I think so. I was talking to a friend at ESA the other day and he seemed to be pretty positive about getting to Mars soon.
Of course, getting /back/ from Mars is an entirely different proposition altogether. It's pretty likely the first man on Mars will be taking a one-way trip (and there are definitely people willing to do this).
Yeah, I read something about that being the opinion of Buzz Aldrin. But a on way trip seems like a hard sell. Doesn't the government have to approve something like that? Immigration, maybe? And it just doesn't some like a good PR move to approve that.
Thanks for that link. After reading it, I agree: a one-way mission would not be a "suicide mission" but more like a high-risk adventure. History has proven that many people relish these opportunities.
And it's not even that there might never be a chance for return; just that it's not part of any of the current planning. Would be attractive to the same sorts of people who in the 14th and 15th centuries sailed in wooden ships to the "new world"
I submitted a link to an article about it here, http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2478079 . I also linked to a couple of books, including one containing the linked article, To Boldly Go: A One-Way Human Mission to Mars, in a comment.
Of course, getting /back/ from Mars is an entirely different proposition altogether. It's pretty likely the first man on Mars will be taking a one-way trip (and there are definitely people willing to do this).