Comment Re:Risk (Score 1) 108
While I'm not certain that the risk of death is the cause of the manned space program's demise, this is certainly the reason we haven't planned any manned missions to Mars. There are other branches of the military where the risk of death and the consequences are well accepted. For example, mining, offshore fishing and armed conflict all accept a certain level of risk due to the nature of the job. If politicians and the public accepted the risks then we could easily organize a 1 way trip to Mars with a remote possibility of getting a team back to earth within 10 years, presuming advances in technology and supplies sent via unmanned capsules.