what are we waiting for then?

Continuing this science thing, it seems that Donald Pettit, one of the three astronauts to have gotten stuck on the space station for an extra couple months after the Columbia accident, has come to believe that it's possible for humans to endure a long space-flight and still be strong enough to operate a spacecraft well enough to go to Mars. So why aren't we?

"We were on orbit in a reduced-gravity environment for 5-1/2 months, about as long as a one-way trip to Mars," Pettit said. "We got in our own vehicle, piloted it down to Earth through an air-brake maneuver ... Without any help from the ground we secured the spacecraft, we opened the hatch, we crawled out ...

"All of this demonstrates human beings have enough physical strength and integrity to go on these long missions, pilot vehicles through operational paths, secure equipment and operate immediately," he said.

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