AES74 Mission: Mars

With Space Industries interest on deploying a manned mission to the Red Planet, and growing public interest in the new age of Space Exploration,

There’s been a lot of talk of, “Why Mars?” What can a desolate planet of dust and rocks offer us? And why do we want to establish a human colony there in the near future?

Dr. Robert Zubrin from NASA addressed this question at a public talk, saying that there are 3 main reasons that Mars is a priority for Space Programs.

 

1. It’s where the Science is

Mars was once a warm and wet planet, similar to the early developments of Earth. And it has been confirmed that liquid water has been present in Mars for a billion years. This can provide insight into the theory that a certain combination of water and other elements, given time could develop life.

If we discovered evidence of past living creatures that went extinct in Mars, then we can conclude that life is a general occurrence in the Universe, and if we don’t find evidence of past life, that too can be evidence that life might not be a natural occurrence, and there must be other factors that plays into it’s development. Either way, Mars could answer one of the most profound question of the Human Race,

“Are we alone in the universe?”

 

1. The Challenge

Societies are like individuals, we grow when we challenge ourselves, we stagnate when we do not.

“In times of great need, the wise build bridges while the fools build barriers”

The world today seems like it only builds barriers that enhance problems, we are so caught up with petty differences that we forget that we are not doing things that actually matter. With today’s technology and societies, we should have gotten past this stage of hate long ago, so we need a reminder, a signal of hope, something that we all can be proud of.

What better, more exciting way of human achievement than exploring new worlds?

The amount of kids that can be inspired by this is huge. Public interest in Space Exploration can make ground for a smart and dedicated generation. The youth of today may be interplanetary explorers if we keep improving and pushing forward.

 

1. It’s The Future

Incredibly, Mars has all of the resources and material that makes it possible for human colonization. Can you imagine how amazing it would be to see this milestone in our lifetime? Hopefully when this happens it would wake up the world, force us to look past our petty differences and conflicts, and send a clear message to the whole world,

that we are all one race, Human.

Dr. Robert Zubrin also mentioned something interesting, 500 years from now, people will still remember who made that first step towards a new world, their world. Who made it possible for them to advance in the way that they did.

This is the most important thing to do in our lives. Build something that will better the lives of future generations. Most of the problems this world faces are mistakes that are made because people didn’t care about the consequences of their actions. So don’t just think about the present, and what you can take from it. But think of the future, of what you can give to them.