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Stone Russell

Doctor Mitchell

UWRT-1103

March 30, 2018

Why go to Mars and what are its implication?

As I started the process of determining my research question I decided to choose

something that was very controversial in todays time. Going to Mars has always been a dream of

mine as a little kid so I decided to see why todays top scientist are trying to get there and what

the implications of this said trip would be. The possible effects such a trip could have on

humanity is unmeasurable. Especially if certain things are found like aliens or materials that

could make a large difference on Earth.

To start I looked at Elon Musk who is one of the most well known and talked about

people at this time. Elon Musk created the space company SpaceX in 2002 to advance the world

of space exploration and to create a Mars colony of 2,000,000 people. SpaceX has done many

missions for National Aeronautics and Space Association like restocking the International Space

Station. SpaceX also has over 5000 employees, 3 completely reusable rockets, and access to the

worlds best launch site Kennedy Space Center (Company). This makes for a great track record,

so they must be a legit company but as I discovered they have very interesting motivations. Elon

Musk believes that “going to Mars is as urgent and crucial as lifting billions out of poverty or

eradicating deadly disease” (Anderson). Musk believes that no matter if he saves people in

poverty or people with disease that will not matter once there is a major catastrophic event on

Earth. Since they will all be dead anyway (Anderson).

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Elon Musk believes that life is the most valuable thing in the Universe that should be

preserved over all else. According to scientist the Earth would be engulfed by the sun around 5-

10 billion years from now. This may seem like a long way away, but Earth has basically no

chance of lasting that long at least not life on Earth. In 500 million years the Earth surface will

have no plants or animals that depend on them. This will be due to the growing temperatures on

Earth because the growing sun. According to Musk this will be the best-case scenario, for Earth

to die “of old age” (Anderson). It is possible that before those millions of years are up we could

collide with a rogue planet that is randomly floating around our galaxy or we could even collide

with another sun. Since these events are very hard to predict and plan Musk plans to start sending

a flurry of ships to Mars to start a colony that he wants to be flourishing by 2040 (Anderson).

There isn’t just one company trying to make a Mars colony. Mars-One is another popular

company that plans to achieve this major goal. Unlike SpaceX they have no big elaborate reason

for going to Mars. That is, they don’t have crazy scientific/Armageddon like reasoning. They

believe that going to Mars is necessary for the simple fact of going. They think the adventure and

the effect it will have on lookers makes it all worth it. Another reason Mars-One has for going to

Mars is what they call “good, old fashioned curiosity” (Why Should We). They would like to

discover where Mars came from and even if there is life on Mars, this is a conversation for later.

The most important reason they have is to progress humanity through the increase of technology

this would bring about (Why Should We).

At this point in my research I wonder if life on Mars is even possible. According to Mars

One, there are only a few things that could prevent life on Mars. One being an important part of

the settlement could be messed up by a storm or a missed link in landing. Another possible down

fall would be if an astronauts suit got punctured while out of the “habitat”. This would cause the
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astronaut to lose all oxygen and die basically instantly. The last would be certain diseases or

conditions that aren’t treatable while in Mars atmosphere (Is It Safe). Mars One is very vague

about these parts and the diseases that are untreatable which adds a little bit of suspicion about

how much planning they have really done. Personally, I think Mars One is not the best choice.

I now moved my research on to scientist who are indifferent on the idea of this

Mars mission. In a recent study done by MIT they explain how Mars One’s goal of baking dirt

from Mars will not be anywhere near ready by their announced launch date of 2025. The study

also states that the growing of plants inside the living quarters of the colonizers would produce

so much oxygen that the whole place could catch on fire with the slightest spark. Mars One shot

back saying they could add more nitrogen to the space, but the authors of the study said that this

would deprive the astronauts of oxygen because they need the unsafe amount of oxygen due to

the amount of leaking that would be taking place (Wall).

Despite all these reasons this mission could be dangerous Mars One is still dedicated to

its mission as they state here "The mission design has been discussed with engineering teams

from aerospace companies like Paragon Space Development and Lockheed Martin," Mars One

co-founder and CEO Bas Lansdorp told Space.com via email. "These engineers have actually

been building these systems, and each team we talked to is leading in the world. Our current

mission design is the result of our own studies and their feedback, and we are very confident that

our budgets, timelines and requirements are feasible" (Wall).

There are also other problems with the Mars colony mission. To find some of these

problems I looked at an essay written specifically about them. The essay was written by multiple

authors and peer reviewed so it has many points of view and must be good reliable information.

The essay poses many questions about the astronaut’s state of mind. The believe it would be
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basically impossible to predict how an astronaut would react in deep space or on Mars. The issue

of differences of politics, religions and outlook is also impossible to avoid. This would make the

confinement of the ship and colony a place that would harbor lots of aggression and tension

which could lead to terrible outcomes (Szocik).

Another conflict with the Mars colony arises in the legalities. The essay stated prior also

delves into this proposition. First let’s look at the United Nations explanation of outer space

travel. The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of

Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies states that “outer space is not

subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by

any other means” (United Nations). The essay cites this saying that this could cause many

problems once a colony or colonies were founded on Mars. What governmental system would

they use and how would they react with one another if there happen to be more than one. The

question of what legal system will be used seems to be one of the most important challenges to

the authors of the essay. Another question is how will economic transactions occur? Will they

use a certain currency or rely on barter? This will lead to many problems that faced civilizations

from the beginning of Earth civilizations faced. These usually ended in more problems and death

which could be completely fatal to a colony on Mars (Szocik).

As I continued to research I realized there were many more reasons not to go to Mars

than there were reasons to go to Mars. I discovered an article that explained some good reasons

to go to Mars and the author has no relation to the companies currently in the process of the Mars

colony. It says that going to Mars could solve one of the greatest mysteries in science “the

prevalence of life in the universe” (Zorpette). If we are to ever actually discover the truth of this

age-old question, then it will take real humans living and working on Mars. The robots we have
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now aren’t any more sophisticated than a cockroach’s brain. The advancement in robotics would

take much longer than the creation of a Mars colony. The author also poses that the most

reasonable connection between robots and humans would be to let them work together to

complete task on the Red Planet. This would help protect the humans while doing possibly risky

task and speed things up with the help of humans and their advanced minds and mobility

(Zorpette).

In my research I came across a website devoted to the creation of a Mars colony. This

website is like a hub for those who plan to go to Mars one day or are just very interested in it.

This site posed some new reasons to colonize Mars that haven’t yet been mentioned. One of

those includes the fact that Mars is on a 24.5-hour cycle which is just slightly off Earth’s. Mars

also has the same amount of land area as the seven continents combined. Mars has a gravitational

pull 2.7 times less than Earth’s which keeps astronauts grounded but allows for easy take off

from the surface. It is also stated that Martian children would be taller than their Earth relatives

as well as Martians would be free of arthritis and certain joint problems. The climate of Mars is

the most hospitable compared to others with an average temperature of -85 degrees Fahrenheit

(Why Colonize Mars).

The Red colony site also took a very different stance with the diplomacy involved in this

venture. The site says that todays super powers may be on good enough terms to have a

cosponsored trip to Mars. This would greatly improve relations with other nations and bring

mankind together. Mars could also be the end of countries and territories as the United Nations

states that no country can claim anything in space as theirs. This could cause the whole Mars

colony to become its own entity that leaves behind the “archaic” battle for power and leave a

new era of human diplomacy (Why Colonize Mars).

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Mars also has an abundance of materials that are running low on Earth. Mars contains a

fuel called heavy-hydrogen that is 5 times more abundant than on Earth. A milliliter of this fuel

would equal burning 20 tons of coal. This could possibly solve the problem of energy and fossil

fuels on earth. There is an abundance of rare metals on Mars such as platinum, gold, silver, and

others. Shipping from Mars to Earth would be a lot simpler that shipping to Mars. There is even

an asteroid belt close to Mars that could be exploited. “Dactyl, the moon orbiting the asteroid

Ida, is 1.4 kilometers in diameter, yet it contains more iron that humanity has used in its entire

existence” (Why Colonize Mars). The asteroids could easily be mined, and the contents shipped

to Mars. What would come about is a triangle of trade that would be very profitable (Why

Colonize Mars).

In conclusion I believe a colony and trip to Mars is very beneficial to humanity. With the

fossil fuel problem and many types of technology still needed the Mars race could easily solve

these problems while in development. I don’t necessarily believe that going to colonize now to

save humanity is very rational, but the other benefits are what I see as a major upside. I don’t see

myself going to Mars, but I would appreciate the good things that come from it. I may even

invest in a company such as SpaceX because I believe the endeavor would be very profitable. If

NASA which is a government funded program decided ton colonize Mars I would decide against

it but since right now its only private companies I believe it is a perfectly good idea.
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Work Cited

Andersen, Ross. “Elon Musk Puts His Case for a Multi-Planet Civilisation.” Aeon, Aeon, 30

Sept. 2014, aeon.co/essays/elon-musk-puts-his-case-for-a-multi-planet-civilisation.

“Company.” SpaceX, SpaceX, 28 Nov. 2012, www.spacex.com/about.

“Is It Safe to Live on Mars? - A Mission to Mars.” Mars One, www.mars-one.com/faq/mission-

to-mars/is-it-safe-to-live-on-mars.

Szocik, Konrad et al. “Political and Legal Challenges in a Mars Colony.” Space Policy 38

(2016): 27–29.

“United NationsOffice for Outer Space Affairs.” The Outer Space Treaty,

www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html.

Wall, Mike. “Private Mars Colony Project May Not Be Feasible, Study Suggests.” Space.com,

www.space.com/27451-private-mars-colony-feasibility-study.html.

“Why Colonize Mars?” Why Colonize Mars? - Red Colony,

redcolony.com/features.php?name=whycolonizemars.

“Why Should We Go to Mars?” Mars One, www.mars-one.com/faq/mission-to-mars/why-

should-we-go-to-mars.