Space, The final frontier… Man has always dreamed of breaching the heavens and exploring all of the stars and planets that lie in our universe. We have made attempts to explore them by, sending men to the moon, flinging satellites into deep space, and even sending rovers to nearby planets. Scientific figures such as Neil Degrasse Tyson Ph.D., CEO and CTO of SpaceX, Elon R. Musk, and the renowned theoretical physicist, Stephen W. Hawking, believe that the next giant leap for Mankind would be the colonization of Mars. But is this truly the next step in human space travel? Should we be looking at this “next step” in a more altruistic point of view? This essay will explore the aspects of colonizing Mars in this day and age, covering both the for and against, arguments. As well as similar and different elements that Earth and Mars share, to see if colonizing Mars in this day and age would be the “Next Giant Leap for Mankind” that all these professionals have made it out to be
Firstly, we will look at the atmosphere, and the climate of both planets, as well as various other scientific data about both, such as weather patterns, and natural phenomena. Mars’s atmosphere is mainly comprised of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon, and various other gasses but mostly carbon
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Due to the lack of movement from Mars’s inner core, there is little to no magnetic field around Mars. Thus, it is under constant radioactive bombardment from the sun. This Radioactive bombardment could be devastating to humans. In just 180 days an astronaut would be subjected to over 300 mSv worth of radiation, exactly six times more than an Average worker in a nuclear plant would be allowed to receive yearly. Now although this seems to be a significant amount of radiation, Astronauts can avoid being exposed to such a dosage by simply wearing space suits on spacewalks outside the
The word race is defined at its core as a competition between runners, horses, vehicles, boats, etc. to see which is the fastest in covering a set course. Well, interestingly enough, a race of a different kind occurred between two countries from the years 1957 to 1969. The competition was unclear, and the opponents were on two entirely different continents, not something as simplistic as two horses. The United States and the United Soviet States of Russia both set out as arch rivals in the “Space Race,” a quest for dominance beyond the known Planet Earth. Ironically enough, just as communism was spreading to all parts of the world, the United States always sought to squash this form of government, despite somewhat dire consequences. Now, with
Knowing the impermanence of the Earth, do humans have a moral obligation to find and
Why We Should go to Mars “It was obvious to me that we could never colonize Mars without reusability, any more than America would have been colonized if they had to burn the ships after every trip,”(Dave, 2017). This is what Elon Musk said in an interview in Fortune Magazine on December 9th 2013. The fourth planet in our solar system, Mars, is the closest “Earth-like” planet, Which is why SpaceX, NASA, and many other organizations are trying to make a human trip to Mars possible, as well as learning many things about Mars and Earth at the same time. Mars has a lot of potential to be a habitable planet to continue the human race.
Many rovers have been sent to the surface to see if it is in fact capable of supporting life, either unknown to us or us. Scientists have turned toward Mars to search for any life forms to prove humans could actually survive on its surface. While it is possible for us to survive with current technology, if we were to travel to Mars, it wouldn’t be a life of luxury. Michael Gainer in his article “Should We Colonize Mars?” discusses the downfalls of the climate. Mars’s climate is much more hazardous than Earth’s with many long lasting hurricanes, high levels of radiation, and poor, if any, farming soil. Colonists would be living in pressurized bubbles and would need special suits to step outside. It would be difficult to get around and medical supplies may not always be readily available. Outside there would be no trees whispering in the wind, no singing birds, no skin burning summer days. No deep blue oceans, no rapid running rivers, cold refreshing lakes or streams. Looking out the window one would see miles upon miles of reddish-beige sand blowing in the
Who knows what kind of opportunities can come from Mars? We can use the many resources that have already been found on this planet, it could help us in many ways beyond space exploration, and it could even be a new place for us to live. That’s why I believe that the government should fund space exploration to Mars.
Space travel is both fascinating and terrifying. The mystery of outer space captivates nearly all children and many adults. Neil Armstrong’s first words from the moon are iconic and will forever be engrained in the history of mankind. With the end of the Space Shuttle program many people have wondered if America’s space travels are coming to a close. Is space travel going to become a thing of the past? Kim Stanley Robison believes that the future of space travel, specifically an interplanetary mission to Mars, is not only fascinating, but necessary. In his short essay, “Why We Should Go to Mars”, Mr. Robinson starts with acknowledging that reasons for a mission to Mars “range from good to bad to terrible” (Robinson). He defines the range of common arguments which he believes are outlandish and seems to be wholly against the idea. His tone quickly changes as he presents what, in his opinion, are not only good but the best reasons as to why a Mars mission is not only a good idea, but a needed one.
“Space, the final frontier….” These are the words that stirred the imaginations of millions of men, women and children with the debut of “Star Trek” in 1966. The show has arguably one of the most loyal followings of any production, and has inspired scores of people to consider the stars and wonder if we as a people will ever travel outside of our own solar system. The idea of space travel and exploration was not new when “Star Trek” hit the airwaves though. The United States was at odds with the Soviet Union, and both powers were locked in a battle that would come to be known as “The Space Race” during the height of the cold war. It was in 1961 that President John Kennedy made his famous appeal to the American people, challenging us as a nation to put a man on the moon before the decade was out. On July 20, 1969, that challenge was achieved when the astronauts of Apollo 11 made the first manned landing on the moon, and returned safely to earth. This, the highest achievement in the United States space program, will turn 45 years old this year. After 45 years, and a technological explosion over the past 25 years, the greatest achievement in the space program has been a manned lunar landing. Countless billions of American tax payer dollars have been spent on the space program over the decades, and there have been no achievements to match that of the moon landings. Though the budget for NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is but a tiny fraction of the entire annual budget for the country, many of those billions that are allotted in the NASA budget for space exploration would better serve the country if they were re-directed to other areas. De-funding the space exploration portion of the NASA programs could create a “...
Mars is our next best hope in life on another planet. Because of science mankind can grow and harvest plants in the modified mars soil, make a thick warm atmosphere, and drink no frozen mars water. Mankind can grow and flourish more as a species with this idea of colonizing mars. With more scientific advancements we can colonize mars and we will colonize mars.
NASA has made great advancements, we continue to explore the vast solar system filled with magnificent sights. There is so much more out there, from black holes to some of the biggest stars coming to the end of their life cycle. With all this out there waiting for us why don't we pursue all the possibilities out there, all the knowledge and advancements we’d gain would be significant. We must continue to fund these space exploration projects to see all that there is to see. We would discover there’s more to space than we think maybe more the the life cycle of a star or more to nuclear fusion. It's important that we expand and explore to find a new planet, one day this planet will die and we need somewhere to go and something to do, if our species wish to live on. Its also paying off in many other ways. Technological advancements you see today like your phone was possible through space exploration even though you may not think of it. The space programs have made huge advancements in our world such as more fire resistant clothing and, car interior. We went from having a 70 pound micro computer with just 40 KB of memory (Less than a GB, Less than a MB(Which is 100 times smaller than a GB) so it's 40/1000 of a MB) Today we have 1 TB(1000 GB) flash drive the size of your thumb in just about 40 years. Allowing us to miniaturize
Space, a vast and cold vacuum that much is yet to be explored. It all started in 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik into space. This launch caught the attention of people all around the world. As a result, it sparked the space race between the U.S and U.S.S.R. Since then, there have been many missions to space, but all these missions come with a cost. In 1981, NASA launched the first reusable space shuttle which was subsequently used for thirty years, however this cost about $209 billion over the years to keep maintaining it. The launch of a single space shuttle costs approximately $450 million and over the years there have been 135 launches. So why should governments and taxpayers spend billions of dollars on organizations like NASA, when so many problems already exists here on Earth? Although space exploration and research may cost a lot of money, I believe it is worth the cost as it has benefited humankind.
Have you ever wondered how you are able to call and watch tv from satellite? Well, just one word can lead to a heated discussion. NASA. Some will debate that NASA is not worth it, while some will.
Benefits in Space Exploration Thesis: Space exploration is beneficial for anyone because of long-term survival of humanity in the future, new technologies/understandings, and increase in job opportunities. President John F Kennedy once said, “We chose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.” In 1962, in Texas the Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort speech was delivered by Kennedy to a large crowd. This speech is about how sending astronauts to the moon is very important. Also, it showed that when humanity was smart enough, they realized that we are able to achieve impossible things like
One of the biggest issues raised on sending humans to Mars, is the amount of radiation they would be exposed to by traveling through space. Most space agencies set lifetime amounts of radiation astronauts can be exposed to; the general limit is one sievert (Gelling, 2013). A way to minimize the threat of radiation exposure, is having proper shielding for those traversing inside the spacecraft. A lesson from the Curiosity Mars mission, is that having adequate
Throughout the extensive history of the earth, the human race has been striving to achieve great accomplishments and leave a beneficial impact on the world. In order to do this, the human race has made technological advancements and broadened their knowledge about the universe, which is precisely what colonizing and settling humans on Mars will accomplish. Even though the journey to Mars will be unsafe and unaffordable, it is advantageous because Mars is the most scientifically similar planet to Earth, it will provide a difficult challenge that will expand the human race’s knowledge, and it will ensure the survival of the human race. Overall, colonizing Mars will be a significant accomplishment in the earth’s history and will mark a period
To attempt to avoid the hazards that may occur and to ensure that no human lives are lost, the Mars lander will be tested a total of eight times prior to the first manned departure. With this being said, the success rate of landing on Mars is approximately 30%. Another issue that must also be addressed is the astronaut’s exposure to radiation. The sun poses the greatest risk, with the effects damaging DNA, leading to cancer and other harmful diseases. Radiation will also be an issue on the surface of Mars, with the atmosphere on Mars not offering the same kind of protection as that on Earth.