Remember to claim dibs on the Indiana Jones felt Fedora.

I was talking about commercialised space travel a few days ago. I asked my s/o if she would go on a space flight given the chance. She hates flying and predictably said no, but I love the idea. If I were to live long enough for the technology to be feasible, I would even take the week long round-trip to the moon and back. Three days each way in a stuffy tin can would probably be my favorite vacation ever.
I’ve already gone cross country in a Greyhound. Two days, twenty-two uncomfortable hours each way, and the available food was worse than protein paste from a plastic tube! I won’t even try to describe the smells.

I read recently that a (scientific) school of thought regards human expansion of the solar system or wider galaxy, as very likely. Not because of our enquiering scientific minds; but because we act like a virus – we drain the host then move on!

We’re killing off the earth and need a new host. Crimps!!

We are just viruses on a solar scale … according to this school.

Then again – if Zubrin wasn’t invited he’d be pissed and that would launch a Zubrin vs. Branson Mars race. Though Zubrin has much less cash, he has the more developed plans for extracting fuel from the thin atmosphere as well as the wild eyed volunteers.

Branson on the other hand has money plus an artistic advantage of what he terms “spaceships” rather than the more practical “spacecraft”. “Spaceships” as you know are long, streamlined rockets in gleaming chrome with pointed nosecones and rakish tail fins that trace their original shape to the old German V2 or the movie “Destination Moon”.

BTW – its interesting note that many of the posts so far (including mine) are about going to Mars despite the joke. I think deep down, people want to be inspired and involved in a big “we just might do it” project.