A One Way Trip To Mars? No Thanks

There are 78,000 people applying to be aboard a one way trip to Mars. The trip is sponsored by the a group called Mars One. Their goal is to put a permanent human settlement on Mars. They want the first four people to be on Mars by 2023.

For me personally I think this project is not a very good idea. I think that while the populous should be involved in space exploration we need to leave the engineering and carrying out of the projects to space agencies who have experience and protocol. 

From the start of space exploration our space agencies around the world have learned what needs to be done to keep human life safe in space. Also, we have protocol for not bringing things such as viruses and bacteria from Earth out into space. From the moment a human sets foot on Mars it will be contaminated and could potentially kill any forms of life that may exist there.I also think that the space exploration should be a public and publicly funded endeavor. It needs to be of the people. Private enterprise is great for some things but not space exploration.

Proposed Mars Colony
Courtesy of space.com

Another obvious fault with the plans of Mars One is the why. Our robotic technology gets better everyday. So why spend over four billion dollars to put a human on Mars and endanger their life and potential extraterrestrial life forms? A robot can do scientific observation faster and more effectively than a human when it comes to researching Mars. I’m not saying the spark of human curiosity is not extremely valuable. I’m saying that for right now robots are the way to go.

Also, Mars is a very toxic environment for a human. One little error can cause drastic failure and death. Until we have a really good reason to put humans on Mars and until we have a way to bring them home let’s wait. 

Overall I admire the initiative of Mars One but I don’t think it is the way to go right now.

So then I must ask, what do you think?