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September 22, 2024

Understanding the Mission to Mars

The Martian was a movie that made traveling to Mars seem much more

possible than it has seemed before. The movie reveals many of the hardships and

unexpected problems that could develop. In addition, the dangers and expenses of

such a trip make many people doubt that humans should go to Mars. Despite the

dangers, more people are starting to think that taking on this challenge and going to

Mars are worthwhile and beneficial to mankind.

The first reason a trip to Mars might be a good idea is that the Earth is

experiencing many threats to its well being, and humans may need a new home. The

human population is growing so fast that Earth is starting to be stressed. In many

places, there is not enough water for people to drink. Even places that never had to

worry about a water shortage are starting to control the amount of water they use.

People are starting to fight each other for control of water. There are also many

places in the world where crops don’t grow well. This has caused food shortages,

and people are suffering. Climate change adds to the stress on Earth. Warmer

weather and rising sea levels have made storms very violent. These problems give

the sense that the planet will not provide for billions of people forever, and they

may need to go somewhere else.

A need for other resources also gives humans a reason to go to Mars. Many
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electronics, including smart phones, are made with rare minerals that are hard to

find on Earth. If man cannot find these minerals, there will be unrest and maybe

even violence. Mars might have some of these, but it also will have new resources

that man doesn’t even know about. Just like the rain forest has produced secret

medical cures, Mars must have medical benefits humans cannot imagine. Also, man

has been trying to find alternate fuel sources for many decades. The Earth will run

out of natural gas, goal, and oil, and humans will have to find other sources of

energy. Dambisa Moyo explains that “arable land, potable water, energy and

minerals are finite, scarce and rapidly depleting” on Earth. Finding new resources

will allow humans to continue developing all kinds of products for food, health, and

technology.

Another reason humans want to travel to Mars is a sense of exploration and

discovery. Humans have traveled to far away lands for centuries in search of other

life. They did this even when they traveled by foot because they wanted to find

resources, food, or other cultures. Today, this interest in travel is why the world has

become so small. Now, people all over the world share languages, companies,

investments, and relationships. It’s natural for humans to want to continue

exploring and expanding their lives. There’s nowhere else on Earth to explore, so

the closest planet is the new frontier. Furthermore, humans have always wondered

if they were the only intelligent species. The search for alien life is a big motivator

for many people interested in Mars. There’s even a theory that “a Mars rock with life

in it” could have landed on Earth and “kicked off terrestrial life” (Orwig). This theory

can only be tested if life is found on Mars (Orwig). Curiosity about what humans will
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find on Mars keeps them interested in the new planet.

One issue that needs to be settled is who will make the trip to Mars. One

option would be a multi-‐national team because there has long been a space race on

Earth. This competition has created hostility between nations. Working together as

Earthlings instead of as individual countries will unite them by providing a common

goal. These shared motivators will unite all humans on Earth. A joint effort will also

keep Mars from being colonized by one Earth country. Private companies like SpaceX or

Mars One may be able to send regular people to Mars even sooner than national

space agencies (MacDonald et al.). Mars One volunteers would make a one way trip

to the planet because they don’t have the technology to return the humans to Earth

(MacDonald et al.) Mars is a dream for many people, and the travelers could be

anyone.
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Cite

Erdman, Shelby Lin, and Greg Botelho. “NASA Tests Flying Saucer Craft for Future Manned

Mission to Mars.” CNN, Cable News Network, 29 June 2014,

edition.cnn.com/2014/06/28/us/nasa-flying-saucer-test/index.html.

Hanson, Brittany. “2015: A Space Odyssey.” Orange County Register, Orange County Register,

20 Jan. 2015, www.ocregister.com/2015/01/20/2015-a-space-odyssey/.