hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to mars we go ....

i read an article today about the idea of going to mars ..... and not returning.

they likened it to christopher columbus who sailed off, not at all sure of where he was going or what he'd find. to a certain extent i agree with that thought. new explorations are necessarily into the unknown, and there's a real likelihood you won't make it back.

still .... the idea of going to mars -- as tantalizing as it seems at first -- would almost have to be really, really depressing. i mean, no clouds, no trees, no buildings, no animals. so much sameness. maybe someone who grew up in the sahara could handle it, but i'm pretty sure i could not.

they mused about the possibility that the only people willing to go on that one-way trip would be oldsters, who didn't really have that much to lose with not returning to earth. being with a bunch of oldsters might, in itself, be depressing, and sooner or later someone would get stuck taking care of everyone else.

a number of possibilities and many things to think about. if they knock on your door and ask if you want to go along for the ride, what are you going to say?