Technological advancements have made it conceivable for NASA to begin human missions to Mars by 2030 (“NASA’s Bolden”). The scientific community is working diligently on ways to reduce the cost of colonizing Mars, but undoubtedly it will cost billions of dollars to establish and maintain a permanent colony on the planet. Although opponents of space colonization believe it’s a waste of money to invest in Mars, Mars colonization has the potential to alleviate the overpopulated Earth's declining resources of water, fossil fuels, food and jobs.
The demand on earth for its resources at this current level is one that will be impossible to maintain in the future. Global warming is clear evidence that the current global population and industrialization has put the sustainability of Earth in doubt. The UN predicts the world’s population will reach 9.6 billion by 2050 (“Challenges”). The urgency to establish a habitable colony on Mars was made clear by NASA chief Charles Bolden. "If this species is to survive indefinitely, we need to become a multi-planet species; we need to go to Mars, and Mars is a stepping stone to other solar systems” (Smith).
Mars rovers have made many monumental discoveries while canvassing and sampling the red planet’s surface which has lead scientists to believe Mars is a good candidate for terraforming. Terraforming is a word used to describe the process of engineering a planet into an environment that supports human, animal and plant life similar to here on Earth (Kunzig).
The ability to feasibly terraform and colonize Mars is dependent on the accessibility to an abundance of water. While images of Mars give the appearance that it’s a barren dessert wasteland, water lies just beneath the surface. Mars possesses v...
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The air in Mars is really thin and if there was any liquid on mars it would all boil through. There is low oxygen and it is impossible to breath. The martian clouds contain crystals of water ice. The air is so thin That water droplets cannot form in Mars Atmosphere. Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth, Scientist measured if you times Mount Everest three times it would equal how the air is on Mars. When the air is that thin water can boil at low temperatures and near its freezing
I’ll use the LexisNexis and EBSCOhost databases, available through the Ivy Tech library. I will also use the reference librarians at the Tippecanoe Public, as they are an invaluable research tool. I will use reports from NASA, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and other governmental resources. I will send questions to aerospace firms and elected officials, asking about their thoughts and what their goals are. I will read books, articles, and proposals written by experts on the topic. One such book is Mission to Mars by Buzz Aldrin, an Apollo astronaut. Through this research I will find the facts, and then I will make arguments based on those
I believe that it is possible for Mars to have the ability to support life because of the possibility of there being water increases the probability of organisms being able to exist on Mars’ ecosystem, therefore the chance of Mars being able to sustain life. Furthermore, even if water never did or will, as a matter of fact, exist on Mars there is a chance that an organism is able to survive without it.
In going along with this plan, there will be more demand for scientists and engineers alike. Engineers will build the manned bases and vessels, while scientists occupy them and gather data to benefit the world. In this way, NASA will be able to see if it is possible to make Mars the next “Earth”, making plans to help make that a reality if this does happen. “Through space exploration and innovative thinking, NASA has injected science and inspiration into our culture and projected us into the future” (Haberle).
Mars is most likely planet that has the ingredients of life that is need for a living organism in the solar system other than the known planet Earth. These ingredients of life are the following. The planet in question must be at the correct distance from a host star. Mars is a planet that is on the outer edge of being correct distance of its host star. Next item is that the planet must have water. Mars has water but its water is frozen in the planet ice caps or under the soil. Last is that the planet must have an atmosphere that is suitable for living organisms. Mars’s atmosphere is weak and it is being blown away by the solar winds form the host star. (""Life" on Mars") With Mars’s weak atmosphere the surface temperature of the planet is every cold and the water on the surface of plane...
Today, USA. “NASA: 50 Planets may Support Life.” Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Feb 03 2011. ProQuest. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Buzz Aldrin once said “Mars has been flown by, orbited, smacked into, radar examined, and rocketed into, as well as bounced upon, rolled over, shoveled, drilled into, baked and even blasted. Still to come: Mars being stepped on.” While the verity in this matter is true, it still demonstrates the lack of progress produced by NASA. NASA, a publicly funded program, has been experiencing a deficit in funds due to the increased importance in other programs like education or healthcare. To address this issue, the leaders of technology and innovation- John Bezoes for Blue ORigin; Richard Branson for Virgin Galactic; and most importantly Elon Musk for SpaceX- have stepped up to fill in the need of more capital in space funds.
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun at about 228 million-km (141 million miles) and the last terrestrial planet from the sun. The next five planets in order from the sun are gaseous. Mars follows closely behind Earth but is comparatively smaller, with about half the diameter of Earth and about one-tenth of Earth’s mass. Thus the force of gravity on Mars is about one-third of that on Earth. Though it is much smaller, Mars does have the same surface land area as Earth. Other than Earth, Mars posses the most highly varied and interesting known terrain in our solar system. The surface of Mars is a very hostile place however it is more like Earth’s surface than any other planet in our solar system.
With that, comes the possibility of advancements in Art, Culture, Science, and Self-discovery. Dr. Bartlett dramatically proves that the population will reach an endcap; there is only so much room on this planet to hold humanity. During the video I found myself thinking about what the advancements in science and technology have been like in the past 60-70 years. Well, we have the onset of computers, the internet, landing a man on the moon, and more recently, exploring the possibility of sending people to Mars. That brings up an interesting concept; a human colony on Mars. Even if we did create other places to live though, the exponential function still applies, and growth would still occur. It is likely though, by that time other events would have taken place to alter the outcome. The exponential functions are only accurate so far before they become improbable and something changes. Switching topics, the Dr. also reviewed the population’s use of resources. I would like to point out that I don’t disagree with anything that Dr. Bartlett said; I just see a different future. I believe that solar energy is the way to go. Covering approximately 20% of my property is solar
Terraforming has been explored in science fiction for years, but improving technology, along with concerns such as population growth and expenditure of natural resources, are causing terraforming to become a possibility. Population growth is the most obvious reason for terraforming. The world’s population is expected to rise steadily for the next 50 years; although the rate of population growth decreases slightly each year, the world population is estimated to increase by about half its current size between 2004 and 2050 (1). Barring any disaster that could cause a dramatic population decrease, humans will eventually overrun the amount of space available on Earth. Another concern is the availability of the Earth’s natural resources. Humans use Earth’s resources for energy and commodities. According to the Living Planet Report 2002, approximately 20% more resources than can be naturally replenished are harvested from the Earth each year. If this rate continues, two Earths would be required to supply resources by the year 2050; if the rate of overconsumption increases, resources will run out even sooner (2). These figures indicate that humans must find another source of resources to support themselves. Successful attempts at terraforming would have huge social consequences for humanity. A parallel could be drawn between settling another planet and the settlement of the American colonies. There could be wars between countries to claim the territory similar to those waged in the so-called “New World”. Also, a new government would have to be established to bring order to the new territory. A colony on another planet would probably become an elitist colony. Only powerful countries would be able to afford to partake in ...
Recently, two probes were sent back and they made it to Mars. They landed on the South Polar Caps of Mars. That is where NASA plans to find water. After landing on Mars, the probes extracted water like crystals from the surface of Mars. They found that there was a small amount of water in the crystals, which means that there is a strong chance that life, was on Mars at one time.
Terraforming is “the purposeful alteration of the physical environment to increase its habitability for humans.” (David, Leonard). The planet Mars could be terraformed more easily than other planets because it is believed to be the planet most like Earth. Hundreds of millions of years ago, Mars had an environment more like Earth’s, with a thicker atmosphere and more water. (Terraforming of Mars). Additionally, other similarities between the two planets are found in their temperature ranges, the presence of water, and the length of their days.
Humans can expect to face some major challenges on an expedition to Mars. It has been proven that humanity can travel in space for over two years. Cumulatively, Sergei Constantinovich Krikalev, a Russian cosmonaut, has spent over eight-hundred and three days in Earth orbit (Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 2005). The expedition to Mars would require the crew to endure a six month journey to the planet, a year of living on the planet, and a six months journey back to Earth. Russian cosmonaut, Valery V. Polyakoz, clocking in at four-hundred and thirty-eight days for just one stay in Earth orbit, shows humanity is capable of a twelve month round trip to Mars (Schwirtz, 2009). Earth's orbit has provided some benefits to space exploration, like the magnetic field from cosmic radiation, and the proximity to Earth if an emergency were to arise (Jones, 2009). The further humans travel away from Earth the greater the risks become. The major risks to human health on a flight to Mars, living on Mars, and returning to Earth are: radiation exposure, biological problems induced by weightlessness, spacecraft malfunctions, and psychological problems brought on by isolation.
NASA’s planned missions to Mars, should it come to fruition, will be the furthest distance any human being has ever traversed. While this is an impressive feat in and of itself, it becomes even more so when one takes into acco...