posted 11-11-2010 01:55 PM
Do you think that only visiting the moon once or twice would have provided the funding and continued the impetus for a Mars mission?
moorouge Member
Posts: 2458 From: U.K. Registered: Jul 2009
posted 11-11-2010 01:55 PM
Short answer - no.
onesmallstep Member
Posts: 1313 From: Staten Island, New York USA Registered: Nov 2007
posted 11-12-2010 04:26 PM
If you take a 'what if' scenario and lay out the following, it would still be 'no':
Apollos 11 and 12 are highly successful, and NASA (and especially the Nixon Administration) say 'Mission Accomplished!' for JFK's goal to landing and returning men from the Moon before the decade's end;
The Soviets develop and launch their N-1 Moon rocket and hardware shortly after, the hammer & sickle being placed on the Moon by cosmonauts instead of Luna probes;
The Nixon Administration, seeing that the 'space race' is essentially over, begins to consider NASA's next manned program: a shuttle; space station; or trip to Mars. Never a big supporter of the projects he 'inherited' from JFK & LBJ, he chooses a Mars trip done with other nations (being an internationalist at heart) as 'his' program, with a stripped-down station (Skylab) and a no-frills lifting-body type shuttle;
With Vietnam still on the front pages, Nixon starts to wind down America's involvement and begins to focus on domestic issues, concentrating on his reelection and his 'enemies list' - the end result, Watergate;
Ford takes over the White House, and sees in front of him two documents: Nixon's pardon, and a budget proposal that would eliminate the Mars mission due to economic and practical reasons (A goal to reach Mars set by a disgraced former President?). Ford signs off on both.
moorouge Member
Posts: 2458 From: U.K. Registered: Jul 2009
posted 11-12-2010 05:25 PM
Just as a thought - if you haven't read "The Throne of Saturn" by Alan Dury you should. This explains the 'what if'.
Duke Of URL Member
Posts: 1316 From: Syracuse, NY Registered: Jan 2005
posted 12-27-2010 12:05 PM
I was under the impression that Lyndon Johnson was a space enthusiast.
garymilgrom Member
Posts: 1966 From: Atlanta, GA Registered: Feb 2007
posted 12-27-2010 01:02 PM
Thrones of Saturn is NOT a "what if" technical overview, it is a biased political treatise written during the Vietnam war to discredit those with liberal beliefs.
A more applicable question in this forum might be "what could the Saturn V have lifted to Mars". Analysis of the different vehicle weights and mode options for this scenario might be interesting. And don't forget the human side - I can't see anyone happy about inhabiting Apollo CM-sized living quarters for months at a time.
moorouge Member
Posts: 2458 From: U.K. Registered: Jul 2009
posted 12-28-2010 01:41 PM
quote:Originally posted by garymilgrom: Thrones of Saturn is NOT a "what if" technical overview, it is a biased political treatise written during the Vietnam war to discredit those with liberal beliefs.
Explain!
jasonelam Member
Posts: 691 From: Monticello, KY USA Registered: Mar 2007
posted 12-28-2010 02:17 PM
Another book with the idea of abbreviating the Apollo program is "Voyage" by Stephen Baxter. Takes a rather interesting approach, with the cancellation of the Apollo program after 14, a lunar US/Soviet mission and a Mission to Mars using Apollo, Skylab and even Shuttle (in the form of the External Tanks and SRB's) hardware.
AusSpace Member
Posts: 25 From: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Registered: Nov 2010
posted 12-28-2010 07:07 PM
I think this is the best artistic interpretation I've seen done on an Apollo derived Mars mission.
posted 11-11-2010 01:55 PM
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