The Pros and Cons of Going to Mars

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Negative and Positive Aspects of Going to Mars

Whether it’s Lewis and Clark or Joe Schmoe, humans have always had a tendency to explore their surroundings. This has led humans to explore the earth up and down, uncovering every rock and looking in every hole along the way. However, thousands of years of exploration have led to earth becoming a tapped resource. Humans now may ask the question; where do we go from here? Many answers have been suggested but one answer stands out from the rest, Mars. Nowadays humans view Mars as the next frontier, apparently forgetting that Mars is an eight-month trip, each way. What people don’t realize is how good we have it here on earth; water, all the fossil fuels we need, and a great atmosphere all surround us. Although human travel to Mars may be the American dream, facts show that at this time, the trip is not in our country’s best interest.

NASA has sent humans into orbit, onto the moon, and most recently sent robots to Mars, so if anyone is going to send humans to Mars it will obviously be NASA. The only problem with this is the fact that NASA is in a troubled time right now. Less than six months ago the crash of Columbia shook not only NASA, but the American people as well. The Columbia tragedy brought déjà vu to many people, reminding them of the same horrors sustained through the Challenger crash of 1986. The Columbia crash forces NASA to make sure their next mission is flawless in order to preserve lives and their reputation. Sending a mission to Mars this soon after Columbia would raise much opposition from the public. Following the Challenger crash NASA didn’t fly for 10 years, and when they did fly it was a simple mission, one they had been doing for going on 30 years. A huma...

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...r with Iraq is costing the U.S. $5 billion a month”, which has led our country into “the largest budget deficit in history”. The United States simply can’t afford to sponsor a mission to Mars at this time.

At this time, the negatives far outweigh the positives of going to Mars. Us humans have everything we need here on earth. We have a breathable atmosphere, food, water, minerals, and all the fossil fuels we need. Not only do we have everything we need here but also this is where we came from and where our bodies have evolved to live. Sending humans to Mars screws with our genetic makeup, it’s simply not worth it. Although we are natural explorers, we will have to find a way to control that for a while and stick to what we have. Mars is not the next frontier. With all that earth still has to offer, a trip to Mars should not be mankind’s top priority at this time.

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