Imagine there were no Shuttle flights nor Space station (kinda like in Stephen Baxter's books), but a manned Mars program.
There would only be 4 astronauts in space every 2 years (instead of 70 or so).
No tourism in space, because of no space station to go to.
Those 4 astronauts will be forgotten by the world, while on their way to Mars (IF everything goes well).
Once near and on Mars, there'd be some interest, but at the dawn of the seventh Sol, once again, they'll be forgotten. And this, until the moment of departure (when the world will suddenly realize there had been humans on Mars) and then oblivion again, until they are back (IF ALL GOES WELL).
The Moon? Fine, yes, ok, let's go back there but please, build suits that don't attract dust (same goes for asteroids, BTW, and Mars). The Moon will also become boring (and even before one Lunar day had passed), if all goes well.
Actually, the feeling of boredom doesn't come from the nature of a flight, but from one's own perception.
If you are bored by LEO, you'll get bored by TMI (Trans-Mars-Injection)
I would love to see a view from a helmet TV camera of an astronaut traveling from the bottom of the payload bay to the tip of the station, unattached, testing the SAFER unit on his back. Would this be boring?
Raoul
Space/Science » in reply to Why SkyLab II hurts space exploration
Re: Why Boredom will always be there