Exploring the Imperative of Colonizing Mars: A Vision Driven by Elon Musk

Introduction

Throughout time, humanity looked towards the stars. Furthermore, most of that was to expand knowledge. In recent years humans have been trying to colonize Mars this century. However, some people are skeptical, thus, saying this is not an intelligent choice or stating this is a waste of time and resources. And humans are still at least five years off from a launch from a manned mission to Mars.

In addition, Elon Musk has said before that the BFR (Big F****** Rocket) tests will launch in late 2019. There are some galvanizing and honest reasons why we should colonize Mars from some impressive names. Such as Neil deGrasse Tyson, Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, Michio Kaku, and of course, Elon Musk. These men state reasons ranging from possible doomsday of nuclear fallout global warming to the possibility of running out of resources, extinction, and the possibility of finding life.

The Visionary Endeavor of Elon Musk

In 2013, Elon Musk created an aerospace company called SpaceX with the vision to revolutionize rocketry. He invented rockets that are reusable. Thus to add, his true intentions ultimately would be to send a manned mission to Mars. Instead of burning up in the atmosphere, they landed intact on Earth. However, he had enough money to only fund three rockets. All three rockets failed and exploded (Anslow Louis). Nevertheless, he had barely enough money to scrap a fourth rocket which was a success.

Thus, his true intentions ultimately would be to send a manned mission to Mars. Ever since that one day, SpaceX has been creating facts of what people in the 60s called fiction. However, all this comes down to why and how humans would go there. One of the most popular reasons that Elon Musk and most other believers say why humans need to colonize Mars is that we may not depend on Earth for long or else humans will die one day, and we do not know when that day is to come. Dinosaurs lived for 165 million years; regardless, the most evidence we may find of them are just fossils.

If humanity is to thrive, then humans have to expand. Renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has said, ‘If the human race is to continue for another million years, we will have to boldly go where no one has gone before’ (qtd. In Orwig). Stephen Hawkings was a bold supporter of colonizing Mars and believed that humans must push towards this great leap forward. Thus, if we put humans on a different planet, this may increase the possibility of human civilization’s prosperity for the “…existence thousands if not millions of years from now.” (Business Insider)

Survival and Prosperity of Humanity

Another popular reason why humans should colonize Mars is the possibility of finding life. For all of the time, humans have never found life other than Earth. However, these two planets are very similar two each other. “The Earth and Mars are a bit like fraternal twins that slowly grew apart. Four billion years ago, both planets were warm, sheathed by protective atmospheres, and carved with rivers and pools of liquid water….” (The Atlantic).

Earth and Mars were once planets that shared many similarities to each other. Nonetheless, Mars has changed into a desert planet. Contrarily, There has been evidence of ice on the planet’s surface. From what humans know, all life needs water to live. Subsequently, this means that another worldly species, such as a unicellular organism, may live. For humans, this would mark one of the best discoveries and owing to proof of otherworldly life.

Conclusion

In retrospect, colonizing Mars should be something humans should strive for this century. The reasons are significant. Even just going to Mars and only having a colony would be a great leap for mankind. Humans may soon enough call themselves a multi-planetary species.

References

1. “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashlee Vance
2. “Elon Musk: Inventing the Future” by Ashlee Vance
3. “Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by David West