Going to Mars is stupid | TheHill – The Hill

Going to Mars is stupid. I know, there are hundreds to thousands of people in the United States and around the world who have financial and other reasons for pushing spacefaring nations and private enterprises into sending humans to Mars. To them I will gladly double down and say that going to Mars is stupider than stupid.

Elon MuskElon Reeve MuskGoing to Mars is stupid The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Altria - Marking the Jan. 6 'chaos and carnage' Tesla criticized for opening showroom in China's Xinjiang province MORE tops the list of those pushing to send people to Mars. Do I believe that Musk is a genius? Yes. Do I believe that his uniquely gifted mind holds within it hope for a better future for humanity? Yes. And thats all the more reason that he should snap out of his fantasy of sending humans to Mars, which will only succeed in pouring tens of billions or hundreds of billions of dollars his money and others into a black hole in space. Its a truly wasteful investment.

Hollywood has romanticized the notion of going to Mars. Just look at the character played by Matt Damon in The Martian, bounding about the surface. Well, actually, his character is trapped there and in big trouble, but its still super cool that hes about to maybe get killed on the Red Planet. Hollywood makes it all look so awesome.

Except, its not. Its stupid.

Going to, and trying to exist on, Mars is fraught with unnecessary risk. The logistical and spacefaring reasons for not attempting the journey are many, each compelling in its own right. Here are but a few lowlights:

What is a better alternative for those who believe that humanity must find a permanent home away from Earth? Perhaps the moon. Its a three-day trip, with virtually unlimited launch windows, and the moons surface is teeming with helium-3, a gas that could provide an efficient form of nuclear power.

First, lets examine the humanity needs a place to survive argument. Well over a century ago, Russian rocket pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky correctly pointed out, Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot remain in the cradle forever.

If that is a bit too esoteric for some, then we have the opinion of English physicist Stephen Hawking, who flat-out warned that Earth faces many existential threats perhaps an asteroid or comet impact, a worse virus than COVID-19, a nuclear war, or even artificial intelligence gone rogue and if humanity hopes to survive, we must colonize other bodies in space.

Both Tsiolkovsky and Hawking are correct. The past two years of the pandemic have made that clear for anyone paying attention. The government should find a way to get some sustainable representation of humanity off our planet permanently, to increase the survival chances of our species.

The easiest body in space to colonize would be our moon. Again, its not only closer than Mars but its a body littered with lava tubes beneath the surface, tailor-made to help protect and sustain human life.

If one doesnt really care about the survivability argument, then lets examine the limitless supply of energy argument. This brings us back to helium-3, an isotope that could provide safe, clean, green energy.

It is estimated that the moons surface holds over 1 million metric tons of helium-3. Some studies argue that just 25 metric tons could fuel the United Statess energy needs for a year. Of course, helium-3 can be a clean energy source only if we go and retrieve it. A number of companies are willing to do so, if we can get them there.

Should we ignore the moon and its untapped natural resources for the foolish fantasy of reaching Mars? I assure you, one nation will not make that mistake: the Peoples Republic of China.

I will make a prediction now, but lets hope I am proven wrong when the time comes: When China finally lands its taikonauts on the moons surface in the next decade, and they plant their flag on its helium-3-covered surface, theyll declare the moon to be Chinas sovereign territory and it will forever come under the guardianship and protection of Chinas military.

Going to Mars is stupid.

Douglas MacKinnon, a political and communications consultant, was a writer in the White House for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and former special assistant for policy and communications at the Pentagon during the last three years of the Bush administration.

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Going to Mars is stupid | TheHill - The Hill