From: ken.edgett@asu.edu (Ken Edgett)
Subject: humans-to-mars great Article
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 10:28:52 -0700 (MST)
Dear Mars Educators-- I'm back from a trip to Marslike settings in Utah and Idaho... I was given a really excellent article about sending humans to Mars that I think you should all see. If you plan to do more Mars stuff in the 97-98 school year, this article is practically "a must". "Dreams of a Distant Planet," by David Samuels, CIVILIZATION, pp. 58-66, June-July 1997. This magazine is "The Magazine of the Library of Congress"-- I have never heard of it before (shows how cultured *I* am), but you must try to get your hands on this article (its the cover story). The article focuses on a research team at NASA Johnson Space Center that is actively trying to get the US back on track for sending humans to Mars. The article does a great job of explaining that "we have the techonolyg, but do we still have the dream?" It talks about how the US killed the Apollo program, and how we could have done Mars a long time ago, had we not killed Apollo. But more important, it talks about what is being done NOW to get humans to Mars in our lifetime-- a "CAN" at NASA JSC where they seal people inside for months at a time, plans for fuel-producing experiments on the 2001 Mars lander, and discussion of how we could get people to Mars as soon as 2010! But do we have the money and the will? Is there disagreement within NASA about Dan Goldin's approach to Mars? These kinds of things are discussed. But you will probably most enjoy the part about one of the main people at JSC that is featured in the article-- who talks about how he got inspired about space exploration in the FOURTH GRADE (just like me). This has got to be one of the coolest Mars articles I have read all year. They even mention Molly's pub, a cool place to hang out when you are in the JSC Clear Lake City area... (assuming you are of legal drinking age, that is)... Anyway, please try to find a copy of this article. I would bet many libraries get it, since it is from the Library of Congress. DO YOU BELIEVE WE ARE LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY FROM LANDING ON MARS!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sincerely, a very psyched Ken Edgett Arizona Mars K-12 Education Program