Essay Sample about Mars, Our New Home

introduction:

Mars, the fourth planet in the solar system, discovered in 1610 by Galileo. Originally it seemed to be an uninhabitable planet that was not suited for life. But recent studies have shown that this is not entirely true, life could be sustainable on mars. Technology has been created to re-create the things we need to live, like: oxygen and water. We, human beings, could have a future on Mars but we have to choose whether or not we want to go through with this innovative plan or to give it up and stick to our Earth that is slowly collapsing into an unforgivable environment. 

argument 1:

One thing that all humans need to live is water. Water is essential, as it helps maintain the balance of body fluids in one’s body and it is a necessity for almost every living creature we know to ever exist. And this is what has turned most people away from mars, at first glance mars seems like a barren wasteland, with nothing useful for humans. But if you dig a little deeper what you will find is extraordinary. According to a ted talk given in 2015 by Stephan Petranek, the phoenix lander captured a photo of ice found a few inches under the surface of mars in 2008. The photo shows small specks of white scattered around in a small area, meaning that most likely other underground places holding ice that could be melted into drinking water. And even more water can be found in the soil on mars, according to the ted talk, mars soil can carry up to 60% water. Which undoubtedly can be filtered into healthy drinkable water, for a sustainable population. But there is one problem, melting and extracting water from mars will take days, months, possibly even years of energy and human labor and this is where WAVAR comes in. WAVAR is a dehumidifier built in 1998 at the university of washington. And this machine works like a low-tech dehumidifier, and Mars' atmosphere is almost always 100% humid. This will allow the machine to extract water from the air, without having to worry about how long things will take.    

argument 2:

But we need more than water to have a sustainable life on mars, food is another essential. On earth food is created on farms that use water, which can be re-created on mars by using hydroponics. Hydroponics is a technique that allows food to be grown without any soil, and indoors. The substitute of soil in this method is a nutritious liquid made for plants that lets them grow and provides the same thing that soil does in a different form. Workers on NASA have already started experimenting with this technique, things like onions, bibb lettuce and radishes have already been grown and even more healthy plants and produce are on their way.

argument 3:

The final thing that can be re-created on Mars in many different ways is shelter. As stated by the ted talk, during the beginning of the colonization homes can be built out of inflatable pressurized buildings and the rockets that landed on mars could also provide a safe house but not for long, soon shelter will be made out of the soil on mars, which has a perfect formula for bricks. If the soil is mixed with a little bit of polymer plastic, and then microwaved it can be then molded into walls for building that will protect from solar radiation. Or, another possible solution for shelter will be to go underground into big caves and/or the many lava tubes that have been found despite the little exploration we have done on Mars’ geography and landscape. Now one thing that you might not consider shelter on earth, will be clothing, the clothing worn on mars will need to provide shelter from radiation and cold. And a brilliant scientist at MIT has created a blueprint for what mars suits might look like. The space suit has been designed to look sleek while still keeping us together. 

counter argument:

However,  one major obstacle that we will face no matter what on our journey to mars, is the length of the trip. According to the Nasa Mars Mission WebSite it will take 7 months to complete a trip to mars and the spacecraft will have to travel 300 million miles / 480 million kilometer to reach the designated landing site (Jezero Crater). Many people have called these numbers outrages saying that no one would want to spend that long locked up in a solid metal can for longer. But 200,00 young aspiring astronauts say otherwise. According to the Mars One website around two hundred thousand people registered in a survey, saying they were interested in the opportunity to take one this once and a lifetime experience. Out of all those surveyed 10,000 of them completed their full application process and the Mars One Mission Team was able to narrow down the applicants to 100 people that could potentially have a future as part of the colonization of Mars. This shows that there are dreamers out there, people who are willing to take the first step, regardless of the challenges and dangerous possible outcomes.

counter argument:

The danger of going to mars is also the odds of a successful launch and landing. According to a ted talk given in 2015, out of all the 44 rockets sent to mars, only a third of them succeed. But according to Wikipedia since 2015 12 objects have been sent to mars 11 of which were successful, and the one failed mission was sent by the ESA [European Space Agency], which is not a very advanced space program, that does not set the standard. From the rockets sent in recent years the success rate has been almost 100% successful and there's little reason to doubt the capability of our model rockets that will fuel our innovative development.

conclusion:    

While Mars may seem like an unforgiving planet with harsh environments and unlivable conditions, it is impossible to ignore how similar the dunes of Mars mirror our desserts. Many of the things we need on earth can be recreated on mars. Food can be grown indoors. Water can be found in the soil as well as at the poles where thin ice sheets have been photographed. Shelter can be made from the soil on mars which has the perfect formula for brick to create strong and sturdy structures that protect from the harmful radiation and freezing temutups. Although at first glance Mars may seem like an uninhabitable place, our technology is quickly advancing to create unbelievable machines that have the power to send mankind to explore the universe and it’s wonders.