A few days ago, I saw that NASA will send a spacecraft towards the surface of the sun on July 31, 2018 (which also happens to be my mom's birthday, what are the odds of that?), with the intent of understanding the star more than we do now. The unmanned spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe, can reportedly withstand temperatures of more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and will gather information on solar flares and why the sun's atmosphere is hotter than the actual surface.
When I was reading about this, I couldn't help but feel excited. Why wouldn't we want to know more about the star that has effectively given us life on our planet? With more information, scientists could potentially unlock the answers to how we can better protect astronauts during space travel and what causes solar winds to possess forces that can wipe out power grids on Earth.
But as I thought about all of this more, another thought crept into my head: I am becoming more pumped for the idea of space travel sometime in humanity's future. I know that sending a small spacecraft toward the sun does not signify human space travel, but it is difficult not to think of the possibilities after that piece of news broke out. The sun is a bit of a stretch (I've heard it's a bit hot), but a planet like Mars definitely seems like a great start for space travel. To me, the question of whether we will ever at least visit another planet is quickly becoming a question of when not if.
As time goes on, we are becoming smarter and more technologically-inclined as a species. We've gotten to the point where we can at least draw up beginner plans to go to Mars and colonize the red planet. Elon Musk, the leader of SpaceX, unveiled such a plan last September. The technology, currently, is not there yet to go to Mars today, tomorrow, or even ten years from now. But in the ever-evolving technological landscape, progress is bound to be made, and now the general consensus is that humans can potentially reach Mars by the 2030s.
Can you imagine how proud of a moment it would be for humanity if we reached Mars? The moon landing was a phenomenal accomplishment, but Mars is, on average, 200 times farther from our planet than the moon. The trip to the moon took days; the trip to Mars would potentially take months. Mars, or really any sort of advanced space travel, would be an ultimate achievement.
However, it is also important to know that space travel should not be done out of necessity; it should be done out of a basic human desire to explore. Climate change is a real problem that will and already has affected us all, not a hoax made up by the Chinese government. If we don't start taking more effective measures to combat this problem, Earth as we know it could be unsafe to live on within the next several years and decades. Then, we will have no choice but to explore other options for where we live; doing something out of desperation is risky and dangerous.
All in all, I really hope we can get to Mars, or do anything else extraordinary in space travel, soon. Earth is awesome, but a change of scenery is always nice.
