E.P. Grondine wrote:
Amazing. You're claiming von Braun proposed no in-situ use of oxygen or water which he imagined Mars to have. Yeah, right, punk.

Chris' reply:
How is this amazing? How old are you? I mean are you a little kid or on medication or something? It was the 1950s and at that time no one had confidents in exactly what they would find at Mars. It was still possible to imagine "humanoids" living on Mars.

E.P. Grondine wrote:
Also, in von Brauns' second scheme the rocket itself was nuclear powered, just as at least one of Zubrin's designs was. Afraid of alienating the anti-nuke folks by mentioning this?

Chris' reply:
Yes, von Braun was of the era of a nuke in every house, nuclear powered planes and power so cheap it wouldn't be metered. Go read some history books then come back slightly more informed. Zubrin's Ph.D. thesis was on a Tokamak Fusion Reactors. BTW, I also didn't mention the peroxide powering of the tractors this must of been in fear of offending blondes...8-)

E.P. Grondine wrote:
You do not need to spend my money to send men to Mars to find out whether it has water or not. This can be accomplished at far less cost with robots.

Chris' reply:
Again your uniformed opinion is worth what? Robots are a fine first step, but Nick Hoffman or any geologist here would attest a man on the ground is worth dozens if not hundreds of robots... I live in the USA, where do you live? I imagine there are many people who read this list all over the world. If you object to the use of your tax money in Mars Exploration complain to the Congress or governing body it's your job! BTW, I suspect they would think you a crank if you write as you do here.

--Chris Vancil