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Footprints On Mars: A Step Closer to a Brighter Future

  • camaymayangm0483
  • Aug 14, 2022
  • 9 min read

Updated: Oct 28, 2024

Written By Gabrielle Marie

Performance Task: Debate and Position Paper

Oral Communication in Context


“One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The day Neil Armstrong spoke these words as he walked on the moon marked the beginning of many other successful attempts in space exploration. Since then, humans have become more eager to understand and visit other celestial bodies outside of Earth—the only planet that can support life. And with how far man has come in aerospace engineering, some say that even before the century ends, the first landing on Mars, the next big challenge after landing on the moon, would have already happened. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SpaceX are pioneering to make this a reality.


The First Man on the Moon || NASA/Newsmakers/Getty Images


According to NASA, the initial motivation behind these challenges was the pure curiosity of the unknown and unfamiliar Universe. But slowly, discovering new worlds outside of Earth is becoming a necessity. Although the Earth’s proximity to the sun, temperature, size, and atmosphere is nearly perfect to house around a trillion species of different plants and animals, the effects of climate change are starting to prove otherwise.


The World Wildlife Fund reports climate change or the drastic shift in global climate patterns is threatening life on Earth. Animals living in the Antarctic are losing their habitats because it’s all melting, causing sea levels to rise. Droughts also continue to intensify, and it won’t be long before existing food and water supply are gone.


Becoming a multi-planetary species is the solution to address this urgent problem. But before that happens, it is crucial to terraform Mars or planetary engineer it to make it more Earth-like. Today, it is the best candidate for becoming man’s new home because the other terrestrial planets are too close to the sun, while the gas giants are even farther away than Mars. Moreover, the National Aeronautics Space Administration or NASA found signs of ancient water on the Red Planet, something vital for sustaining life. The duration of a day on Mars is also very similar to Earth’s, with Mars having days that are 40 minutes longer. Overall, it already has an environment that is easier to alter compared to other planets.


Mars || NASA


Currently, plans of terraforming Mars, more importantly, getting humans to Mars, are still on the drawing board. Although several robotic missions were already successfully undertaken, further study on safely bringing humans to and from the planet is still needed. It may not be a simple task, but it is an endeavor worth taking on because of its promising benefits. The government should invest in terraforming Mars because it addresses ongoing problems such as climate change and lack of resources while ensuring the continuity of man.


Firstly, terraforming Mars will naturally address the issue of climate change because the fewer people inhabiting Earth will result in fewer greenhouse gases produced regularly.


According to NASA, it is normal for the Earth’s climate to change, but it usually takes hundreds or even millions of years. Recently, human-induced climate change has been very evident. And human activities like driving and burning fossil fuels, which produce greenhouse gases, are the main culprit. These gases trap more heat than usual, warming the whole planet at a faster rate. Furthermore, the United States Environmental Protection Agency states that humans are responsible for almost all the greenhouse gas emissions in the last century. According to The Nature Conservancy, the average amount of greenhouse gases that one person can produce is 4 tons per year. It needs to be halved by the year 2050, or else the Earth’s temperature will increase by 2℃. According to NASA, the increase may not be that big, but its effects are immense.


The National Geographic Society states that climate change intensifies and instigates several natural disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, heatwaves, storms, droughts, and typhoons. Moreover, the High Meadows Environmental Institute (2021) explained that it is already influencing hurricanes and typhoons to intensify by 5% in maximum wind speeds. The Philippines’ Super Typhoon Rolly in 2020, with wind speeds of 220 km/h to 315 km/h, is an example of this. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, nearly 2 million people were affected, and the damaged infrastructure alone already cost ₱11 billion to repair. Numerous class and work suspensions also occurred, and many got displaced due to the typhoon. There is no doubt that these natural disasters are devastating, and they will only continue to worsen.


The Sibacungan Elementary School in Bato town, Catanduanes devastated by Typhoon Rolly || George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News


The United Nations Population Fund reports that the human population spiked to 6.1 billion from 1.6 billion in just under a century. The greenhouse gas emission, more specifically carbon dioxide, also increased 12-fold, leading to a drastic increase in temperature that will continue until the next 100 years (NASA, 2014).


Many are striving to reverse the effects of climate change, or at the very least, delay the damage that it can cause through sustainable living. But for this to be effective, everyone has to turn to alternative energy resources. The only problem is not everyone is capable of doing that. Sustainable living is painfully expensive. In the Philippines, solar panels already amount to more than ₱100,000 just for six standard panels. Electric cars also range from ₱2 million to ₱8 million, definitely unrealistic for an average Filipino that only makes ₱15,200 to afford, let alone maintain.


Once Mars is terraformed and can already support life, humans will be gradually moving there. With fewer people who regularly produce greenhouse gases in their daily life on Earth, climate change will slow down. In turn, excessive climate action will not be necessary anymore, and the unfavorable effects of climate change such as natural disasters will lessen too.


Secondly, terraforming Mars will provide humans with valuable resources such as land and mineral ores that have been the foundation of modern civilization on Earth.


The United Nations estimates that nearly 8 billion people are scrambling for space on Earth today. Reports show that by 2050, it will be up to 10 billion. By the end of the century, they expect the number to increase by another billion.


Based on a study by researchers from Stanford University, to feed the world’s rapidly growing population, 3 to 5 million hectares of added land are needed. Although there are still 450 million hectares of fertile land left on Earth, they predict that by 2050, demands for urbanization and food production will use up all the remaining land. Furthermore, land resources have already become so limited and valuable that today, people in Hong Kong resort to living in “cage homes,” which could measure as small as 75 square feet, even smaller than a typical 120 square feet parking space. They can only fit a bed, table, and a few belongings while paying $500 in rent. Because of this, some have no choice but to be homeless, living on the streets and footbridges.


Urban Hell: A Look Inside the Cage Homes of Hong Kong || Four Facades


Enriched with a plethora of mineral resources, the Earth has also provided plentiful raw materials. But since the 1970s, human consumption has exceeded sustainability. An average infant born today needs 20 tons of zinc, lead, copper, aluminum, and iron in their lifetime. That’s as heavy as a 14-passenger car. Stanford Smith, an expert on forest resources, explains that minerals are nonrenewable resources, and they could take even longer than a lifetime to form, sometimes even taking millions of years. Unfortunately, modern technologies today rely heavily on them, so much that the Japanese refer to them as “the seeds of technology.” Minerals are indispensable for the construction of infrastructure, transportation, medical devices, electronic devices, appliances, and batteries, to name a few.


Fortunately, according to NASA’s 2016 paper titled "Frontier In-Situ Resource Utilization for Enabling Sustained Human Presence on Mars," Mars is abundant in many valuable resources. Minerals such as nickel, titanium, and iron are also everywhere on the planet’s surface. Moreover, it is very near an asteroid belt that has rare minerals like platinum and gold. Terraforming Mars provides an opportunity for us to mine these just by acting as a waypoint from Earth to the asteroid belt.


Because the world’s population is increasing, the demand for land is also going up. Terraforming Mars would provide humans with more of this valuable resource to innovate and build civilizations. Minerals are also abundant there, which are rocks that have economic value, usually used in metals. Humans can utilize these once brought back to Earth to improve infrastructure and better their quality of life.


The trickling stream running into St Oswald’s Bay on England’s south coast, where Mars analog conditions have resulted in fatty acids from life being preserved inside iron-rich minerals. || Imperial College London


Lastly, terraforming Mars and eventually becoming a multi-planetary species will prolong the existence of man. Earth is highly vulnerable to numerous natural hazards such as destructive volcanic eruptions, devastating earthquakes, and cosmic impact (Crawford, 2014). They’re inevitable and unpredictable—a perfect recipe for ca tastrophe.


Volcanic eruptions, wherein molten rock below the Earth rise to the surface, usually occur because of tectonic activity. The World Health Organization reports that over 6 million people have been affected, and over 2000 died in less than two decades because of volcanic eruptions. Ben Kennedy, a volcanologist, states that although predictions on volcanic eruptions are gradually improving, some volcanoes still erupt unexpectedly, making them more difficult to anticipate.

Damaged houses lie at Taal volcano almost a year after it erupted. || Associated Press


Likewise, tectonic activity influences earthquakes. They are sudden bursts of energy on the Earth’s surface that cause the ground to tremble and shake. The National Earthquake Information Center reports that we experience 20,000 earthquakes yearly and thousands die because of these as well. According to the United States Geological Survey, technologies today only limit predictions to the probability of earthquakes happening in a specific area. Accuracy on when they will specifically happen and how damaging it will be is still difficult to foresee.


A damaged building after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit Kidapawan town, north Cotabato province, on the southern island of Mindanao on October 31, 2019. || Ferdinandh Cabrera/AFP Getty Images


According to NASA, there have been nearly 600 asteroids that entered the Earth since the year 2000. Terrifyingly, one of the more destructive cosmic impacts was the 2013 Chelyabinsk Event, wherein a house-sized asteroid exploded over Russia. Around 1600 people were injured, and the damage reached infrastructure that was 200 miles away. Although cosmic impacts of larger objects are said to be less frequent, taking place only twice every century, NASA acknowledges that they could happen at any time.


Joel Levine, a planetary scientist, also explains that dinosaurs were once the most dominant form of life on Earth. But due to the asteroid impact, dating 65 million years ago, in the Yucatán Peninsula, nearly 75% of the planet’s animals died, including all the dinosaurs.


Just five asteroids have been spotted shortly before impacting the atmosphere. || Getty Images


The unpredictability of these natural hazards could cause a mass extinction on Earth. No matter how much one prepares, the sudden occurrence of these events can catch anyone off-guard. Terraforming Mars ensures the longevity of man. When an astronomically disastrous event occurs on one of the planets, at the very least, some life still survives on the other. Investing in Mars is investing in a bright future, a future where humanity lives on.


Terraforming Mars is beneficial for man, but it is not an easy feat. The government should invest in it because when humans become multi-planetary, the effects of climate change on Earth will lessen, humans will have more resources, and they will also survive longer as a species. It may still be hypothetical, but at the rate of innovation and continuous development shown by man, it will not be long until they have reached Mars. They have already accomplished so much today that no one thought could have been possible decades ago. They will be able to do it again. Just like what Paul Brandt said, “Do not tell me the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon.” Soon, there will be footprints on Mars too.


NASA/JPL-Caltech



Resources


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