Why going to Mars is a bad idea?
Elon Musk and several scientists are excited at the opportunity of colonizing Mars.
It's of course a natural evolution of mankind, a step that will open new opportunities, knowledge and technology. It is the dawn a bright future that awaits us round the corner. Really?
No, of course, and here's why.
Mars is a small planet, 10% as massive as Earth, and 30% the Earth's surface.
Gravity and the magnetic field is also is much less than Earth, which means that the harmful solar wind made of high-energy killer particles hit Mars's constantly wiping off any form of life.
Mars atmosphere is thin and 96% made of CO2, so if you think we've a CO2 problem here, think again.
There is no air to sustain humans life on Mars, and the average temperature is about -60 Celsius.
It's like giving someone a free holiday in Siberia but without food and air.
According to NASA, Mars get hits by around 200 asteroids every year. [1]
So the theory that "We go to Mars because the Earth could be hit by an asteroid" doesn't make much sense.
Does Elon knows how many asteroids are going to hit either planets? No, nobody knows the future but we like to talk because it's cool. It makes us smarter.
On top of that, it takes about 6mo to reach Mars, so if you forget your smartphone at home there is no quick fix, if you ever make it back.
But wait! New opportunities and new technologies are awaiting us. Yes, the struggle to survive in such environment is certain, but knowing that you can pass away in a comfortably space-suit ,I admit, is something worth a try.
The cost to finance such missions? Huge. With the same money we could build hospitals, new infrastructures including faster trains, green mobility and energy stations which in turn would produce jobs and less misery on a large scale.
So, in summary why we want to go there?
Because now that we've almost destroyed our home, it's time to export the model to other planets, so aliens will know what we're capable of, and we can finally fight there on a galactic scale.
[1] https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-probe-counts-space-rock-impacts-on-mars
It's of course a natural evolution of mankind, a step that will open new opportunities, knowledge and technology. It is the dawn a bright future that awaits us round the corner. Really?
No, of course, and here's why.
Mars is a small planet, 10% as massive as Earth, and 30% the Earth's surface.
Gravity and the magnetic field is also is much less than Earth, which means that the harmful solar wind made of high-energy killer particles hit Mars's constantly wiping off any form of life.
Mars atmosphere is thin and 96% made of CO2, so if you think we've a CO2 problem here, think again.
There is no air to sustain humans life on Mars, and the average temperature is about -60 Celsius.
It's like giving someone a free holiday in Siberia but without food and air.
According to NASA, Mars get hits by around 200 asteroids every year. [1]
So the theory that "We go to Mars because the Earth could be hit by an asteroid" doesn't make much sense.
Does Elon knows how many asteroids are going to hit either planets? No, nobody knows the future but we like to talk because it's cool. It makes us smarter.
On top of that, it takes about 6mo to reach Mars, so if you forget your smartphone at home there is no quick fix, if you ever make it back.
But wait! New opportunities and new technologies are awaiting us. Yes, the struggle to survive in such environment is certain, but knowing that you can pass away in a comfortably space-suit ,I admit, is something worth a try.
The cost to finance such missions? Huge. With the same money we could build hospitals, new infrastructures including faster trains, green mobility and energy stations which in turn would produce jobs and less misery on a large scale.
So, in summary why we want to go there?
Because now that we've almost destroyed our home, it's time to export the model to other planets, so aliens will know what we're capable of, and we can finally fight there on a galactic scale.
[1] https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-probe-counts-space-rock-impacts-on-mars
