Why Human Should Colonize Mars

Introduction 

Over recent years, there has been a heated debate on whether the human race should colonize Mars or not. Numerous studies have been conducted regarding the colonization of Mars and its viability to the human race, but no specific conclusion has been made. Even though some sources indicate that Mars could act as an alternative habitat for the human race, some scientists have remained steadfast that Mars is not an option for future habitation, thus striking more debates. The discussion about mars started in 1971 after Mariner 9 was successfully launched; it became the first artificial satellite to successfully land on Mars after several previous attempts (Dick, 2020). The Mariner 9 project, carried out by The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), initiated many hopes in space exploration and the possibility of the human race seeking to colonize other planets, particularly Mars. Since the first successful landing on Mars, scientists have taken a particular interest in Mars, launching numerous satellites to the planet. 

Initial space explorations have indicated the possibility of the human race colonizing Mars. Scientists have shown the potential that Mars could accommodate people in some years to come. According to Levchenko et al. (2019), both Earth and Mars have some similarities, and therefore, the human race can colonize Mars. Even though evidence has shown that Mars cannot support life due to gravity and oxygen content, the predicted climate and global warming could leave the human race with no option but to explore Mars. Climate change and global warming have posed a massive threat to life on earth; research shows that in less than 9 billion years to come, humankind could be extinct due to the rising sea waters and increasing global temperatures. In the bid to secure the future of the coming generations, many countries, especially developed countries, focus on space exploration. Sources indicate that moving to Mars could be the only option for humanity to escape extinction on earth. However, such a move carries massive moral and ethical implications, as human beings have contributed heavily to the destruction of the universe. As the issue of Mars colonization continues to spark debate in the public domain, I am convinced that humans should work together without borders to colonize Mars and preserve our species. 

This paper will discuss why humans should work together, without borders, to colonize Mars and preserve our species. The research paper will further discuss the similarities between Earth and Mars, how Mars is linked to sources, the economic and political benefits of working together, the need for resources, and the earth’s temperature rise. Besides, the paper will explore the reasons why the human race should colonize Mars and how the colonization benefits outdo the consequences 

Preserve Our Species

Need for Resources

Human beings in the universe largely depend on natural resources; people use them to make fuel, food, and raw materials to produce goods and services. Nearly all the food that we eat comes from animals and plants that entirely depend on natural resources. Therefore, the lack of these resources would mean no life for the human race. In recent years, concerns have been raised over natural resource exploitation; studies have shown that naturals could be depleted over time if no appropriate action is taken. Despite the introduction of global programs such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the earth’s habitability still faces severe challenges from natural and human activities—thus leaving the world with no option but to colonize Mars as a backup plan. Since 1967, astronomers have increased their intensity in studying how stars and other solar system elements evolve to understand other planets (NASA, 2020). These studies have indicated that human beings could face extinction due to the risk of exploiting all the resources on the earth’s surface. Besides, the world’s population is increasing and piling pressure on the existing resources. Have you ever imagined what the world would become if, for instance, there are no plants or animals or fuel? The conditions are merely unbearable. 

In 2020, the global human beings’ population stood at 7.8 billion, with high population growth rates (NASA, 2020). With the improved healthcare system, the community is expected to grow further. Improvements in the healthcare sector imply that death rates are destined to drop, thus signifying increased populations. Infrastructure developments have also increased in recent years, leading to the destruction of natural resources. For instance, deforestation must create room for constructing buildings, roads, and other artificial infrastructure elements. Additionally, industrial activities have also increased significantly in the 21st century, leading to an increased carbon footprint in the atmosphere. The outcome of increased carbon in the atmosphere is increased temperatures and a possible rise in water levels above the limits—all these natural resources associated point in one direction; colonization of Mars as a backup plan. 

Temperature is rising

Human activities have been the greatest threat to the global ecosystem. Past studies have revealed that human activities such as industrial development cause environmental degradation, which deteriorates the environment by depleting the soil, water, and air. The shortage of these natural resources leads to the extinction of wildlife, habitat destruction, pollution, and natural resources (Prakash and Srivastava, 2019). It is predicted that all the factors could lead to a possible rise in temperature and depletion of the Ozone layer. The depleted Ozone layer causes an increase in UV radiation that damages human health and increases deadly diseases such as skin cancers and immune deficiency disorders. 

Consequently, natural calamities, like changes in weather and climate patterns, hurricanes, and tornadoes that have been triggered by rising temperatures, have claimed multiple lives. Droughts and famines have also destroyed livelihoods in the 21st century (NASA, 2020). All these factors have been due to the rising temperature in the universe. Scientists believe that the temperature will rise further if nothing is done. According to NASA, there will be an increase of 8% in earth’s radiation within the next one-billion years. A 0.1% in radiation causes a subsequent 0.20C° increase in temperatures (NASA, 2020). Therefore, the increase of 8% in radiation could be disastrous to human life, making earth an inhabitable place. At this point, human beings will have no other option but to seek habitation on another planet. Therefore, the colonization of Mars is essential for future coming generation. Generally, in the next billion years, the earth’s temperatures will have increased by 160C°. Such increases will also be influenced by the rapid destruction of natural resources like trees, which play a key role in controlling temperatures. Putting humankind on Mars increases the chances of preventing extinction. We need to colonize Mars and make it our next habitable planet. 

High population

Frank et al. (2019) define a high population as a state where the number of people in an environment is way above what the environment can sustain in drinkable water, food, and breathable air. Scientifically, a high population can be described as a human population ecological footprint in a geographical area that exceeds the place’s carrying capacity, thus damaging the environment faster than nature can prepare it and eventually causing environmental and societal collapse. Overpopulation can be used to apply for a specific region or the world, depending on the context. 

In the past decades, the world population has been increasing steadily, especially in the developing world. As of 2020, the world’s population is estimated at 7.827 billion compared to 7.622 billion in 2018. The statistic released by the United States Census Bureau, the community has grown by hundreds of millions in the past two years (Kaplan and Ng, 2017). The rapid human population increase is becoming an issue of concern because the projections indicate that the population may increase further in the coming years. The world population is expected to rise to about 10 billion in the next three decades. These statistics would mean that the people may be uncontrollable in a million years come. According to Khatoon (2020), the world population is piling pressure on natural resources, thus posing threats to the human race’s future. The more the community becomes high, the more the pressure is collected on the natural resources; this implies that it is just a matter of time before the resources are entirely depleted. Therefore, the human race must colonize Mars as a backup plan for accommodating humans if all the resources are depleted. 

Why Mars

When space explores the colonization of Mars, the big is why Mars and not the other planets. Numerous studies have been conducted regarding the ability of other planets to support human life, and findings have revealed that only Mars has close similarities with earth and can support human life. Besides, Mars is one of the closest Planets to Earth, making possible movement between the Earth and Mars much easier. The main reason why Mars is preferred over other planets. Other causes include its link to space and the ability to enhance a better understanding of the earth. 

Similarity to Earth

As stated earlier, Mar’s similarity to the earth is one main reason why the human race should colonize Mars. Despite many distinctive differences, Mars and Earth are believed to share many things, suggesting that the planet can support human life. The similarities are in terms of compositions. No other planet shows more promising similarities to Earth than Mars, thus increasing hopes for life on Mars. The two planets have almost equal densities of 5.514 grams per cubic centimeters for earth compared to 3.93 grams per cubic centimeters for Mars (Mills and Fabrycky, 2017). The similarities between the Earth and Mars are based on water, revolution, bacteria, gravity, and atmosphere. 

Water

The study indicates that water once flowed on Mars and Oceans on the Earth were likely to originate from a similar source. The study was based on the meteorites that first landed on the planet. Another more recent research has investigated the makeup of rare rocks on Mars, which crashed into the earth as meteorites. The study outcome has revealed that the Martian water might have originated from the planetary building blocks similar to the rocks that formed earth. Scientists claim that the two planets might have been formed in similar ways but took different evolutionary paths. Like Earth, Mars contains water, frozen underground, within the planet’s polar caps (NASA, 2020). Evidence from the Planet indicates that Mars was flooded with water in the past, with signs like soil erosion, volcanoes, and craters indicating water’s presence. Additionally, geological indicators show that the planet was initially wet and could support life. The water similarity evidence suggests that Mars could be a perfect alternative habitation for the human race. 

Bacteria

Research conducted to investigate whether bacteria samples could survive in space indicated that all bacteria with more than 0.5 millimeters in size survived the journey to space that took close to three years. Based on the study outcome, the space explorers suggested that even though the bacteria at the sample surface died off, a protective layer for bacteria was formed beneath, thus safeguarding the colony’s survival. According to the study findings, a bacteria colony with a diameter of 1 millimeter could have survived for eight years under the Outerspace conditions. Therefore, bacteria colonies can theoretically stay on the journey from Mars to Earth and vice versa. In addition to that, the similarities between Mars and Earth indicate the possibility of bacterial life on the planet. In 1976, Viking’s space exploration detected the presence of bacteria-like organisms, which can be studied to understand soil formation and other knowledge for bettering human life (Billings, 2019). For instance, understanding Mars will help humankind understand if there could be another planet with people. The question of whether human beings only exist on earth can be understood by studying Mars. 

Revolution

Astronomical study shows that Mars and Earth’s nature and size have some similarities, which would mean that Mars can support life the same way the earth does. Astronomers estimate the size of Mars to be approximately one-half of the earth’s diameter. However, both the planets have roughly the same amount of dry surface land because the ocean covers about 65 percent of the earth’s surface, while Mars’s body has no liquid in it. On Mars, a day takes 24.5 hours, while on earth, it takes 24 hours; this shows close similarities between Mars and Earth, a possibility the people living on earth could still survive on Mars (Mace and Schwalbe, 2020). The distance of Mars from the sun is approximately 142, 633,260 miles, while the earth is 92, 955, 820, showing that Mars might not be too cold to support human life. A year’s length is 365 days on the earth and 687 days on Mars, meaning it would take twice longer for a full year on Mars than Earth. Even though Mars and Earth have no exact similarities, the disparity can be managed, and humans can still live on Mars at extreme ends. Besides, the temperatures are expected to rise beyond the average human level, making Mars a better option. 

Gravity

In terms of size, the earth is three times larger than Mars, but Mars has broader land coverage than our planet. Survival on Mars also depends on gravity, whereby mars’ gravity is 2.7 times less than that experienced on Earth(NASA, 2020). The figure indicates that people can walk freely on Mars, and rockets can quickly be launched from the planet. Scientists suggest that Mars could also provide health benefits to humankind, as some conditions like arthritis could easily be managed in such an environment. Children born on Mars can also be taller and healthier than those from earth. Other planets like Mercury and Venus are extremely hot; this could be difficult for humankind to survive. Though not very hot, the moon lacks an atmosphere that can protect living organisms from falling meteor impacts. Due to the numerous similarities between these two planets, Mars is the best option for humankind in the solar system; hence we should colonize it. 

Atmosphere

According to Fourteau et al. (2017), Mars and the Earth are regarded as sibling planets because they all have weathered surfaces, atmospheres, thermally and chemically evolved interiors, and massive volcanoes. The atmospheres of both the Earth and Mars have possessed clouds and circulate due to their response to the sun’s thermal forcing and the effects of planetary spin and surface friction. Even though there is a disparity in air components, space explorers have indicated that the little atmospheric similarities between Mars and the Earth could still support humans’ existence. Furthermore, Mars only has nitrogen, argon, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and nitric acid, which are also present. The close similarity between earth’s atmosphere and that of Mars shows that humans can survive on Mars, thus making the dream of colonizing Mars valid and viable. 

Help us understand earth

Humankind should also colonize Mars for scientific knowledge advancements, which could improve life on earth. Studies indicate that Mars is the most promising planet in terms of scientific knowledge. Over the past fifty years of Mars exploration, there has been a widespread understanding of Mars and Earth’s relationships and how this knowledge can improve various elements on our planet. Mars also provides geological experience on planets’ origin. It is a billion years older than earth. Mars also hosts more massive volcanoes and craters, which could be studied to understand those that exist on earth. By checking the distribution of carbon dioxide, oxygen, hydrogen, and water on Mars, scientists can correlate this knowledge with such features on earth, thus understanding how to make our planet a better place to live. 

Link to space

Mars is the fourth planet from the sun; it is a desert with, cold, duty, and thin atmosphere. Based on previous studies, Mars is one of the most explored planets in the solar system. Space explorers have focused on Mars because of its closeness to the earth and the possibility that it could support human life. Mars is acting as the link connecting earth to space because most space exploration has been conducted on Mars. It has been difficult to visit other massive bodies that are too hot or too cold except for the moon. Therefore, Mars has provided a platform to learn and study other heavenly bodies. Additionally, the studies conducted have shown that Mars is much warmer and wetter and could be habited. 

Why we should work together

With the current economic and political competition globally, space exploration is becoming a challenge because developed countries have started fighting over space. But with such a fight over space, the human race might never colonize Mars. The world must come together, assume borders, and fight to colonize Mars. There are reasons why we should work together in the journey of colonizing Mars, including economic benefits, political benefits, and provision of an equal playing field for all 

No Economic benefits

Without working together, it would be difficult to achieve any economic benefits. Countries should work together to colonize Mars else; there would be no financial benefits. Humankind should colonize Mars for monetary gain and not gain political powers. Besides, the journey to colonize Mars requires a massive resource that can never be achieved by a single state. The resources on earth have been widely exploited, with oil, gold, and other crucial stones being on the verge of extinction. Mars possesses important compositions, which could prove to be of massive worth. Mars has more than 144 trillion square meters to be exploited, showing its economic potential (Zubrin, 2018). Some of the financial goals that can be achieved by working together and colonizing Mars include land for industry, crops for all, and rare metal. 

Land for Industry

The land can be used for industrial, commercial, and residential services, thus generating income for humanity. There are trillions of square meters of land lying on Mars; if the world could come together to colonize Mars, the human race would have enough land for industries. Destructive activities like nuclear wastes, oil production, and lucrative industrial setups could be transferred to Mars, thus relieving earth of the challenge. The most earth-threatening issue is the increasing carbon footprint on the atmosphere. The destruction of the ozone layer could also expose human beings to diseases like cancer, leading to humanity’s extinction. In avoiding these challenges, industries should be transferred to Mars, shifting our focus to planting trees and conservation of our environment. 

Rare metal for all

The planet also harbors an abundance of metals that are rare on earth’s surface. For instance, studies indicate gold, silver, and platinum on earth, extracted and transported back to earth for economic development. Shipping material from Mars to Earth is inherently more comfortable than shipping materials from Earth to Mars (Zubrin, 2018). Mars also consist of large quantities of iron, which is more than all the iron used by humanity in their entire life. The economic potential of Mars could be promising to the declining resources on earth. Another argument on Mars’ economic importance could be protecting the earth’s atmosphere (Billings, 2019). 

Crops for all

According to Cabrol (2018), the soil on Mars can hold water longer than earth due to Martian gravity. In addition to that, nutrients and water with Martian soil can drain water a little more slowly than earth’s ground. Therefore, it would be difficult to colonize Mars’ surface. Still, within combine efforts, a human can develop the solution of growing crops on Mars, which will eventually benefit the human race. 

No political Benefits

The colonization of Mars requires the unity of countries across the globe; this can only be achieved by signing agreements and memorandum of understanding between countries. Governments should come together regardless of their political affiliations to colonize Mars. The colonization of Mars would be a tremendous political achievement for the existing governments. Through various countries’ unity, they can colonize Mars to achieve social, economic, and political benefits. Combining efforts will enable the human race to gather all it takes to colonize mars and explore its resource for economic gain (Platt et al., 2020). Being the only planet with a high probability of supporting life, Mars could play a significant role in uniting countries together. 

Space station

Countries understand that their strategic importance in the world lies in their ability to control space. By working together, countries can colonize Mars and establish an international space station that would serve as a home where global cosmonauts and astronauts live. The space station can also benefit the earth in many ways, including offering unique views to study the earth’s landforms, oceans, weather, and atmosphere. 

Better communica t ion

The colonization of Mars would improve the global security system as it creates a platform for a better communication system in the universe. Disruption of communication systems through space warfare could be disastrous to any country as rockets cannot be launched without signals obtained through space imaging and signals. By working together and colonizing Mars, countries can become more successful in space explorations, thus gaining more confidence in global communication systems. Therefore, colonizing Mars would create an equal opportunity for human to upgrade their communication systems. The human race could get advanced diplomatic relations for having advanced communication systems in space (Billings, 2019). 

Prevent another Cold war

Working together would mean that the world would come together for a common purpose. If the human race works together to colonize Mars, the possibility of another World War can reduce significantly. Working together will encourage collective decision making among world leaders, thus promoting unity and discouraging conflicts. The human race will no longer focus on political powers and superiority; instead, they will focus on how to colonize Mars and the general Survival of human. 

Avoid Greed

For example, the leading world powers only focus on their development and position while neglecting critical environmental issues. If the world was united for a common purpose, global leaders could efficiently address ecological problems. Collective actions against companies that violate ecological measures could prove critical in preserving earth. However, greed for dominance has prevented countries from joining hands to protect the environment. With the project on Mars, these nations could work together for the sake of humankind. Working together implies better international diplomacy (Billings, 2019). Even with divisions between the different nations on sponsorship of trips to Mars, the planet is too large for one country to occupy. In essence, Mars will eventually be open for everyone, thus creating harmony between nations. Mars could, therefore, be essential in bringing peace among various global powers. 

Equal playing field

Working together to colonize Mars would offer equal opportunity for the human race. Countries will have an equal opportunity to use the resources on Mars. The rising economic and political tension will reduce as countries will be working towards achieving one goal. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the human race should colonize Mars. Based on the literature review, there are various reasons why the human race should colonize Mars, including the need to preserve resources, the projected high temperature, the need for more natural resources, and the increased population. Colonization of Mars will help us preserve our species by controlling the resource’s exploitation, controlling the continually rising temperature, and managing the high population growth rate. The study indicates that failure to preserve species could cause the extinction of the human race since people could no longer have resources to depend on. The study has indicated that humans face extinction if the resources on the earth’s surfaces are exploited. The constantly increasing population is an indication that humans could exploit all the resources on the earth, thus prompting the need for alternative natural resources that could be extracted from Mars. The rising temperature on the earth could also destroy the Ozone layer, thus damaging the Ozone layer and making life on earth unbearable. Another important factor that necessitates the colonization of Mars is the increasing population that has piled pressure on the available natural resources. The number could go up to the extent that it is uncontrollable, thus prompting the need to colonize another. Mars is believed to be the best option for humankind due to its similarities to earth. Mars and earth share common similarities based on water flow into the planets, the bacterial survival rates in both planets, and the time taken by each planet to revolve around the sun. Other aspects such as atmospheric composition and gravity of Earth and Mars have shown similarities that could mean that humans can survive on Mars. Colonizing Mars could also help the human race understand the earth better and link earth to space. In the bid to colonize Mars, the human race should work together to achieve the target and share the economic and political benefits of Mars’ colonization. The paper has provided evidence which proves that colonization of Mars will be of great importance to the human race. Colonizing Mars will give the world more benefits and more equal opportunities. By colonizing the planet, we will use natural resources and understand the scientific secrets held in space. Mars could also be our only hope of survival as the human race. Therefore, the human should work together, without boundary to colonize Mars and preserve our species. 

References

Billings, B. (2019). Should humans colonize mars? No. Theology and Science, 17:3, 341-346. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2019.1632524 . 

Cabrol, N. A. (2018). The coevolution of life and environment on Mars: an ecosystem perspective on the robotic exploration of biosignatures. 

Dick, S. J. (2020). Exploring the Unknown: 50 Years of NASA History. In  Space, Time, and Aliens  (pp. 243-268). Springer, Cham. 

Fourteau, K., Faïn, X., Martinerie, P., Landais, A., Ekaykin, A. A., Lipenkov, V. Y., & Chappellaz, J. (2017). Analytical constraints on layered gas trapping and smoothing of atmospheric variability in ice under low-accumulation conditions.  Climate of the Past ,  13 (12), 1815. 

Frank, J. J., Poulakos, A. G., Tornero-Velez, R., & Xue, J. (2019). Systematic review and meta-analyses of lead (Pb) concentrations in environmental media (soil, dust, water, food, and air) reported in the United States from 1996 to 2016.  Science of the Total Environment ,  694 , 133489. 

Kaplan, G. G., & Ng, S. C. (2017). Understanding and preventing the global increase of inflammatory bowel disease.  Gastroenterology ,  152 (2), 313-321. 

Khatoon, N. (2020). Natural Resources and Biodiversity Conservation Practices in Tawang. In  Tawang, Monpas and Tibetan Buddhism in Transition  (pp. 89-102). Springer, Singapore. 

Levchenko, I. Xu, S. Mazouffre, S. Keidar, M. & Bazaka, K. (2019). Mars Colonization: Beyond getting there. NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6383964/ 

Levchenko, I., Xu, S., Mazouffre, S., Keidar, M., & Bazaka, K. (2019). Mars colonization: beyond getting there.  Global Challenges ,  3 (1), 1800062. 

Mace, M., & Schwalbe, C. B. (2020). From Robots to Humans: Newspaper Coverage of Mars in the United States and the United Kingdom 2011–2016.  Journalism Studies ,  21 (13), 1913-1932. 

Mills, S. M., & Fabrycky, D. C. (2017). Mass, density, and formation constraints in the compact, sub-Earth Kepler-444 system including two Mars-mass planets.  The Astrophysical Journal Letters ,  838 (1), L11. 

NASA, (2020). How long will the earth remain habitable? https://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/venus/q79.html#:~:text=The%20evaporation%20of%20the%20Earth’s,Earth%20will%20have%20become%20uninhabitable . 

Platt, C.A., Jason, M., & Sullivan, C.J. (2020. Public perceptions of private space initiatives: How young adults view the Space X plan to colonize Mars. Space Policy , 51. 1-10. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265964619300098 

Prakash, S., & Srivastava, S. (2019). Impact of climate change on biodiversity: An overview. 

Zubrin, R. (2018). The economic viability of mars colonization. In  Deep Space Commodities  (pp. 159-180). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-90303-3_12