“I am going to colonize Mars!”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“Because it’s there!”
“Yes, it is there. It’s very, very far over there.”
I don’t think we’ll ever colonize Mars. And being a stick-in-the-mud, I also feel the need to ask the question: Why?
We already have a perfectly habitable planet right here. And before anyone says anything about climate change, overpopulation, wars and various other sundry problems that plague the human species, let me remind you that Earth remains habitable without having to put on a space suit to walk outside, whereas Mars … doesn’t.
Besides, if we colonize Mars, who’s to say we won’t just bring said issues with us?
It doesn’t sound like a good time. Colonists would be living in sealed rooms for the rest of their lives. You can’t go outside and play. The solar radiation is deadly, the dust storms are deadly, the air is deadly and how long can you last before cabin fever sets in? Or you want to strangle your roommate who lives within a hundred feet of you every day?
The idea is romantic, I confess. A big, bold step for mankind, just like the moon landings were. But it seems … excessive. Indulgent. Something more suitable for speculative fiction. We haven’t even gotten around to colonizing the moon. Aren’t we skipping a step by making a beeline for Mars?
Or maybe sixty years from now, I’ll read this blog and laugh at my pessimism. But, for now, I say with confidence: We aren’t going to colonize Mars.
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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
Jake W. Powell 