Originally I felt a strong desire to write about the election, and to somehow compile my scattered and abstract thoughts into some form of coherent analysis on the absurdity that was the 2016 election, but even thinking about the thing is exhausting and upsetting. I can’t even force my synapses to fire when asked my opinion on the matter anymore, so instead I am going to speak about something else. It is worth mentioning that it is just as unbelievable as the election of which I will not speak.
In 2011 a man named Bas Landsorp founded Mars One. In short, it is a company whose goal is to colonize Mars, with the understanding that this planet will be uninhabitable in the foreseeable future if we continue on the same course. The stated plan of Mars One is to initially send a rover and cargo in 2020, to prepare for human arrival. In 2026, four carefully chosen astronauts will be sent to the planet with broom-closet sized living quarters and technology that can supposedly pull oxygen and water from the unlivable atmosphere on Mars. Every subsequent two years another two people will be sent with more cargo to join the original four. There is a catch, however, as all things as seemingly unbelievable as this have. Their will not be a return flight for any of the astronauts. If they manage to successfully set up an outpost and live, they will still die on mars. There are hundreds of thousands of people who have applied to this program, and all of them are willing to die on Mars.
Now there are countless facets of this “plan” that I could undermine and question, but for lack of time and understanding of your attention spans, there is only one I will speak about. Global Warming, as some believe, is no myth. As a believer in science and research, I feel that regardless of people’s varied opinions on the matter, we are without a doubt destroying this planet. The idea to travel to and possibly colonize mars stems not just from a desire to explore the universe around us, but also from an acceptance of the fact that Earth will eventually become unlivable if we continue on our current course.
Space travel is no simple conquest. Not only is the technology to accomplish this drastic pilgrimage to Mars simply not there, but any sort of space exploration will cost billions and billions. The amount of resources required for such an expedition is unimaginable. What amazes me is that people are willing to suggest such radical ideas as relocating to Mars, rather than maybe try and stop destroying our planet. The insane amount of money spent on such flights of fancy could be spent at home, on more practical solutions like solar power, eliminating the use of fossil fuel, and other “green” initiatives. I am no scientist, but I do not think the Earth and its precious ozone layer are doomed to be ruined. I do not think the ozone layer can repair itself, but if nothing else we can stop the destruction of it. The United States alone accounts for about 17 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, but makes up only 4.4 percent of the world’s population. It is absurd to me that people are readily willing to accept the fact that we will not be able to live on our planet in the visible future, and have deceived themselves into thinking some sort of “sci-fi” expedition to colonize another planet is our only solution. To reduce this idea into the absurdity that it is, for those who say Trump’s election makes them want to move to Canada, why not go to Mars instead? After all, I think we’re all pretty much screwed anyway.
