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A MISSION TO MARS
The thesis of this case is that the United States federal government should should provide near-term implementation of its often stated goal of supporting a human mission to Mars. While a human mission to Mars has been repeatedly affirmed as a goal of U.S. space policy for more than a decade, NASA has taken almost no action to implement this goal. The goal of sending human explorers to Mars could be achieved in the short term if the mission is reconceived as permanent colonization rather than as a short visit with a subsequent return to Earth. Planning a return to earth is the current sticking point in the mission, since its 80% of the cost and most of the technological difficulty. Fortunately, there are many well-qualified individuals who are willing and anxious to be the first Mars colonists in a two-way mission to the Red Planet. Plan: The U.S. government should substantially increase its commitment to the exploration and development of space beyond Earths mesosphere by implementing the vision of space scientists Dirk Schulze-Makuch and Paul Davies to land colonists on Mars within a decade. The mission will be a dual mission, where we would not only send a scientific team to explore the Marian surface, but to establish The cost of a mission would be approximately 160 billion dollars, the majority of which could be raised through the sale of naming rights and television rights. OBSERVATION: I. HUMAN EXPLORATION OF MARS IS A WORTHY GOAL. A. A HUMAN MISSION TO MARS IS ALREADY A NATIONAL GOAL OF THE UNITED STATES. Joel Levine & Rudy Schild, (NASA Langley Research Center/Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), HUMANS TO MARS: THE GREATEST ADVENTURE IN HUMAN HISTORY, 2011, 1. The human species is on the verge of achieving an historic accomplishment. Plans are being developed for a human mission to Mars, which will make the human species the first two-planet species. The last and the present Presidents have proposed a human mission to Mars as a national goal of the United States. B. A HUMAN MISSION TO MARS OFFERS MANY ADVANTAGES. 1. A human mission to Mars promises to revolutionize our understanding of basic life sciences. Paul Davies, (Dir., Beyond Centre for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University), THE GUARDIAN, Sept. 16, 2009, 30. A permanent base on Mars would have a number of advantages beyond being a bonanza for planetary science and geology. If, as some evidence suggests, exotic micro-organisms have arisen independently of terrestrial life, studying them could revolutionize biology, medicine and biotechnology. David Shrunk, (Aerospace Engineer, formerly at the NASA Manned Spaceflight Center), THE MOON: RESOURCES, FUTURED DEVELOPMENT, AND SETTLEMENT, 2008, 184. There are compelling reasons exploring Mars. Of all of the planets, Mars is the most Earth-like. It has an atmosphere, and its geology indicates that it once had lakes and rivers of liquid water, which are conditions that are conductive to the evolution of life. If the compelling (but circumstantial) evidence for ancient bacterial life on Mars is confirmed it would imply that the evolution of life is possible for every star that has Earth-like planets. In other words, if life ever existed on Mars, there is a strong possibility that life is ubiquitous throughout the universe. 2. Human presence is necessary for the proper exploration of Mars. Roger Launius & Howard McCurdy, (Former NASA Chief Historian/Prof., Public Affairs, American U.), ROBOTS IN SPACE, 2008, 21. Machines can search for life on the Martian surface, Mars Society president Robert Zubrin observes, but the most favorable repository of life is likely to be found underground, in aquifers a kilometer or more below the surface. The search for life, he insists, will require drilling in many place and building surface laboratories where water samples can be cultured and analyzed. Says Zurbin, This is a job for humans.

CONTENTIONS: I. RESOURCES ARE NOT INFINITE, BUT THEY ARENT GOING TO RUN OUT AS QUICK AS WE MIGHT THINK. 1. The peak oil curve is far less drastic than was once thought approaching peak oil is not as shocking to the system as once thought. Alistair Sweeny, (Dir., The Civics Channel, Canada), BLACK BONANZA: ALBERTAS OIL SANDS AND THE RACE TO SECURE NORTH AMERICAS ENERGY FUTURE, 2010, 18.

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Now, many people attracted to the peak oil crusade are lowering their placards and going home. The apocalypse has been put off for at least another century. Energy economists have suddenly discovered that Hubberts Peak is just a ragged plateau that scary-looking downward roller-coaster slope of Hubberts bell curve has significantly flattened out.

II. MAKING A SERIOUS COMMITMENT TO A MARS WILL REINVIGORATE THE U.S. ECONOMY. A. THE STRENGTH OF THE U.S. ECONOMY DEFENDS UPON ITS COMMITMENT TO TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. Richard Levin et al., (Pres., Yale U.), RISING ABOVE THE GATHERING STORM, REVISITED, 2010, 18. Substantial evidence continues to indicate that over the long term the great majority of newly created jobs are the indirect or direct result of advancements in science and technology, thus making these and related disciplines assume what might what might be described as disproportionate importance. A variety of economic studies over the years reveals that half or more of the growth in the nations Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in recent decades has been attributable to progress in technological innovation. B. INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION IS NOW AT A CRITICAL POINT IN THE U.S. Michael Griffin, (Former NASA Administrator), LEADERSHIP IN SPACE, 2008, 198. These trends were best explored by the recent report Rising Above the Gathering Storm by the National Academy of Engineering. One of the first paragraphs in the report captured the situation well, so I will quote it at length. Having reviewed the trends in the United States and abroad, the committee is deeply concerned that the scientific and technical building blocks of our economic leadership of our economic leadership are eroding at a time when many other nations are gathering strength. Although many people assume that the United States will always be a world leader in science and technology, this may not continue to be the case inasmuch as great minds and great idea exist throughout the world. We fear the abruptness with which such a lead in science and technology can be lost and the difficulty of recovering a lead once lost.

II. MARS COLONIZATION IS ECONOMICALLY AND TECHNOLOGICALLY POSSIBLE IN THE NEAR TERM. A. THE COST OF A MISSION IS MANAGEABLE IF IT IS RECONCEIVED AS COLONIZATION, RATHER THAN AS A SHORT VISIT. Paul Davies, (Dir., Beyond Centre for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University), THE GUARDIAN, Sept 16, 2009, 30. By eliminating the need to transport heavy fuel and equipment for the return journey, costs could be slashed by 80% or more. Supplies and a power source would be sent on ahead, and only when everything is functional would astronauts be dispatched. The base would be re-supplied from Earth every two years. The ideal astronauts would be scientists and engineers who could continue to do world-class science while serving as trailblazers for the colonization of a new planet. Eventually, more people would join them. After a century or two, the colony could become self-sustaining. Gregory Lamb, (Staff), CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, Nov. 17, 2010. Retrieved Mar. 18, 2011 from Nexis. Humans could be walking on Mars within the next couple decades, for only a fraction of the cost the United stated has already budgeted. How? The answer is simple, say a pair of Mars researchers: Give the explorers a one-way ticket. The most costly part some 80 percent of it of a manned mission to Mars would involve returning the crew to Earth, says Dirk Schulze-Makuch and Paul Davies in the October-November issue of the Journal of Cosmology. Rather than quintuple the cost, those funds could go toward building a permanent settlement, the two scientists argue. They propose that after several unmanned missions drop supplies at a base station on the Red Plane, two spacecraft carrying two humans each would be sent on the six to eighth month voyage to Mars to begin the first human colony on another planet.

B. MANY WELL-QUALIFIED VOLUNTEERS WOULD LINE UP FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO COLONIZE MARS. Paul Davies, (Dir., Beyond Centre for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University), THE GUARDIAN, Sept. 16, 2009, 30. I have presented my idea at NASA conferences, and discussed it with scientists in other countries. The response has nearly been always positive. There is a persistent myth that nobody would volunteer to go. In fact, I have found no shortage of eager scientists, young and old, who say they would accept to go to Mars. C. THE TRIP COULD PAY FOR ITSELF THROUGH TELIVISION AND NAMING RIGHTS.

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Joel Levine & Rudy Schild, (NASA Langley Research Center/Hardvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), HUMANS TO MARS: THE GREATEST ADVENTURE IN HUMAN HISTORY, 2011, 7. Between $30 billion to $90 billion could be raised through corporate sponsorships, and an additional $1 billion dollars a year through individual sponsorships. The sale of naming rights to Mars landing craft, the Mars Colony, etc., would yield an estimated $30 billion. Television broadcasting rights would bring in an estimated $30 billion. This comes to a total of up to $160 billion, enough to pay for the trip and mission, and then some.