Should we Colonize other Planets?

Over the last 60 years, humans have been exploring space. There have been numerous explorations to space in order to observe and study different planets. Yet colonizing other planets has been a topic of discussion lately. Scientists and researchers have been finding more reasons to colonize other planets for the benefit and progress of humanity. But is establishing a human habitat on another planet really worthwhile? Back in time, colonizing a country required a huge army, a decent amount of money, and great resources. Now, colonizing a planet is going to the next level. It will be extremely difficult to achieve this and we should consider the adverse effects of colonizing another planet as some can produce disgraceful consequences. As there are various reasons that have to encourage the necessity of colonizing another planet, there are also reasons that defend the idea that colonizing another planet is not a good idea.

The human body is composed of different organs and these are composed of living cells. Over the years, it has been confirmed that the human body requires certain environmental factors that allow them to survive. Planet Earth is the only place known until the moment that provides those requirements making it inhabitable for the human species. Life in space doesn’t work the same as on Earth. There are several aspects of space that make it uninhabitable and that’s the reason there’s no human life in space. If we would like to live on another planet in space, we would be forced to arrange the planet so that it can be habitable by us. NASA has identified daunting challenges when referring to human health in space that may affect both the physical and mental health of space colonists and also inhabitants of the future inhabitants. Some of these include “the high exposure to deadly radiation levels, the impact on the human body while living and working in cramped, low-gravity environments for extended periods of time,” and in addition, “the psychological toll of isolation, confinement, and separations from one’s family and society.” NASA.gov. As NASA stated, life in space will cause significant harm to the human body and mind. So, is it really worth it? If someone’s on Earth in great health, then why would they go to space? They would be exposing their body and mind to unnecessary injuries that maybe will cause them harmful effects the more time they remain in space. And if someone’s already suffering physical and mental issues on Earth, then how will their health be insured in space? In the health area, there is a big deal that should be considered if there’s a plan on colonizing a planet. Technology should be extremely advanced for it to create an environment for the benefit of human life.

There are not only health issues, but establishing a colony on another planet can result in technologically challenging and extremely expensive. If we were to establish a colony on another planet, the most likely planet to be colonized would be Mars as it is the most habitable planet after Earth. But, would it really be worthwhile to establish a colony on Mars? Various experts state that Mars is surely a scientifically interesting planet to explore and experiment different technologies, although they do not agree in the idea of colonizing it due to the high costs and the advanced technologies that would be required. “Establishing a colony on Mars is incredibly technically challenging and expensive,” University of Michigan’s Aaron Ridley told Futurism. Making a place habitable to humans just from technology can be complex as a whole new living structure is being created. Not only that, but the fact the ticket to Mars costs $10 billion per person. “You cannot create a self-sustaining civilization if the ticket price is $10 billion per person,” Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX says. Indeed, this project will be exceedingly expensive, questioning when will these expenses be covered? Is it really worthwhile to spend these huge amounts of money to colonize a planet? Some experts may say this might be adequate to fight future problems like overpopulation, climate change, and pollution yet there are things that can be made now to avoid these problems in a future. Spending billions of money just to risk our lives in a place that still needs to be arranged for it to be inhabitable to humans is just a waste. That’s why establishing a colony on another planet can be technologically complex and extremely expensive.

In regard to future problems attempting to planet Earth and human life in it, colonizing another planet won’t solve any of these problems. As said in the previous paragraph, Mars is the most livable planet after Earth, for the reason it is the one in most consideration by experts to colonize. Even though, nothing could make Mars more habitable than Earth. The pollution of our planet may concern us like the acidification of the ocean which can truly difficult life on Earth. Although on Mars the only surface water is frozen in the polar ice caps and it’s surely worse what is on Earth than this. Besides water pollution, humans worry about the high level of carbon dioxide which each time increases more. Mars’ atmosphere is worse than Earth’s as it is both extremely thin and “96% carbon dioxide”. In addition, Mars has a significantly lower level of gravity and it would be easier to make an atmosphere habitable in a very ruined Earth than on Mars.

Supposing that we were to colonize another planet different from Mars. One with an atmosphere closer to ours. This may be possible, but the technology required for it to occur is more advanced and complex than the one required to reverse global warming, deflect asteroids, and even build an habitable ecosystem in the bottom of the ocean. Less to say, colonizing another planet besides Mars is even more complex and challenging in various aspects not to say impossible. Colonizing a planet as a solution to our future problems will not be as effective as everyone thinks. Numerous factors obstruct an effective execution of this project that won’t actually solve any problem, but create others.

Colonizing other planets, especially Mars, has been considered during the last couple of years. Future problems in our planet Earth have given rise and reason to this idea that is in present supported by countless experts in the space area. Although it has been considered as a great possibility to open ourselves toward new technologies, it might be better to just explore and experiment new technologies and not to think of a future colonization. Living in space for a prolonged amount of time can provoke health issues, not only physically but mentally. Radiation, confinement, and gravity can be factors that affect human’s health drastically in space. Besides health issues, technology should be extremely advanced to colonize Mars and to colonize other planets, technology should be exceptional. It’s not only technology but the fact it is tremendously expensive. Some say one day Earth will be uninhabitable and we will have to colonize another planet, even though a very destroyed earth is more habitable than any other planet in the solar system. If pollution and contamination is the problem, then we should start taking actions to avoid these future problems. Colonizing other planets is on another level that we humans haven’t reached yet. There are many risks that we are taking when colonizing other planets. Although experimenting things for progress is adequate, we should not consider colonizing other planets, instead, if Earth is what worries us, then let’s start taking actions.

Bibliography:

• “Space Colonization.” NASA, 2011, www.nasa.gov/centers/hq/library/find/bibliographies/space_colonization. Accessed 21 Mar. 2021.
• “All the Reasons Why Humans Shouldn’t Colonize Mars, according to Experts.” Futurism, Futurism, 18 Nov. 2017, futurism.com/humans-shouldnt-colonize-mars-experts. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.
• “Elon Musk Puts a Cap on Ticket Price to Mars Colony. Here’s How Much It Could Cost.” Futurism, Futurism, 15 June 2017, futurism.com/elon-musk-puts-a-cap-on-ticket-price-to-mars-colony-heres-how-much-it-could-cost. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.
• “All the Reasons Why Humans Shouldn’t Colonize Mars, according to Experts.” Futurism, Futurism, 18 Nov. 2017, futurism.com/humans-shouldnt-colonize-mars-experts. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.