Buzz Aldrin: Cancel Ares, reprieve shuttle, colonise Mars

I thought the problem was that humans can't <i>get</i> to mars!<p>Because there is too much solar and cosmic radiation, and no one would survive the trip. And enough shielding to block it is too heavy to launch (from earth). Which is why we want to go to the moon first.

From what I hear, it seems like reprieving the shuttle isn't really an option. It's so out of date and unsafe that NASA isn't willing to use it anymore.<p>Sure there are problems with Ares, but isn't that what engineers are for?

Sounds like Obama needs to pull a "Kennedy" and define the goal. Amazing what smart people can do with a little vision.

Two questions:<p>1) why isn't the URL linking to the article on Popular Mechanics? (which is a lot better than this article)<p><a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4322647.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4322647.ht...</a><p>2) would someone care to explain what the point in colonising Mars is? Unmanned exploration of Mars would be a whole lot cheaper because robots don't need life-support systems. Moreover, losing a couple of robots is more acceptable than losing a couple of human astronauts. Sure, we could colonise Mars, but at what cost, and what for? In case Aldrin hasn't noticed, the USA is not in the same financial situation as in 1960.

Colonise Mars?<p>Coming from a man who's been in space, that is a stupid claim to do without first colonizing the moon and learning in the process.<p>Walk, run, fly.