How Important is the Colonization of Mars?

 

            The exploration of Mars has captivated both public imagination and scientific inquiry, fueled by the question of whether life exists beyond Earth. As humans have looked towards the stars, Mars, with its proximity and intriguing characteristics, has emerged as a focal point for research. The red planet's similar day length to Earth and evidence of past liquid water makes it a prime candidate for studying habitability. This interest has sparked debates among scientists, policymakers, and the public about the potential for life on Mars and the feasibility of human colonization.

The debates have caused diverse viewpoints surrounding the study of Mars' habitability. Some scientists argue that the search for life on Mars could revolutionize our understanding of biology, suggesting that life might be common throughout the universe. Others emphasize Mars as a natural laboratory for understanding planetary processes, such as climate change and volcanic activity, which have direct implications for Earth. Lastly, many scientists have looked at Mars as the primary candidate for a non-Earth human colony. These debates cause growing controversy within the scientific community, however there is one thing we must agree on. With growing Earth populations and over-arching problems like global warming, nuclear war, and natural disasters, it is important to the future of humans that we establish a Martian colony and become a multi-planetary species.

Water

Many would say that the main ingredient for life is water, and there’s strong evidence that Mars once had liquid water and a strong magnetic field. It seems that when Mars lost its magnetic field, solar winds eroded the atmosphere, causing the liquid water to dry up [7]. Geological evidence suggests that before the loss of its magnetic field, Mars had a thicker atmosphere and warmer climate, making it possible for liquid water, maybe even oceans, to exist [2].

Although there isn’t any visible water on the surface of Mars, planetary scientists have found water beneath the surface [1]. As seen in Figure 1, scientists started to search for water and ice underneath the surface of mars because of surface patterns. The scalloped and jagged textures prompted researchers to look in certain regions, but sub-surface water is much more prevalent than was previously thought. For instance, we’ve found massive underground ice deposits in places like Utopia Planitia, with volumes comparable to Earth's Lake Superior [3], [4], [5]. As shown in Figure 2, scientists estimate up to 40% of Martian soil contains water and ice in certain regions.  [1]. And in 2018, scientists discovered a subglacial lake beneath the southern polar ice cap, showing there are stable water bodies in extreme Martian environments [6]. These discoveries are super exciting because it means that future human explorers could potentially use these water resources, making Mars livable. The water could not only be used for the humans permanently living on Mars, but also for humans on Earth. With the growing population of humans on Earth, Mars’ water could prove useful in the next hundred years, even. Scientists project that unless humans change their water usage, there could be a massive global shortage of water by 2040 [16]. With this being said, Mars colonization could be more important than we thought.

Figure 1: Scalloped regions on Martian surface prompt scientists to search for ice [4],[5]

Figure 2: Robinson projection of water presence in Martian soil [1]

Other Life Elements

            There have been other findings that support the idea of past or future life on Mars. For instance, NASA’s Curiosity rover has identified key chemical ingredients for life in the Martian soil, including sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and possibly carbon [15]. These elements are essential for life as we know it.

Curiosity’s findings are crucial not only for understanding Mars' history but also for future human colonization. The presence of these life-supporting elements means that Mars has some of the basic building blocks needed to sustain life. This knowledge can help us develop strategies for creating a self-sustaining colony. For example, knowing where to find essential elements can guide us in selecting sites for human habitats. Additionally, these elements could be used to grow food, produce oxygen, and support other life-support systems. The discovery of these chemicals, combined with the presence of water, makes Mars one of the most promising locations for future human settlement in our solar system.

Controversy

The main counter argument posed is that the water on Mars could be difficult to reach. Although the water is located below the surface, it is likely that Martian colonies will have to be built beneath the surface as well. Thus, both problems will be solved with the same technology. It is important to realize that finding water on a planetary body at all is more than half of the battle.

The same problems arise with building the actual colonies. As said before, Mars lacks a current magnetic field, but it also has a very thin atmosphere. Any water on the surface would be immediately sublimated into water vapor [5]. Since Mars doesn’t have much of an atmosphere and has no magnetic field, the planet is exposed to intense radiation every day. Martian soil also has an abundance of perchlorates, a toxic substance which affects human hormones [8],[9],[10],[11],[12],[13],[14]. These factors would make living on the surface nearly impossible. Thus, living below ground would be the best option. Underground, pressurized labs could be built comparable to the inside of an airplane, where humans would acclimate to living over time. There, humans would be safe from cosmic radiation, the freezing surface temperatures, and Martian soil. The construction of these labs could be critical, as they would serve as research centers and could help extract Mars’ resources to send them back to Earth where they are needed.

With the abundance of water, life elements, and overall similarities to Earth, Mars is the perfect candidate for a human settlement and resource mining. As tensions between world superpowers grow every day, holding a Martian colony could be valuable if humans on Earth were to self-implode. Not only could humans cause their own demise on Earth, but natural disasters could as well. Volcanic calderas such as the Yellowstone Super Caldera could erupt any day causing thick layers of ash and famine across the planet [17]. Asteroids similar in size to the one that theoretically caused the dinosaurs to go extinct could inevitably hit Earth and cause an extinction as well. All in all, a Martian colony could provide a safety net for humans if something bad happened to Earth, and it could provide necessary resources for all humans during a time of need.

Conclusion

Wrapping things up, it’s clear that Mars is an incredibly promising candidate for future colonization. The discovery of essential life-supporting elements like sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and possibly carbon, along with past evidence of liquid water, suggests that Mars might have been more Earth-like than we ever imagined. These findings from NASA’s Curiosity rover and other missions show that Mars has the potential to reveal secrets about past life and support future human habitation. Mars’ Earth-like day length and underground ice deposits are valuable resources that we could use to build a sustainable colony.

Embracing the idea of colonizing Mars has some pretty exciting implications for our future. By investing in Mars exploration, we’re not only expanding the human population but also developing technologies and gaining resources that can benefit life on Earth. Plus, establishing a human presence on Mars would be a huge step toward ensuring the long-term survival of our species, providing a potential refuge in the face of global challenges such as global warming, scarce resources, nuclear war, and natural disasters. So, whether you’re a curious reader or a policymaker, supporting Mars exploration is a smart move that promises great rewards for humanity’s future.

Bibliography

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