Inquiry #8

Should humans colonise Mars?

Intro

We think that going to Mars will be possible in the future. If humans keep working and developing new technologies we can eventually colonize Mars. After doing a lot of research we have found out that it’s possible to colonize Mars but it won’t be easy, and we came to the conclusion that we need to save Earth and colonize Mars at the same time. Through this report we will state the different points, both negative and positive, of why we should go to Mars and support our thesis.

Why should we move to Mars and not other planets?

The reason why Mars should be the next planet that humans should colonise is pretty obvious, if you look deep into the topic. This is because many scientists and astronomers think that Mars is the only viable planet that humans could live on. An important factor of why scientists think we should go to Mars is because after many decades of landing rovers on Mars, we have got some important information. These rovers collected samples of dirt, clay and rocks. However dirt, dust and rocks are not all that Mars offers us. In 2008, a rover called Phoenix Lander did a little digging. After looking at a photo, scientists realized that just under the red rocky and dusty surface there is ice. Orbiters then showed that there are huge amounts of underground water on Mars as well as glaciers. So, after all the data that was collected Mars is the most habitable planet in the solar system other than Earth. Mars’s soil has water to extract from it. There is just enough sunlight for solar panels to provide a decent amount of energy. Gravity on Mars is 38% that of our Earth’s, which is believed to be sufficient for the human body to adapt to. Mars however has a thin atmosphere, it still offers just enough protection from cosmic and the Sun’s radiations. This does not mean Mars is a beautiful and perfect planet to live on. Mars is deadly. Humans can create machines to change this.

Experts

Our first experts name is Dr Steve Clifford is a senior research scientist. His main focuses are on Mars and the structure of the planet. His interests in particular include various gases and atmosphere of Mars and the history of the planet's involvement with water. He is included in satellite launches and some Mars missions. He has a PhD in astronomy, a masters in physics and a bachelor in maths/physics. He shares our beliefs that Mars colonisation is possible and maybe worthwhile. He also agrees with our thesis that Mars can simultaneously be colonized as well as Earth revival projects.

Our second expert's name is Kathleen Campbell, she is a geologist, paleontologist and astrobiologist. She is a professor at the Auckland university. The main field that she is expert on is researching on the origin and early nature of Earth, whether life ever existed on Mars. The university of Auckland appointed her a position as post-doctoral in NASA Ames Research Centre. This is where she took up paleoecological and paleoenvironmental teaching and research in the Geology department. Her current research is focused on marine hydrocarbon seeps and terrestrial hot springs as analogues for early life settings and astrobiological targets on Mars.

Why do people (scientists etc.) propose that we need to leave Earth and go to Mars?

Humans don’t need to go to Mars, but we eventually will. Our expert said that humans are adventurers and explorers. Exploring is in our human nature, which means that we will eventually explore and colonise Mars. As our expert Professor Kathleen Campbell personally thinks, yes, humans should eventually colonise Mars. She said that the different reasons why we should go is to look for signs of past life, potentially colonise its surface and to collect and use its natural resources. Most importantly to learn how planets form and die.

Earth is also rapidly becoming overpopulated every day. If we are eventually able to develop a base that humans can live in on Mars, we can start sending people that are willing to go and live on Mars to cut down the population on Earth and start the population on Mars. Humans are a very smart species, steadily and rapidly evolving and getting smarter. If in the future we colonize Mars it means that we would have developed the technology we need to survive there. This means we can go further. What we mean by this, is that if we are able to colonize one planet what should stop humans from using the same or similar technology and colonizing other planets? This simply means that humans can become a multi-planetary species.

The more scientific reason for why we should go to Mars is understanding the planet’s evolution. This, as I explained earlier, can prepare us for future human exploration.

What are the risks of going to Mars?

The first people to make the trip to Mars will have an extremely challenging time trying to set up the first Mars base. Mars is a large, empty open desert with dust storms, freezing temperatures (-153℃) , and harsh radiation. They will need to be highly trained and well-equipped. They will have all the necessary skills and technology. The biggest danger to the first astronauts will be malfunctioning equipment.

The hardest part is over once the first base has been established, as more and more people fill the colony the bases will expand. The long term effects of living on Mars can cause negative health effects. Despite people's best efforts for protection, the strong cosmic rays will expose humans to radiation that drastically increases the risk of developing cancer. The small amount of gravity on Mars also weakens bones and muscles which can lead to all sorts of diseases like osteoporosis. For the first years of living on Mars people may also be malnourished. This is because the food quality won't be as good as Earths since people won't be used to improvised space food.

I think the biggest concern is the fact that if something were to go wrong on Mars or the people living on it needed urgent supplies another spaceship could be sent for another two years. This is when the distance between Earth and Mars is short enough to make a journey.

Who will have enough money to make the first expedition to Mars, and how will we accomplish this?

A lot of people have different opinions on whether we should go to Mars or not.

In the end it doesn't matter whether you're for or against space exploration, people will go or at least attempt to go no matter what. Nasa's annual budget won't change because of Mars and even if their funding was cut, private companies like SpaceX are still working on it no matter what.

SpaceX is founded by Elon Musk who is currently the CEO. Elon Musk is a big figure in today's world and I think he is very relevant to our time. He also owns other companies such as Tesla and the boring company. SpaceX has a massive budget and a very determined CEO. The engineers at SpaceX also work very hard which is why they will be the first to send astronauts to Mars. Elon has recently said humans could be sent to Mars as soon as 2024. Most people give him a few years slack, however, because this is seen extremely early. However he has done some pretty amazing things in a short amount of time. For example, he revolutionized the way electric cars work in the last ten years, so I think it is highly possible for SpaceX to do it in this decade. Nasa on the other hand have stated that they don't even plan to do it until at least 2030.

I think humans could accomplish Mars colonisation in the near future. This is solely from the fact that SpaceX has a big budget, determination and good engineering.

Why shouldn’t we go to Mars?

After doing a lot of research we have found out that there are a few points that going to Mars is not a good idea but it is possible. There is a solution to almost every negative or danger that there is in going to Mars.

The first reason is that the trip to Mars is nine months long. Until this day no one has managed to recreate Earth's gravity in a space rocket. The image of astronauts floating mid-air in a rocket might look cool. But for such a long amount of time that astronauts would have to stay in such a low gravity environment is very harmful to the human body. Your muscles can atrophy, your heart weakens and your bone structure crumbles. In short, you will end up with the body of an old lady. This can however be solved. The astronauts have to stay fit and exercise very often to keep their body in a healthy condition.

The second reason is that in case an issue to the astronauts on Mars happens, help can only reach Mars every 2 years. The window for launch to Mars from Earth only happens every 2 years. This is when Earth and Mars are closest to each other. This is a great problem because if there is an issue on the red planet, help could not arrive fast enough.

Mars’s atmosphere does not protect us from solar and cosmic rays, this is because the atmosphere on Mars is only 1% as dense as Earth which means it can’t protect us from these solar rays. Astronauts living on Mars would be exposed to 50 times more radiation than on Earth. These radiations are really harmful because they can cause very serious and dangerous cancers.

The fourth reason is that Mars’s atmosphere is not breathable, this links back to the atmosphere being really thin. There is not enough pressure for our lungs to breathe in the oxygen that we need.

Scientists still haven’t figured out how to grow food on Mars. At the moment the astronauts of the ISS (International Space Station) are not able to develop food that can grow and be sufficient to survive on Mars. Experiments are taking place but for now if there will be a mission to Mars most of the food would be dehydrated and taken straight from Earth. If this is already hard to grow food on the spaceship microgravity environment , it would be even harder on the surface of Mars. Mars’s soil is very alkaline and needs decontamination to be used to grow plants. This shows that it would eventually be possible to grow food on Mars in the future.

The sixth reason is that the energy options on Mars are very few and scarce. There are very weak solar rays (40% less than Earth) on Mars, this is because Mars is further away from the sun than Earth is. Wind power won’t be useful as there is almost no atmosphere and geothermal energy doesn’t work. This is because Mars is a lot colder than Earth.

The last problem is that deep space travelling causes physiological issues on the astronauts taking such a long journey. Living in closed spaces, with the same people for 2 years and 9 months, deep space travelling (which means not being able to see Earth) could take hold of the astronauts' mental health.

Numerical data

The above graph shows the mixed attitudes to Mars colonisation. This survey was conducted by statista in 2016 and was in the UK. As seen most people (21%) answer on a scale from one to seven. A fair statement to make from this would be to say most people wouldn't think of it as a priority but isn't a terrible idea either. It is also shown that more people really like the idea (17%) than really hate it (13%). Despite what anyone's opinions are on it, Elon musk is still going to try anyway.

What are the benefits of living on another planet such as Mars?

There are quite a few benefits of living on Mars, not only they are benefits, but they are conditions there that, if we have a proper environment on Mars we can survive.

Mars soil contains water that can be extracted. As I mentioned before, on the negative sides of going to Mars, solar rays are weak on Mars but after doing some research we found out that there is just enough sunlight for solar panels to work. Mars days are very similar to Earth days. A Mars day is 24 hours and 39 minutes long, which means that humans can easily adapt to this.

Mars is a lot smaller than Earth, however Mars has around the same amount of dry land as Earth (this means not counting oceans).

However the main reason why Mars gives us benefits is that, not only it might allow humans to colonize its surface so that the human race can expand and not become extinct, but see the history of the planet. From this they can discover and understand how different types of planets were formed and if they are viable to live in.

How could we use the resources that we are putting into going to Mars into improving Earth?

Many people think we shouldn't be putting money and effort into colonising Mars. They propose we could be using the same resources and money into saving Earth.

We could be doing that however I don't think this is a realistic, fair or smart thing to do at all. First of all it will never happen because even if governments decide to defund their national space agencies there will always be willing private companies wanting to colonise Mars. I don't think it’s fair to cancel Mars colonisation because of cost. Unlike a lot of expensive useless things in this world there are a lot of benefits and plus sides to colonising Mars. For example, Cigarettes cost the global economy dearly (almost one trillion dollars a year). The average person in America gambles 2,400 dollars a year and in terms of food waste there are 157,389 tonnes of it wasted every year. To make a point Mars colonisation isn't the most easily preventable, resource consuming problem the world has.

To say we can't simultaneously fix Earth and go to Mars at the same time is a pointless argument. There is enough money and people in the world to do both. There are just as many if not more organisations trying to save Earth as they are trying to go to Mars.

Even if we wanted to save Earth at a quicker pace, ditching the Mars project isn’t the way. I have heard a metaphor saying that colonising Mars is like throwing out an old computer and buying a new one. I think this is flawed and inaccurate. First of all these are very different circumstances. Earth is not yet broken and no matter how bad the situation gets on Earth it will never overtake the hostile conditions on Mars. To go back to the metaphor it would be like throwing out a computer and buying an even more broken one. Now the only problem with this phrase is that we aren’t throwing away Earth. Did people stop moving away from their home countries when they discovered new ones? Well some did, but this situation is slightly different. Mars is worse than Earth and always will be. But we must go to Mars to mitigate overpopulation. Earth is going to die one day anyway and it might not necessarily be our fault. For example, dinosaurs didn't go extinct by choice. But if we become an interplanetary species we can survive and maybe even save Earth. There are many, many reasons why we should go and I didn't even name half. There are some decent reasons against colonisation but I think it's for the best of everyone that we need to.

What technology would we need to live on Mars?

Astronauts on Mars will have various life support systems in place to help them keep alive.

The basics of survival include; water, food, oxygen and on Mars some form of radiation protection is required. In terms of harvesting water although there is water underground and frozen in the ice caps this is too difficult to extract into liquid.

The solution is to have rovers collect soil from the surface of Mars and dump it into water extractors which will heat the soil and evaporate it. The evaporated water will then be condensed and stored and the soil will be put back. By weight Mars soil contains about two percent water and since there is a lot of it, it makes it very available. In terms of food there is currently none readily available on Mars so in the first month of living on Mars astronauts will have to live off rations. However food can be grown using genetically modified plants that are designed to grow in Mars soil.

In the next few trips containing humans they could also bring along preserved fish eggs and eventually find a way to transport animals. In the future food can also be made using a form of 3D printing. Basically once a solid base for a Mars colony has been established there will be a range of food options. The next and possibly most difficult living requirement issue is oxygen.

This however already has a solution, and it is solved using a MOXIE Mars (Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment). This is an extremely complicated piece of equipment designed by Nasa. It works by collecting CO2 from the Mars atmosphere then converting it into oxygen.

Cosmic rays constantly penetrate Mars' surface, and for this reason if a Mars colony is established people will have to live underground. Caves systems are already evident to be available. Elon Musk's boring company is also working on building equipment to make massive tunnels for people to live in. If there were to be any establishments on the surface they would have to be heavily insulated with several layers of material and would have to be also partially buried in Mars soil.

These are the very basics of the technology required to live on Mars. There are many more problems and solutions to be found and that's what SpaceX, Nasa and other various space companies are working on. In terms of technology it is very possible for a Mars colony to happen in theory.

How is SpaceX funded?

Currently spaceX receives funding from a variety of sources. For example they receive money from transporting supplies to the ISS and other various satellites. Elon Musk also pays money directly into the company and other private investors also help. SpaceX also has planned for the future the privatisation of space exploration. There are many big paying clients wanting to go to Space and SpaceX has the resources and the need of people like this to keep them well funded.

Conclusion

I think we should go to Mars but try to save Earth at the same time. Although there are pros and cons of going to Mars and many mixed opinions I still think the world should be putting money and effort into space exploration.

Colonising Mars moves us forwards as a human race. The main reason I think we should go is because I think it is the best solution we have to counter overpopulation. It benefits us because as we expand to more planets there will be no restrictions to how many people there are, and we can keep expanding as a race.

The Earth will inevitably die and humans and other life will go extinct even if it isn't our fault. However if we can find another planet like Earth, us and other life can survive. This won't happen however if we don't start with Mars. This isn't to say that we can’t do our best to save Earth at the same time. Both our experts think it is extremely possible to simultaneously do both. There isn't any reason this shouldn't be true. Just because we are putting money and effort to Mars doesn't mean we won't continue fixing Earth. I think humans still have a very long way to go as a species and the first step to colonise Mars.

Bibliography

Works Cited

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