Why we should send a Manned Mission to Mars - Essay Example

Why we should send a Manned Mission to Mars Ever since the beginning of time, mankind has been curious about what is really out there in space. Thiswas evident in the early 1960s when President John F. Kennedy declared that America would put someone on the moon by the end of the decade. Ultimately, this promise would prove to be fulfilled. Fast forward 50 years and it seems that history is repeating itself. President Barack Obama has told NASA scientists to broaden their horizons and look to send humans to Mars.

He thinks that a likely time scale for this is the mid-2030s. The President is looking to decrease missions to Mars in the hope of reaching a planet that could prove vital for our future. The focus is now on exploring new planets and not revisiting the same places that we as humans have already conquered. I concur with this assessment because it has now been over 40 years since the first moon landing was achieved but nothing has really happened since. The 1960s was a great decade for space travel but this has never really been built upon.

Manned missions to Mars can recreate the achievements of that decade and even surpass them. However, if manned missions are to be achieved, then there will be many environmental, political, and ethical challenges to face first. If astronauts were able to make it to Mars, then they would need supplies from Earth every once and awhile in order to sustain themselves. The reason why I think that it makes sense that humans next try to conquer Mars is that Mars have plenty of water to maintain life.

Even though Mars would have a sufficient quantity of water, it would still be difficult to live there. The temperatures can fall below freezing in some places, and the atmosphere is typically made up of carbon dioxide, which means that extra oxygen would need to be supplied.