Despite the numerous technical and medical-biological problems it would face, a manned mission to Mars is being spoken about with more and more certainty. Yet it is unclear why we should take such great risks to land astronauts on the Red Planet. Nor do we know whether the huge costs of such an expedition would ever be recouped.
Yury Semyonov, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and former General Designer at the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, believes that the expedition to Mars is of great importance for this country. It is just such ambitious projects, he argues, that keep the national space program afloat. Over 200 companies, employing tens of thousands of highly skilled workers, currently collaborate on manned space missions; their involvement in a Mars program would help solve many of the social problems facing Russian industry, and lend much-needed stimulation to the country's flagging hi-tech sector.
Russia is currently facing a flight of expertise, as young scientists and technicians leave to seek opportunities abroad. Only ambitious scientific programs could provide enough opportunities to halt the brain drain and attract new talent. Even so, it is still unclear whether we should send astronauts to Mars.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment