As you may know, I'm not talking about physical distance. First because Earth and Mars have different orbits around the sun, so this distance changes in their own planetary year (one spin around the sun); and second because I'm talking about technological distance.
We've bought this abstract idea that we're already space explorers. Not even close, dear reader. We're barely scratching the sky. Did we go to the Moon? That's not the point of this deliver. But what's actual proof is that we don't have the proper means. Even as we can predict many of the issues we'd face, and even to program a robot to do that trip, we're quite far from accomplishing it. And I'll explain why in simple terms.
What difficulties will we have to overcome?
Those were the last words of Walter Cunningham's (Apollo 7 astronaut) speech during the event I'm participating in: Starmus festival 2014, here in south Tenerife.
We've been listening to some of the greatest minds in the world: Stephen Hawking, Robert Wilson (Nobel), Richard Dawkins, Mark Boslough, Charlie Duke (Apollo 16 astronaut), Harold Kroto (Nobel), and many more. It's been inspiring to me to have the privilege to witness something this big.
