Citation:
Chu,
Jennifer. "Mars One (and Done?)." MIT
News. MIT, 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
In the article, “Mars One (and Done)”
by Jennifer Chiu the technical feasibility of humans living on Mars in the near
future was discussed by the team at MIT. They debated about the “Mars One”
project, that announced plans in 2012 to establish a human colony of Mars by
2025. Run by a Dutch non-profit, the mission would send 4 astronauts on a
one-way trip to Mars to spend the rest of their lives building the first human
settlement on another planet. It seems to be quite the daring mission as the
company claims all the technology necessary for its success already exists.
According to the company’s website this mission is, “the next giant leap for
mankind.” MIT engineers looked
into the technology behind it and believe the company should take a step back
and reconsider. According to these engineers, many new technologies would be
needed before human life on mars could successfully exist. For example, if the
food had to be grown only on Mars, which is a vision of Mars One company, there
would be production of unsafe levels of oxygen leading to suffocation of any
human inhabitants. A technology to remove that excess oxygen would have to be
implemented, a technology not yet developed for use in space. Additionally,
water is a huge issue. Although, the Mars Phoenix lander discovered evidence of
ice on Mar’s surface, and it seems that it could simply be melted into fresh
water, this is not as simple as it sounds. Another contradiction to the Mars
One Company’s belief that all necessary technology is available is one that
could melt this frozen water especially ice in space. Such a technology has not
yet even begun its existence. Another matter to be dealt with is the cost,
about 4.5 billion dollars. This cost would only grow with additional crews and
supplies sent to Mars over the years. According to MIT Professor of aeronautics
and astronautics and engineering systems Olivier de Weck, “The prospect of
building a human settlement on Mars is an exciting one. To make this goal a
reality, however, will require innovations in a number of technologies and a
rigorous systems perspective.” There is no back and white right now about going
to Mars and settling there. But, according to engineers at MIT it will not
happen for a long time. “There are just so many unknowns,” says graduate
student Sydney Do, “And to give anyone confidence that they’re going to get
there and stay alive – there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”
This article is consequential to
everyone all over the world, including us here in Bronxville. The fact that
there is even the slight possibility of a human colony on Mars is outstanding.
It will encourage technology to improve and provide us with the ability to
imagine. Just imagine life on a planet other than Earth. To see Earth in the
night sky would be amazing. Thinking about life on another planet really gets
us thinking about what we need to live. We take it for granted how well fit
Earth is for life. We are so fortunate and this article really brings to light
how precious all our natural resources are. There is no other planet like
Earth. No other known liquid water in the observable universe. No other life as
we know it, anywhere, but here on our exceptional planet Earth.
To conclude, this article was overall very
well written. It included key quotes from students at MIT and information from
the various professors working on the project. The author clearly explained
everything in the article so that anyone could easily understand. I really
enjoyed how the information was presented and the fascinating photo on the top
of the article of what a colony on Mars would look like. This photo was a
beneficial addition because it gives a great visual to what life could be like
on the mysterious red planet. This article really leaves an air of mystery as I
analyze all that I have read and the real possibility of living on Mars. It
makes me appreciate the uniqueness of our home planet and how blessed we truly are
to live here, on the Blue Planet.
For her first current event, Isabela wrote an excellent report on the possibility of humans living on the planet Mars by 2025. From the current event, I learned that there is a project called "Mars One" that plans to send four astronauts to the planet to live out the rest of their lives. I also gathered that MIT engineers have recently discussed the possibility of this plan and the obstacles that scientists would have to overcome in order to make this vision a reality. For example, one of the things that Isabela explained was that a machine would have to be designed to melt the ice water on Mars so that the humans could drink it. These things are interesting to me because I never thought about all the things that Earth provides us with that we would have to create ourselves in space. I thought that Isabela did an excellent job of summarizing the article, including just enough information to make the article's point clear to the reader while also including detailed examples. Isabela then did an extraordinary job of describing how the many different environmental and technical obstacles that scientists have to overcome has shown her that Earth is an amazing planet and we often take our life on it for granted. One thing I was curious about is if the astronauts have already been selected for this plan or if they are trying to work out these technical kinks mentioned in the article before the selection and training. Overall, this was an excellent report and I learned a lot about the future of Mars habitation from it.
ReplyDeleteEva Cagliostro