One way ticket to Mars?

40 years ago man first set foot on the moon. Ever since then, advocates of manned space exploration have had their eyes on the next logical destination...the planet Mars. But the technological challenges of going to Mars are much, much greater. Any voyage would take over a year. The radiation encountered in interplanetary space would probably doom the astronauts to a short lifespan. And the costs would be, well, astronomical. But the single biggest hurdle isn't, surprisingly, getting to Mars. It's getting back. Now some are suggesting a one-way journey, where NASA would continue to rocket supplies to Mars for the lifetime of the astronaut volunteers who would establish a base and live out the remainder of their lives doing science on the surface of Mars. Sounds crazy, but some are seriously advocating for the idea.

40 years ago man first set foot on the moon. Ever since then, advocates of manned space exploration have had their eyes on the next logical destination...the planet Mars. But the technological challenges of going to Mars are much, much greater. Any voyage would take over a year. The radiation encountered in interplanetary space would probably doom the astronauts to a short lifespan. And the costs would be, well, astronomical. But the single biggest hurdle isn't, surprisingly, getting to Mars. It's getting back. Now some are suggesting a one-way journey, where NASA would continue to rocket supplies to Mars for the lifetime of the astronaut volunteers who would establish a base and live out the remainder of their lives doing science on the surface of Mars. Sounds crazy, but some are seriously advocating for the idea.

Guest:

Lawrence Krauss, Director of the Origins Initiative at Arizona State University