Word: venusized
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...earth for an economical Hohmann-ellipse return, the crew would have to remain on Mars for more than a year -- increasing the mission length to what now seems an unbearably long 1,100 days. But with the expenditure of more fuel, the explorers could blast off earlier, head toward Venus and loop around it, using the planet's gravity to whip their craft toward earth at a higher speed. That would cut the mission time to 600 to 700 days...
...Venus route would also cause the craft to re-enter the earth's atmosphere at 80,000 m.p.h., in contrast to the returning Apollo's 25,000 m.p.h. "We're not sure we know how to build the appropriate heat shields," says Oberg. Also, at that speed, the astronauts would have a much smaller "window" for re-entering the atmosphere. "Come in too low, and you burn up," says Oberg. "Come in too high, and you overshoot. You miss the earth, and you'll never see it again." Other plans call for an unmanned cargo ship to precede the manned...
...British-born Physicist Freeman Dyson makes a spirited stand for optimism. Will our species end in fire or ice? Fire, the author concedes, would pose a difficult problem, but man might be able to overcome ice: "It is easier to keep warm on Pluto than to keep cool on Venus." Will we blow ourselves up? Probably not: "We shall abolish nuclear weapons, not by a sudden outburst of peace and goodwill but by a slow process of erosion. The weapons will be abolished as the missions for which they were designed come to seem unnecessary or absurd." And what...
...welcome March, welcome Spring, welcome Cupid, Eros, Venus, Aphrodite and all the gang. But remember, no one knows what lies in wait in the future. It's no fun being a corpse. So ask yourself, "Is it really worth it?" Just...
...best, it will take years before Gorbachev's program of freeing industry from Moscow's stifling central control results in any significant increase in the quantity and quality of goods reaching Soviet consumers. Gorbachev complains that "Soviet rockets can find Halley's comet and fly to Venus with amazing accuracy, but . . . many household appliances are of poor quality." The Soviet leader may be hard put to maintain the popular support he is counting on to overcome bureaucratic lethargy and opposition. Gauging public opinion in the U.S.S.R. is a highly uncertain art, but letters to the Soviet press often approve...