The Dream Palace of the Space Cadets - Dr Jeffrey F Bell

For as long as there have been fantastical claims about space colonization, there have been those who needed to keep people grounded in the realities of those fanatical claims.

We were recently introduced to the works of one of our predecessors in this endeavour, and have decided to pay that favour forward.

[jameskelly]

One detail that always gets over looked is "wear and tear" on the space suits. The Apollo suits only needed to survive a few days on the lunar surface. And they barely did. The suits used on the ISS are periodically returned to Earth for refurbishment.
If we are going to colonize the moon or travel to Mars we need a way to refurbish these suits, or build new ones on site. Any Mars mission would be doomed for that one reason.

[kylewollman]

It's not all that surprising that a lot of today's space enthusiasts aren't science or tech literate. A lot of people a fascinated by popularized versions of science (the 'I fucking love science' crowd) without fully understanding or appreciating how hard and boring the actual work of science can be. Even more people are clueless about how most technology works and think that since we have smartphones, technology can be used to solve any problem, so space must not be that hard as long as we just get good enough technology.

[archibaldhernandez]

Man do I hate discovering a brilliant person after their death. Thanks CSS for introducing me to Dr Bell!

[jbidd]

From "Rocket Man" by Elton John: "I miss the Earth so much I miss my wife -- it's lonely out in space on such a timeless flight" and "Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids, in fact it's cold as hell -- And there's no one there to raise them if you did"

[smaakjeks]

#5: The child sitting down in the moon dust would be a huge problem for safely cleaning the bloody suit after use. The particulates are incredibly fine and sharp edged, and inhaling them is dangerous. The scene is presented like a happy frolic, but is actually the space equivalent of a child playing in asbestos.
#6: With no moisture at all present on the lunar surface, how is this kid making sandcastles out of the moon dust? Sure, the regolith sticks together somewhat, due to the aforementioned sharp edges of the particulate. That's why boot prints came out clean and crisp when stepping in it. However, sandcastles would be a tall order.

[pawnfish]

Starship - bankrupt in credibility and now approaching bankruptcy in finance. The Starship cargo cult web sites are in crisis. CSS does another marvelous presentation!

[FLAC]

I am an ex Navy pilot, now an ER doc... certainly no rocket scientist, and even I since young sensed that we as currently designed, are going nowhere...
Ty for your channel, I really can't get enough of it!!! I wish you could get into more specifics in many of your videos but I know that would be a turn off for some...
Keep up the good work!

[nebufabu]

Didn't know he died... RIP Jeffrey F. Bell.
ADD: It's also quite ironic that Bell was actually quite supportive of Musk, and argued Falcon was the only privately developed launch vehicle with any chance of success. I always wondered what he thought of it when Musk revealed himself, as, in a way, the most megalomaniacal space cadet of them all...
ADD2: and, come to think of it, it tells a lot about 90s-early 2000s "alt-space" community that Elon Musk, of all people, was known for his understated designs and conservative goals.

[MountainFisher]

I stopped the video at 2:00 to go get a popsicle so I can enjoy the video with a snack. I'm back and it is an issue I considered and discussed with other people. It is surprising how many people say they'd take a one way ticket to Mars. I wonder how they'd feel after they watched this video and contemplated losing much of their vision and having probable irreparable osteoporosis. Oh and dying on Mars much sooner than they expected the most probable outcome.

I remember reading Heinlein's The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress and how they lived into their 100s because of less gravity. It wouldn't be like that at all. I worked in the Aerospace field for most of my career until 1998. I'm a retired bio-engineer and we worked on zero G biology. I remember reading papers from Apollo to Sky Lab, health issues started to pop up from zero gravity not to mention the occasional gamma particle would shoot through the back of your eyes. I can imagine months on Mars' 3/8ths gravity would not help much. It is hard to believe that no one in that whole milieu doesn't know this. Well maybe they do and they're leaving the show.

[gibtsnicht]

Dreams are always great.
The problems come when they begin to replace reality.

[TheSonic]

Dr Jeffrey F Bell and myself are sharing the same frustrations with each other and I am mentally wraping my arm around him in full support and agreeence. This man entered deep into my soul from beyond the grave and is my spirit animal. God rest his soul already wishing he was still here never even met the guy.

[Critical-Thinker]

A great presentation. I didn't know about Dr. Bell so I'll have to follow up on that some. Thank you for all you do.

[grahamstevenson]

Funny that you should mention the 1950s. I recall sci-fi comics from that era (also the early 1960s) and the spaceships that feature in them uncannily resemble Mush's imaginations, even to the extent of incorporating significant areas of glazing. They tend often to land like an airliner (belly down so to speak) as well as vertically in those stories.

The BIG difference though is that no-one I can remember ever took them terribly seriously back then. They were good yarns, entertaing stories but no more. It seems Mr Mush and his ilk have a problem comprehending reality and its separation from fiction.

[v.f.]

Let's hope no-one dies for that man. That would be a disaster for Tesla Stock.

[for]

this is going to be EPIC. can't wait

[gawdsuniverse]

It speaks volumes about a person intellect, by what are their beliefs. For a person to believe that Mars can be turned into another Earth is as stupid as believing in witchcraft. These people would have been witch burners 400 years ago, today instead of religion they are now true believers in Science even tho most of them don't have even the most basic understanding of how the real world works. The belief is that if only enough money is spent, anything can be achieved with willpower, research and endless innovations.

[trucksanddirt]

Another excellent piece. This channel should be the number 1 place to go for journalists.

[WaxPaper]

Every time I hear someone use the "insurance policy for humanity" argument, I get frustrated. It would be SO much easier to launch a program like that here on earth, to start building underground arks and shelters that could house hundreds of thousands of people. There aren't many natural disasters that can't be survived by going underground for years. And there aren't many scenarios that result in the planet itself being destroyed.

It would be so much easier to build that insurance policy here on earth (probably cheaper, too), but of course nobody's getting excited for that. We have the technology right here, right now, to preserve the human race from most forms of extinction. The fact that we lack the will should give people an idea of how likely we are to colonize Mars.

[videopipeline]

Anyone else find it ironic that a guy who is perhaps the world's most prominent advocate/pitchman for fully autonomous vehicles is also the world's most prominent advocate/pitchman for not just one, but many, *manned* missions to Mars? Fully autonomous vehicles make widespread exploration of Mars possible for a tiny fraction of the cost of a single manned mission.

[mshotz]

I remember reading O'Neil's writings in the 1970's. Spurred my imagination. I always hoped I'd be living in a space station at my age now. But I'm stuck on this rock with Musk Fanboi's