Living on Mars, 7 Reasons For Which Life On Mars Will Be Tough
There are many traits about mars that make it inhospitable for humans but even that hasn’t stopped us from plotting and planning to one day occupy mars have it in fact we’re expecting to have a fully functioning independent colony on the planet by the year 2050.
But before we do so we’ve got to settle this is it viable for us to set our sights on the red planet what exactly will happen if we colonize Mars.
Let’s face it going to mars will cost us a pretty penny, Nasa’s current Mars mission concept would set us back about 50 billion dollars over the course of a decade or about as twice as much as the moon program cost between 1962 and 1972.
Nevertheless, there are some financial analysts who believe that it can be done for cheaper but it would still cost us around 20 billion dollars.
Let’s also not forget that space flight is also very dangerous even if it’s smooth sailing during the launch the life support systems on the ship could fail at any time during the nine months it takes to get to Mars. So even if enough money is raised for the journey getting to the surface of Mars is no easy task right. Now no technology exists that could land humans safely on the surface the largest thing we’ve ever landed there is roughly the size of a car.
Once we get to Mars we’re going to have to adjust to the tough weather. We’d have to deal with the fact that it’s freezing the average temperature is minus 81 degrees Fahrenheit while a summer day near the equator can reach 70 degrees.
It can plunge to nearly minus 200 degrees in winter near the poles mars atmosphere is also extremely thin and contains just 0.15 oxygen which is not nearly enough to breathe.
Most of the atmosphere is 96 carbon dioxide Mars’ thin atmosphere is less efficient at shielding the surface from harmful radiation like UV light from the sun and high energy cosmic rays this radiation can severely damage plant and animal cells and can even be fatal if we don’t have the right protective equipment on.
Agriculture could also be another major setback if we don’t plan well for it. As master growers we require the right balance of bacteria and chemicals to grow plants on earth and as far as we know the martian soil is devoid of all life including bacteria.
Mars receives about one-third to half of the amount of sunlight as earth depending on where it is in orbit around the sun. with less sunlight, solar-powered instruments take longer to charge and farming could prove quite complex
Let’s also not forget that these plants need water which is essential for life as we know it unfortunately mars was once home to gigantic oceans but today it mostly exists in the form of ice at Mars’ poles.
4. The Natural Disaster Elements
As a dry and dusty planet mars, it is regularly plagued by dust storms that last for a few days and can carry tiny dust particles at a staggering speed of 66 miles per hour on rare occasions the storms are big enough to cover the entire planet for several weeks.
In addition to surviving the tough external conditions, the first people to travel to the red planet will likely have to contend with feelings of isolation and loneliness, unlike anything they’ve ever encountered. When it comes to talking to your friends back on earth you’d have to deal with this on average mars is 12.5 light minutes from our home planet that means it would take at least 25 minutes to have a conversation with someone on earth in other words if something went wrong you’re on your own.
Besides the mental challenges, our bodies would suffer too on mars you’d weigh one-third of what you weigh on earth which could have unforeseen health consequences. Our muscles evolved under earth’s gravity but with lower gravity, it’s possible that we could lose muscle mass similar to how astronauts do under zero gravity.
3. Potential To Destroy Mars
Colonizing mars also means that in case there’s any life out there we could be putting it into extreme danger. The closest place in the universe where extraterrestrial life might exist is mars and human beings are poised to attempt to colonize this planetary neighbor within the next decade.
Before that happens we need to recognize that a very real possibility exists that the first human steps on the Martian surface will lead to a collision between terrestrial life and biota native to Mars.
If the red planet is without life then our presence would create no moral or ethical dilemmas on this front but if life does exist on mars human explorers could easily lead to the extinction of Martian life.
2. Taking Care To Not Contaminate
This would mean that we would have to take the threat of biological contamination very seriously. It would become a necessity for us to first sterilize spacecraft that are being sent to mars indeed for more than five decades planetary exploration missions have adhered to sterilization standards that balance their scientific goals with limitations of not damaging sensitive equipment which could potentially lead to mission failures
If we can’t do anything about contaminating mars then why are we willing to risk Martian life of human exploration and colonization of the red planet. Even if we ignore or don’t care about the risks a human presence would pose to Martian life the issue of bringing Martian life back to Earth has serious societal legal and international implications.
What risks might Martian life pose to our environment or our health and does any one country or group have the right to risk back contamination if those Martian life forms could attack the DNA molecule and thereby put all of life on earth at risk.
Some scientists believe they have already uncovered strong evidence for life on mars both past and present if life already exists on mars then mars for now at least belongs to the Martians, Mars is their planet and martian life would be threatened by a human presence there.
Originally published at https://www.dwnewsspot.com on November 23, 2020.
