Posted by Davin Flateau on 7 Jun 2005 at 3:42 pm.
Filed under Astronomy.
It seems that for as long as we’ve looked up to that bright reddish-pink light in the sky, we’ve been dreaming about going to Mars. And while rovers and probes are useful for gathering information by remote control, nothing is like actually being there. A keyboard and mouse will pale in comparison to the feeling of Martian sand sifting through our gloved hand. People have an inborn need to explore personally, and if history is any indication, no technological, economic or political barriers will stand in our way of eventually travelling to our nearby neighbor. We must be there, surely as we need to breathe.
The Encylopedia Astronautica has a great history of proposed and imagined spacecraft that are designed to get us to Mars (and hopefully back!). The encyclopedia starts with von Braun’s 1948 vision of a 10-ship armada that included huge glider landing craft. The history progresses through the 90s, with Robert Zubrin’s Mars Direct variations, up to the final entry - a 2000 Russian proposal for going to Mars with a spacecraft with xenon-powered engines.
While you’re there, browse around the Encyclopedia - what a great resource for a comprehensive history of spacecraft past, present, and imagined.
Davin Flateau
