We know Mars as the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet in the Solar System, right? Well, NASA believes that we should start calling the fiery red planet “home.” The planet was discovered to be able to support human life. Even so, why can we not simply continue living here, Earth – our natural habitat? First of all, Mars is far away. It can take about 10 months (7304.84 hours) to arrive on the planet. It takes astronauts about 4 days (96 hours) to get to the moon. “The longer it takes, the worse it becomes.” If most of us are already troubled by car-sickness, how would we survive on a space shuttle for that long? In addition to distance, there is the matter of water, oxygen, food, and fuel. Scientists still need to find answers to those problems. There is also the issue of being away from Earth. Time away from Earth’s gravity harms the human body. Bones and muscles get weaker, the body produces less blood, and heart muscles atrophy. If we eventually decide to live there, away from Earth, we shorten our lifespan. As opposed to what I said earlier, going to Mars could also be a turn for the better. Considering the possibility of Earth’s population going over 9 billion by 2075, we will definitely need extra space. Populating Mars could give us that space. Also, the technology NASA develops to get there could improve life on Earth. Then again, the cost of going on a mission to Mars is just unthinkable: $1 trillion. Why is something as valuable as money going to be used for such a thing as this? They need to start thinking about the problems here on Earth that could use the money in a far more efficient way. Overall, Mars is not a suitable habitat for human beings. Although you can spend your day exploring and making new discoveries, the climate would be uncomfortable and possibly life-threatening. If only Mars would have stayed warm like in the past (about 3 billion years ago), then it would have been a much safer environment for us. Scientists even suspected that Mars could have had larger traces of oxygen long ago. So, why not just stick to the planet we have?
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