11. Why Would We?
Why, indeed. Why would we leave the cosy, comfortable bosom of our own planet for the barren wastelands of Mars? Scholars and experts have been tossing this one around since the early 20th century and there are a number of compelling arguments as to why we should fly the nest. Survival: The primary concern of most Mars advocates is the preservation of the human race. Stephen Hawking has argued on numerous occasions that space colonisation is the best means of long terms human survival. Hawking has gone so far as to say that we can either establish space colonies in the next 200 years, or face extinction. By moving some of our population off-world, the human race would be able to survive in the event of a disaster, either natural or man-made. The basic idea behind the survival argument is one of not keeping all of humanity's eggs in one basket. Resources: With our ever-dwindling resources here on Earth, the prospect of the untapped riches in the wider solar system are looking ever more tempting. There are a wide variety of estimates as to exactly how much is out there, ranging from several thousand to more than a billion times that which is available to us on Earth. With almost limitless material and energy resources up for grabs, the arguments for leaving our exhausted little planet in pursuit of galactic goldmines are ever mounting. Overpopulation: Our expanding population is a cause for growing concern. We are now getting to the point where we can no longer feed, house and employ large swathes of the population and things are only going to get worse. By colonising other planets, we offload some of the pressure on Earth's resources and the boundaries of our home world would no longer be the limitations that they are today. Economic: Whilst it might be nice for some to imagine that an off-world colony would be a good excuse to start again and build some kind of egalitarian utopia on Mars, the reality is that space travel will likely become as commercialised as any other industry here on Earth. This is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact it's already happening. Ever since we figured out how to get things into orbit, we've been sending satellites up there that do everything from help your navigate to beam TV channels into your home. It is likely that, in order to be successful and financially viable, space travel and space tourism will follow a similar suit. Exploration: A good answer to the question "Why should we go to Mars?" is "why not?". As well as all of the practical implications of solar system colonisation, there is also the very basic human drive to explore. If we can go and live on Mars, and enough people want to, then we should at least give it a go - we'd be mad not to.