Could We Live on Mars?

What happens when the human population outpaces the resources of our planet? Many people wonder if moving humankind to another planet is possible. Scientists agree that of all the other planets in our solar system, Mars would be the most habitable. But that’s not saying much. If the goal is to create a self-sustaining Martian world, life will be difficult and dangerous.

Mars has some similarities to Earth. Its axial tilt is about the same, so Mars deexperiences similar seasons; however, its orbital eccentricity is much larger, so the length of the seasons varies and a year lasts almost twice as long as on Earth. The length of a day is about the same. The desert terrain is similar to some regions on Earth. However, despite these similarities, Mars is a completely hostile environment.

There is no breathable air and very little air pressure. Lower gravity presents problems for prolonged settlement. Temperatures vary widely: While they may climb as high as 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius), in some places they drop as low as minus 225 degrees (-142 degrees Celsius). The soil is toxic, and radiation from the Sun is deadly. All this may seem a little too out-of-this-world, but some scientists and a few entrepreneurs hope to make the dream of life on Mars a reality. Technology will be a major player in a successful Mars settlement. Residents will require constant pressurized and heated environments. Luckily, the planet provides a few raw materials, such as soil, to make concrete. Mars is home to several large caves, which would screen settlers from radiation. Residents may be able to grow plants after removing harsh chemicals from the toxic soil. Water on the fourth planet from the Sun is available, but the atmosphere is too thin for liquid water to exist for long. Instead, water is trapped just under the surface of the polar regions. Extracting water would be vital for drinking, growing food, and producing oxygen. Space is opening up to the private sector, and a few companies are taking one small step toward life on Mars. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, a space exploration and technology company, aims to build a colony of 80,000 people. SpaceX announced plans to put humans on Mars as early as 2026, 10 years ahead of NASA. But getting to Mars isn’t as difficult as landing, surviving on the planet, or even returning to Earth. Musk told CNBC, “the thing that matters long term is to have a self-sustaining city on Mars, to make life multiplanetary,” indicating that Mars could be a refuge in case we outgrow our current planet. Given Earth’s dwindling resources, that could be sooner than we think.

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