Mar Settlement

Essay by dihsuUniversity, Bachelor'sA-, February 2004

download word file, 18 pages 4.1

Downloaded 95 times

Mars Settlement

Introduction

The drive for human exploration on Mars has been rooted deep in history, where by mankind always seeks for advancement of the race. The plan for human exploration on Mars is not only complex in nature but also extremely significant. It gives hope to the potential for humans to leave Earth and find habitat on a neighboring planet, the ability to create a new world. This potential can only be realized through further understanding of the planet Mars and the co-operation and commitment of the general public, governments and scientists to work together to make this dream into a reality. The major proponent of the Mars Settlement is the founder of the Mars Society, Dr. Robert Zubrin (Boyce, 233). Zubrin and his colleague David Baker were the first to construct a realistic and possible plan for humans to land on Mars, titled "The Mars Direct Plant"( Zubrin, 9).

The Mars Direct Project was so revolutionary that it helped build the Mars Reference Mission proposed by NASA in 1997(Hoffman/Kaplan, 3). Some of the main objectives of this mission were to verify a way that people could inhabit Mars, apply science research to use Mars resources to help life sustaining systems and to gain new knowledge about the solar system's origin and history (Hoffman/ Kaplan, 5). Even if one day the technologies for a Mars mission exist, there will still be unanswerable question regarding the ethical, political and legal frameworks of this venture. Though at this current time there is no plan for human exploration of Mars, but the notion is gaining momentum and many organizations are seeking funding from governments and private donors (Osorio, 299). For any country that seeks to explore Mars, it is undeniable that the mission will be tied closely to national political objectives and...