Should We Colonize Mars?

People like Elon Musk awe and inspire people. This man has spent his career – and a great deal of money – to work towards making space travel accessible for the average person. Musk has worked to make space travel more accommodating to passengers. Recently, he successfully sent a team of astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) with his company SpaceX. Among many of his professional goals, he is working towards commercializing space travel. He wants to make it so that the regular, everyday person can travel into space for a leisurely trip. He also captivates the imaginations of many when he speaks of colonies on Mars.

Dreams and accomplishments aside, we must ask the question, “Should we colonize Mars?” There are implications beyond our imagination to such a task.

Colonizing Mars would show the achievements of humanity. How we have pushed advancements in technology to do things we had previously only dreamed of. Indeed, it would show how far we, as the human race, have come. It would be a celebration for everyone. To colonize Mars would demonstrate our command over space travel as well as our ability to sustain life in an environment we have not evolved to adapt to.

Is it a good idea though? There are so many problems here on Earth we have yet to solve. Technology is wonderful, and pushing it to its limit to accomplish new goals is amazing. Why not use such technology to address problems here on Earth then? What is the advantage to colonizing Mars? Many resources will be used to send a mission to Mars, but so much more will be used in building a way to send supplies or further people to help in the colonization effort. It is not a one-time deal. It will be a continuous project, spanning lifetimes, costing an exorbitant amount of money.

Why not use that time and those resources here on Earth? We could use technology to create a more sustainable life for people on Earth. Instead of using technology to grow plants on another planet, why don’t we use similar technology here on Earth? This way we could eat healthy food year-round, and even provide food to people who cannot access it otherwise. Solar power is another type of technology that is used for space missions. We have also seen increased use here on Earth. Solar energy is a clean, sustainable energy source. If anything, we should continue to push its progress here on Earth for many people to enjoy.

While not only traveling to but colonizing Mars seems like a science fiction dream, and a major accomplishment for humanity, maybe we should hold off on it until we have increased the quality of life on Earth. Space travel has produced many useful technological advancements, with which people have been able to increase their quality of life here on Earth. Yes, the idea of colonizing Mars and all the work we can do towards that goal is a good idea, but first, we should use the technological advancements to improve our lives on Earth.

Bernadette

Vocabulary

commercialize (v) – to make (something) available to customers
captivate (v) – to attract and hold the attention of (someone) by being interesting, pretty, etc.
implication (n) – a possible future effect or result
exorbitant (adj.) – going far beyond what is fair, reasonable, or expected; too expensive, etc.
sustainable (n) – able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed