COST VS KNOWLEDGE VS RISK

Space Missions

Moon First Then Mars

1st the Moon then Mars- moon is closer- practice living, working and doing

science on Moon - develop technology- identify and fix possible problems

Moon and Mars

Moon 1/6th earths gravity, Mars 40 %Moon has no atmosphere, Mars has a very

thin atmosphereBoth have extreme temperature changes

between night and day and get very cold at night Moon -240 C, Mars -120 C

Both the Moon and Mars are thought to harbor water frozen in the ground

Regolith

Moon and Mars dustLunar dust: "It's almost like fragments of

glass or coral--odd shapes that are very sharp and interlocking,"

Mars dust would be very similarThis sharp dust would cause many problems

to machinery and astronaunts

Costs

NASA budget 15 billion per year 20 billion per year for Pentagon satellites and rockets

Who pays this? Taxpayers

Martian Rovers 820 Million dollars for both

Costs (continued)

Apollo Missions One Apollo Mission cost 25 Billion in 1960

Approximately 100 Billion in today’s dollars

Human Mars Mission/ Moon Mission estimated at about 500 Billion Dollars

Risks

Apollo 11 – didn’t make the moon and almost lost the whole crew

Challenger and Columbia space shuttlesOnly 50 % of missions to Mars reach Mars

safelyHazard in Space and on Mars

HumanHumanMachineMachine

Can make independent judgements

More costly missions

More risk involved

Doesn’t need food, drink, sleep or emotional support

CheaperLess risk involvedMore limited in

what it can do on the surface of Mars

Human vs Machine

Mars Curosity

Landed on Mars Costs 2.5 Billion over

8 year projectCreated jobs,

technology, and increases our knowledge of Mars

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html