of repetitive history and I can easily see prisoners being sent to work on terraforming project in the far future.

Lonnehart
Humanity still isn't ready. I don't think we're “mature” enough to go out into space without really messing things up.

Just follow the prime directive and everything will be okay. >:)

mishi_hime

Lonnehart
Humanity still isn't ready. I don't think we're “mature” enough to go out into space without really messing things up.

Just follow the prime directive and everything will be okay. >:)

A furture ruled by old men.

Lonnehart
there's all that space junk we left up in the atmosphere that we haven't tried to clean up yet.

I was just reading an article today about the cocoon of space junk around the planet… http://www.newsweek.com/id/209955

Looks like we won't be able to leave Earth soon!

ProfessorF
http://www.newsweek.com/id/209955

Red the article and came across this:

Article
The Soviet Union may have been the most egregious polluter. In the 1970s and '80s, it launched 32 radar satellites, designed to track the positions of U.S. Navy ships, each powered by its own nuclear reactor.

Yikes!

Guess Oz was right.

… leave it to the Russians…

You guys are so absorbed in speculation that you're forgetting the first thing we should ask ourselves: why the hell would we want humans in outer space in the first place?

To spread our wonderful attributes like war, teen pregnancy, genocide, fake dog shit, Dr Phils and whatnot?

I can just see the space people eager to have us out there. No thanks, keep the disease contained dont you think?

It's my live long goal to spread the words of Dr.Phil to the universe.

Every Spungtunian shall know of him. Every Glaxatian shall become a follower of his show.

Dr. Phil for president in 2012.


Because he's just that evil.

Product Placement
there was a lack of funding and also because the space shuttles, which were a crucial part of the project were grounded for years after the Columbia disaster.

also the fact taht there's only one left.

commercial exploration is, and has always been the only way.

people from MIT, NASA, and a few real artists. i would say iabout 2% of humanity.

most humans are selfish, douchy, and dumb. they watch too much MTV, E! television, and reality TV.

some are totally evil and corrupt.

maybe i should make a list that could go on a new planet and tthen leave all the rednecks here on the rotting earth- with all the earthquakes, and comets coming its way and 2010 mayan calendar annahilation.

on my list will be:

lance armstrong
bill clinton
the whole rage against the machine
bill gates
quentin tarantino (but if he makes another “grindhouse”, he's fucking out)
dave grohl
tim burton
brad pitt
johnny knoxville, chris pontius, steve-o, weeman (prettymuch the whole jackass crew except for bam margera)
Phil and april margera
jason ellis
shaun white
vin diesel
a young robert de niro
deepak chopra
the dalai lama

ill continue the list later. maybe u should tell me why i should include u in my list

XanderXeroFiasco
2012 mayan calendar annahilation.

Fixed.

seventy2
commercial exploration is, and has always been the only way.

WTF? lol!
In space? It hasn't yet… Even “tourism” there is unviable.

The whole logic behind “commercial” exploration doesn't work in space yet. That logic is:
-Find something somewhere else that's cheaper and easier to get there than it is here (or unavailable here). Nothing off of the earth anywhere near us fits into that category. Even solid lumps of platinum, gold, and diamonds on the moon wouldn't be worth it. It's logic that only works ON the earth right now.

-So, if commercial exploration is the only way, we'll never, ever get into space.
The fact is “commercial exploration” would only be a factor if you already had the infrastructure and industry UP there and you needed mining in the solar system to support it. THEN it would be viable because it'd be the cheapest and easiest way to get the materials needed- especially compared to launching them from Earth. But you need someone to pay to get the industry and infrastructure started first and lose money on it. Only governments can do that.

ozoneocean

while there may be nothing on the moon, the reward is here (on earth)

also Virgin Galactic.

fine, government contracting of commercial buisnesses.

seventy2
Fine, government contracting of commercial buisnesses.

That will alys be the biggest factor :)

Google paying 25 mil… Unfortunately that cash is more like a little gold star or a sticker that says “well done”, much like the “X” prize that Spacehip One won, that became Virgin Galatic, that still hasn't taken any tourists up yet… The 25 million wouldn't go anywhere near to defraying any of the R&D costs for such a feat, let alone the operational costs :(
You work in atmospheric aerospace yourself, you must know how much those babies cost.

ozoneocean
Google paying 25 mil… Unfortunately that cash is more like a little gold star or a sticker that says “well done”, much like the “X” prize that Spacehip One won, that became Virgin Galatic, that still hasn't taken any tourists up yet… The 25 million wouldn't go anywhere near to defraying any of the R&D costs for such a feat, let alone the operational costs :(
You work in atmospheric aerospace yourself, you must know how much those babies cost.

well then think about the fact that if you have a map of the moon, you have THE map of the moon. in today's buisness world, you copyright that, lease it to the government, loan it out to a buddy, you're in buisness. you were obviously already in buisness, but i'm sure the phrase translates…and look at this, with my plan the elusive 3rd step is finally revealed.

1. build a rocket
2. map the moon
3. copyright that fucking map
4. profit


heck, put a little flag stamper machine on the moon, and you could have a little boomer rush on your hands….well, boomers may not be the right words, since the moon isn't “public” property. yet.

Product Placement

XanderXeroFiasco
2012 mayan calendar annahilation.

Fixed.

I'm a moron. I hit “send!” without reviewing what i have written. Thank you, drive through.