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Going to Mars for a fee
Then and now for the exploration of Mars
By: Marc Posth, Staff Writer
With the recent coming home of Canadian hero and astronaut Chris Hadfield on May 13th, the subject of space and our possible future with it has once again crept back into the attention of the media – this is a good thing.
Back in 1961, President Kennedy decided that it was the prerogative of the United States to place a man on the moon. A measly eight years later, Apollo 11 touched down on our familiar satellite and the famous words “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” were spoken which still resonates today. So why aren’t we on Mars four decades later?
If you were to ask people in the 1960s sitting in front of their little televisions watching astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin step onto the Moon where we would be in the year 2000, you would probably hear fantasies resembling the lifestyle of the Jetsons with flying cars, real-estate on the Moon, and a possible manned mission to Mars. Unfortunately for the science-fiction fans and enthusiastic visionaries within all of us, this isn’t the case. Why not?
Before we get into heated discussions and hit each other with our opinions on what could have been done better throughout the space programs of the world, we must focus on what actually did happen in the past four decades. Thanks to NASA, the United States was the first to fly to the Moon and back, and because of such an accomplishment, they have been at the forefront of the public’s attention since then.
Once the Russians were defeated in the amazing space race, a unified feeling that everything belonged to the Americans was felt throughout the world. They were the superpower, controlling land, air, sea, and space. Thus, the competition for further exploration into the Space became limited. What NASA did see from the Moon was Earth. This gleaming blue jewel captured our attention and gave us a greater perspective on our place within the universe, and so NASA turned its head around, away from interplanetary exploration, and began to focus its attention on just that – our planet.
To this point, our endeavours in space were funded by taxpayers and all great minds were hired by governments. Having just emerged from a very heated Cold War, going into space was a very closed-door subject with technologies and advances in the industry kept on very low profiles. After all, we do not want cutting edge scientific knowledge to fall into the wrong hands (see: 1979’s Moonraker). So what did happen between 1969 to now? Well, quite a bit.
Two major projects really took focus: the International Space Station and its accompanying Space Shuttle Program. As they continued to send out satellites into orbit and launched missions to build up the I.S.S, funds began to run tight and so the multi-national program in 1993 was initiated allowing nations such as Russia, Japan, and parts of the Europe to contribute. Space now began to shift towards being a common problem as opposed to a focused American issue. Let’s face it, breaking through the Earth’s atmosphere with payloads weighing up to 24,000 kilograms and a professionally manned crew is expensive, and as we are well aware, economics play a major role in the decision making of, well, anyone. So why go after projects that are quite close to home? Scientific research. Research leads to innovation which leads to new technologies. New tech becomes commercialized, and voila, a profit is found – whether we care to admit it or not, it is all about profits.
So now that we are a little more caught up on our space history, let us refocus on the today and getting a foothold on the red planet. It should be noted that government space exploration hasn’t been asleep on the subject. If you are not in-tune with the scientific community, a simple Google search will reveal to you endeavours such as Mars Odyssey, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and of course the recent landing of the Mars Rover. But government projects tend to be notoriously slow and careful due to the fact that their budget is dictated as a political move every now and then, and without any results they will lose precious tax payer backing. Placing budget, risk, and politics out of the equation, do governments have the means to go to Mars? NASA’s former Associate Administrator Dr. Alan Stern believes so.
“Human missions to Mars could have been done as early as the 1980s, so the technology is certainly available today to implement such a mission,” he says. Dr. Stern affirms that “it’s Administration policy for NASA to send people to Mars by the 2030s.”
These are inspirational words. Though seemingly far away, it appears that the decades of the 2020-2040s are going to be filled with space explorers pursuing their interplanetary Manifest destiny as many of the private companies have plans to launch within that timeframe as well. Will there be another space race? Instead of a couple country’s fighting for spatial real estate, will the two contenders be governments versus private companies? If so, the latter will have a much needed edge.
Results require risk and taking risks leads to the possibility of failure – failure is not an option for governments. Enter the advantage of the private sector.
Recently we are seeing brave steps towards colonizing Mars by private firms. The Mars One project by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Landorp has attracted up to 80,000 people in the first two weeks for a chance to take a one-way trip to Mars. The catch? Well, it is a one-way trip. However, it is these risks that explorers need to take.
“The main way that private companies will win out is when they accept a higher risk level than governments,” says Dr. Nick Schneider, Research Associate at the Laboratory for Atmospheric & Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
He compares interplanetary exploration to the American West where settlement occurred at low costs and high risks.
[pullquote]“Things get a lot cheaper as people accept more risk, and more people die,” he said and goes on to add that “it’ll be the risk-takers who eventually colonize the planets, who mine asteroids, who settle space.”[/pullquote]
While it is true that the approach taken by governments is to aim for absolute safety, it is understandable when you step into their shoes. They do not want disasters that would ruin their image because as we recall, their funds are dictated by public opinion. Not so for the private sectors. So where are all the eccentric visionaries and secret billionaires? Everywhere.
Let us take a look at the aforementioned Dutch agency, Mars One. Their plan is to get a small team of astronauts to Mars by 2023. Being a private company, they have to meet their goals cheaply, and a one-way trip is quite cost reducing. Mars One has managed to secure major funds for their trip via sponsorship and reality TV deals. With over 80,000 applicants and only 6 people compromising of the first team, their selection process was extremely rigorous.
Jonah Berger was fortunate and skilled enough to be able to gain a spot. Picked out of thousands after having undergone many psychological tests, the idea of a going to Mars without a return ticket doesn’t faze him one bit.
“I will be 62 when I go in 2023. I don’t have children and I’m not married. I’m looking forward to stay on Mars,” he states.
Jonah will land as part of an initial team before being joined by a secondary group a couple years later. Trained in the repairing of the mission’s specific settlement structures as well as the cultivation of crops in confined spaces, he will act as the team’s doctor, biologist, repairer, and pilot.
[pullquote]“NASA doesn’t believe in a one-way-mission,” and goes on to say, “They call it a suicide mission, which it isn’t.” [/pullquote] Jonah is confident. Is this the risk and drive needed to colonize Mars? Only time will tell. Fortunately for us back on Earth, Mars One’s activities will be captured by Living Unit cameras giving us a stand-in perspective to their mission, so stay tuned.
Mars One isn’t the only project with similar ambitions. A little more ‘out there’ is multimillionaire Dennis Tito, head of the Inspiration Mars Foundation. For his flyby of Mars, he is currently seeking a married and middle-aged crew. His plan is to leave 5 years from now, as this is when the planets will align giving the opportunity for a 501 day trip – this only occurs every 15 years. In short, if you want a glorified sight-seeing trip to the red planet at the expense of your life, sign up with Mr. Tito. Sarcasm aside, it is these far-reaching dreamers that inspire us common-folk in setting sail towards the stars. Though the science behind the Inspiration Mars Foundation may seem very cosmological, it is nevertheless a step, whether forward, sideways, or backwards, that is up to your judgement.
Not all private firms specifically focus on manned missions to Mars. Instead, others work in designing rocket components that are not only efficient, but affordable. SpaceX, form founder Elon Musk, was the first privately funded group to launch a spacecraft into orbit and recover it. This has enabled them to earn a contract with NASA as well as many other private sector companies. With such an example, it seems that cooperation between public and private entities is the key.
NASA has always been the poster-child for space exploration, yet due to political pressures and bureaucratic constraints, their process is quite simply, inefficient. Promises are difficult to keep and frustration from an interested public builds up, decreasing funds and hopes. It is a very vicious cycle that breeds negativity around our space champion and in the end gets nothing accomplished.
Colonizing Mars is for the good of us all. Though it may seem like a barren landscape void of little green men to the untrained eye, the tangible benefits should not be the sole priority. Creating heroes out of astronauts and giving society the common problem of ‘how to colonize Mars’ is what is important. Future generations need to be inspired, and this can only be done by working together.
While competition does motivate the best within people, cooperation is what will get us to colonize Mars. Governments have the image and means whilst the private sector the ambition and budget. It is with the designs of SpaceX, NASA’s brand, Mars One’s ambitions, and yes, Inspiration Mars Foundation’s highly ambitious goals that man will set foot on one of the Earth’s closest, somewhat hospitable planet.
Mars, here we come…soon…hopefully.
Marc Posth is a writer based in Montreal, but comes from Dubai, France, and Singapore – at the same time. With a background in science, his next logical step is creative writing.
References:
Photo Courtesy of Q92
Photo Courtesy of The Goals Blog
Quotations from Astronaut Jonah Berger
Quotations from Dr. Alan Stern
Quotations from Dr. Nick Schneider
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