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On April 21, 2008, while he was speaking during for NASA’s 50th Anniversary lecture series at George Washington University, Stephen Hawking, a famed astrophysicist stated that if the human race should continue for more than other million years, they have to have courage and go where no person has gone before (nss.org, 2008). The topic of this lecture series was on “the reason why we should go into Space”. This view is confirmed by various distinguished scientists such as Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, Bill Nye, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
According to them, establishing a permanent colony of the human being today is not an option, but a necessity for the survival of the humankind. To validate their argument, they offer an example of dinosaurs. The second argument relates to innovative discoveries by human beings when compared with the robots (Orwig, 2015). According to Bill Nye, the CEO of Planetary Society as the human being makes discoveries 10,000 times faster than the best robots that are available today. For example, the life as today exists on the Earth was originated from Mars. According to the experts, the rocks that were rich with micro-organisms were ejected from the surface of the planet and made their way to Earth (Orwig, 2015). The third argument that is given to support the Mars mission is to understand Earth (McSween, 2009).
The fourth argument that is given to support this contention is that the cutting-edge technology that is developed can be used in various sectors of the society. The fifth and final argument related to this topic includes the dominance in the space as part of economic and political leadership policy throughout the world. The first reason behind the necessity to go to Mars is the colonization of the planet to ensure the survival of mankind as the species (Orwig, 2015).
Survival of the mankind as species
Elon Musk, who founded Space X, once stated when he was giving an interview to Phil Plait, a Slate Science blogger and astronomer that at for their survival human beings need to be a multi-planet species (Orwig, 2015). He further says that putting a human being on various planets would ensure their existence for thousands of years from now. To validate his point, he gives the example of dinosaurs who roamed the earth for more than 165 million years, but today the only trace of them includes their fossilized remains. If an asteroid hits the earth, the presence of mankind would be wiped out if this action is not taking in near future (Orwig, 2015). As the length of the day on Mars is similar to Earth and contains water in the form of ice, it remains the ideal target for future settlement. The second argument is related to innovative discoveries by human beings when compared with the robots (Orwig, 2015).
Discovery of life on Mars planet
Although various space organizations have sent machines and robot on the surface of Mars, the main intention should be to send a trained human being for exploration. According to Bill Nye, the CEO of Planetary Society this step should be given priority as when compared with the best robots developed today, the rate of discovery is 10,000 times faster by a trained human being (Orwig, 2015). One of the major discoveries that should be made or determined remains the existence of life on Mars. According to experts, to determine this issue, it is necessary to dig much deeper than the capability of the current robots or machines and it can be only done by the human beings (Orwig, 2015). The third argument in favor of this topic includes the According to experts the life as it today exists on the Earth was primarily originated from Mars. In his books and other works, Christopher Impey, a famed British astronomer speculates that some Mars rocks with rich micro-organisms were ejected from the surface of the planet somehow and were successful in making their way to Earth (Orwig, 2015). Today we can get such Mars rocks from various regions of the Earth. However, to validate this theory, it is necessary to visit Mars, do deep research and find life on Mars (Orwig, 2015). The third argument provided to support human mission to Mars is to understand the past, present and future of Earth (Kounaves, 2014).
To understand the past, present, and future of Earth
According to the scientists, in Solar System, Mars is the only planet that is most similar to Earth. In the past, when its atmosphere was thicker like Earth, Mars used to be a wet and warm planet (Orwig, 2015). To understand the reasons behind the current climate of the planet it is necessary that the human being should do a comprehensive study of Mars and determine the reasons behind its current condition (Orwig, 2015). The surface of Mars, like the surface of the Earth, changed under the influence of weather factors, water and ice. In this now dry world, once flowed rivers. Above the desert landscape, huge volcanoes, the largest but the entire solar system, are piling up. In those places where the surface gave cracks, wide valleys spread out. As on the Moon, there are many craters on Mars. These contours of the surface formed in ancient times, about 3.8 billion years ago, when the surface of the moons and planets was bombarded by meteorites (Bluck, 2005).
Mars is the following Earth planet, if you count from the Sun, and the only cosmic world except the Moon, which can already be reached with modern rockets. For astronauts, this journey of 4 years could be the next frontier in the study of outer space, the boundary that will be overcome in the 21st century. At the first stage of the implementation of this international program on the surface of Mars, possibly without human intervention, observation stations will be built. Mars is passing through its orbit around the Sun during our two years. Seasons on Mars are very similar to the earth. In winter, astronomers observe ice caps formed in the northern and southern hemispheres. In summer, warm winds raise the strongest dust storms all over the planet.
Thus, it would be possible to understand and save the future of Earth. The fourth argument that is given to support this contention is that the cutting-edge technology that is developed can be used in various sectors of the society.
Use of cutting-edge technology in other sectors
The cutting-edge technology that is developed can be used in various sectors of the society. For example, Alexander Kumar, a renowned British doctor states that only after pushing the mankind to its limits, the human beings can make various discoveries in science as well as technology used to improve the condition of people (Orwig, 2015). One of the best examples can be given of the blurred images provided by Hubble telescope during first three years in space. Although this problem was fixed during 1993, the scientists came up with a computer algorithm that programmed to extract as much as information as it was possible out of these blurry images. Later, this program was also used for early detection of breast cancer (Orwig, 2015). The fifth and final argument in support of this topic includes the dominance in the space as part of economic and political leadership policy throughout the world.
Space technology as part of economic and political policy
Today, the continuous advance and dominance of the space technology remain an important part of the economic and political policy of every nation. For example, when Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon, it displayed the economic and political power of the USA and heralded its arrival as Superpower throughout the world. Send man on Mars would emphasize this power throughout the world.
Conclusion
The human settlement on Mars remains an inevitable part of science-fiction since its demarcation in the popular literature as well as a long-standing dream of mankind. However, today when there are many nations who have sent successful missions to Mars, the next level every space organization is preparing for is sending a man to Mars in order to conquer the next frontier in space.
- Bluck, John (July 5, 2005). “NASA Field-Tests the First System Designed to Drill for Subsurface Martian Life”. NASA. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
- Briggs, Helen (February 15, 2008). “Early Mars ‘too salty’ for life”. BBC News. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
- Golden, D. C.; et al. (2004). “Evidence for exclusively inorganic formation of magnetite in Martian meteorite ALH84001” (PDF). American Mineralogist. 89 (5–6): 681–695
- Kounaves, S. P.; et al. (2014). “Identification of the perchlorate parent salts at the Phoenix Mars landing site and implications”. Icarus. 232: 226–231
- McSween, Harry Y.; Taylor, G. Jeffrey; Wyatt, Michael B. (May 2009). “Elemental Composition of the Martian Crust”. Science. 324 (5928): 736–739.
- nss.org, (2008). Stephen Hawking: “Why We Should Go Into Space” [Video]. The National Space Society vision is people living and working in space. Available at: http://www.nss.org/resources/library/spacepolicy/hawking.htm [Accessed December 22, 2017].
- Orwig, J., (2015). 5 undeniable reasons humans need to colonize Mars – even though it’s going to cost billions. Business Insider. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.in/5-undeniable-reasons-humans-need-to-colonize-Mars-even-though-its-going-to-cost-billions/articleshow/47002458.cms [Accessed December 22, 2017].