The first problem we encountered is whether distance. Mars has benefits not found on Earth. As much as the colonies benefited from the positive features of colonialism, many instances still depict the downsides of this era. The Constellation project also has objectives. Take a look at this post to read about why rockets have to be so big. Then it would just be a reminder of everything we’d lost. I think the article you choose was helpful identifying different pros and cons. But it’s really hard to get big objects to Mars. By providing your email, you agree to the Quartz Privacy Policy. NASA’s website explains, “At sea level on Earth, we breathe in an atmosphere where each cubic centimeter contains 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules; by comparison the lunar atmosphere has less than 1,000,000 molecules in the same volume.” Since the moon has so little atmosphere, any wind can’t really move heat from the hot day side to the cold night side. This frozen water can be extracted from the ground which would allow humans to extract both H20 and oxygen. Therefore, space exploration is important for human life in the future. Colonizing Mars provides an opportunity to test out various utopian ideals. A Mars colony will continue to be far off in the future until the funding and political winds shift. So, from a purely commerce-oriented standpoint, a moon colony is a much better economical venture. Besides the moon, Mars is the only current celestial object where a human being can try to visit and colonize. (Remember the book and movie The Martian?) Its day is just over 24 hours long, so a day on Mars would be roughly equivalent to a day on Earth. That would be tough! Mars’s atmosphere could also stop a bunch of harmful EUV and energetic particles from the sun. One side believes that by sending humans to Mars we are completing yet another great technological endeavor while gaining valuable understanding of life. You would still get a fair bit of radiation exposure, though. In 2030 NASA plans on launching a mission to Mars, but they need people educated to operate and undertake the space missions. Colonization would benefit Earthlings to do so. Mars spins at a pretty reasonable rate. Cold. One of the strongest arguments in favor of Mars colonization is the survival of mankind in the event of a global catastrophe. Back to Teacher View. We have set foot on the Moon, and we’ve sent probes to almost every planet in our system. On the moon, the day is very hot and the night is very cold. Sounds crazy, right? But many explorers who want to colonize Mars have as their main motivation that it is new. So, scientifically, Mars is a much better destination than the moon. Ideas such as colonizing another planet is not unheard of and if humans do not consider the possible impacts in a new environment, this can be detrimental. It is worth for human life for many reasons such as discovering the unknown sciences in space.…, Throughout the book, Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, 5 excerpts gave me a good sense as to why the details discussed in the book are relevant. They just want to be the first people on a new planet. Let's take a look at some of the pros -- and cons -- of colonizing the moon. Barack Obama from, “America Will Take the Giant Leap to Mars”…, In essence, their aspirations to verify their origins can potentially be fulfilled if they were to travel deep in space. Though robotic spacecraft can do a lot, they lack the critical firsthand experience that can only be captured by humans. Ensuring the survival of our species. We’ve got some awesome news for you. We have written many interesting articles on colonization here at Universe Today. Unless we’d fled Earth because it had become a nuclear wasteland. The moon is too harsh to be anything but a stepping stone toward life in space. To start sending water and rocket fuel for the journey home, along with other supplies to Mars, we’d have to do years of research first. (Credit: TheFactSite). Imagine a farm without dirt or tractors. Two experts weigh in on the pros and cons of trying to send humans to Mars. Con: Colonizing Mars would be very Expensive. This would prevent you from frying if you went outside. Now let’s turn to the advantages of living on the moon. In the long term, Mars wins. Also, because Mars’ day is relatively short, the day-to-night temperature difference is not too dramatic. Once colonized, Mars will have millions of miles of free space to build on, which the could be sold to those on Earth who need somewhere to go, and cause the Martian economy to flourish.. You would agree that the center of Antarctica in winter is cold, not the best of places to set up … Don’t get me wrong, we do have rockets that can land tiny amounts of stuff on Mars. NASA studies the obstacles in space (meteors, black holes, etc.) Colonizing another planet is in line with the human spirit of exploration.