Humans Should Not Colonize Mars

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35 million miles away from the only planet humans have ever known, lies Mars. Within the red planet’s thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide, ferocious dust storms kick at the barren terrain. It is eternally cold; temperatures range from -120 to 25 degrees Celsius. Among the assortment of channels, plains, and canyons, Olympus Mons stands at twenty-one kilometers high, the tallest planetary mountain in the solar system. At its potentially active status, it could erupt at any moment. The gravity on Mars is only thirty-eight percent of what it is on Earth. Living on Mars would be drastically different to the comfort Earth provides, yet many are not deterred in the slightest. Projects in motion have been detailing the colonization of Mars, but it is not a good plan. Humans should not colonize Mars. …show more content…

An estimate of over 100 billion dollars would be necessary for a manned mission of six people sent to Mars, and that does not include the actual settlement onto the new planet. Scientists expect the expense to continue to rise. Simply put, colonizing Mars is too costly. “Establishing a colony on Mars is incredibly technically challenging and expensive,” explained Aaron Ridley, University of Michigan. A permanent station is not worth the price tag in this moment of time. It would be unnecessary and inefficient as it is not an answer to overpopulation, and it lacks economic motivation to accrue the finances in the first place. The money that would be used could be allocated into different missions that may yield similar innovation and

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