I believe that one of the most interesting topics in all of Science involves the ability for life to be sustained on other planets. How cool would it be to say that you live on another planet other than Earth? Instead of moving to another town or state for a change of scenery, how about hopping on a spaceship and flying to Mars, or Jupiter, or Saturn. Obviously, some planets have a better ability to sustain life than others, and Mars sits atop of that list. So let’s gas up the space shuttle and go! Wait, not so fast. With the technology we have available at this current time, I realize this may not be attainable just yet. However, we have already completed the first step and discovered factors that point to Mars’ ability to sustain life. Evidence suggests that water once flowed on Mars and that is an essential part to supporting a life similar to the one lived here on Earth. Add in the facts that a magnetic field and key nutrients have been discovered there, life on Mars doesn’t sound as preposterous as it may have thirty or forty years ago. With our ever evolving technology, knowledge, and desire to explore, I don’t think that life on Mars or other planets is as far off as some think.
Humans brains and knowledge in general, are always evolving and with that, technological advances are made as well. Spacecrafts now are much more well suited to withstand the rigors of our earth’s atmosphere and the hardships of our solar system then they were when men took their first trip to the moon in 1969. An article found here highlights some of the advancements being made by NASA in order to build a spacecraft capable of traveling to Mars by 2030. Another article found here details the series of advancements being made in the coming years leading up to 2030 to help assure that the mission to Mars goes as smooth as NASA wants. This is exciting stuff. The simple fact that NASA feels that they have the proper equipment to be able to send a man to Mars in less than 15 years is very interesting to me. Between now and the end of my lifetime, there is a possibility that there will be life on another planet. Maybe I won’t be able to enjoy it, but for future generations this can be a big thing to look forward to.
The idea of life on another planet such as Mars can be related to many other instances in our life, such as the invention of the airplane or the invention of the computer. Innovators need to have a wide open mind to think of brilliant ideas like this. If you went back in time to early 1900s, there were only two men in all of America with the insight and intuition to think of a flying form of transportation. Not only was that invention amazing for the time, but the airplane is still a vital part of lives today. Basically, without the Wright brothers and their great idea, we wouldn’t have planes, which in turn means we wouldn’t have been able to get to the moon, which also means we wouldn’t be able to get to Mars. The same can be said about the computer, which is another instrument that is so vital in our everyday lives today. Computers play such a huge role in almost everything people do. Over 40% of the entire world takes advantage of internet access and that number is continually growing from the 1% back in 1995. I personally can’t live without my computer. It provides me with access to the internet to learn, allows me to take notes for class, as well as stay in touch with people. In fact, without a computer, I wouldn’t be able to write this blog post right now. The brilliant minds that invented things such as the airplane and the computer are the same minds that are working on sending people to Mars. I really hope that life is able to be sustained on Mars at some point throughout my lifetime because I feel that it would rank right up there with the invention of the computer and the airplane which were both invented before I was born.
In class we discussed the idea that just because we can do something doesn’t necessarily mean than we should. I bring this up because while the technology may one day exist to put a man on mars, it is important to consider the reasons why we would even try. The cost associated with such an endeavor would be astronomical (no pun intended), and the logistics of life on mars where there is no hospitable atmosphere and no means to bring any kind of infrastructure is questionable.
There is a reason why nobody has been to the moon in several decades. Just because we can go there does not mean that we have anything to gain from doing so.
I don’t doubt that we could get someone to Mars and back, but the problem is just how long the astronaut would have to be gone. This link here ( http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/long-mars.html ) says that approximations say the journey out to mars would take about 6 months, then the astronaut would have to stay on Mars for another 18-20 months until the planets align in a way that allows the travel, and then spend another 6 months on the ship back home. Astronaut Scott Kelly made history earlier this year for spending 342 days on the international space station, and we would be asking this Mars astronaut to spend 2.5x as much time in space. This would most likely have permanent physical effect on their body, but also would put an enormous mental and emotion strain on them. So unless we can find a way to keep them busy and not going insane, I think that will continue to be the biggest hurdle.