ArnoldRimmer on 07 September 2011
| Jumpin said: What I think is "sillier" than people thinking the moon landing was fake, is that the heavily in debt US government is spending billions and billions of dollars each year on a manned mission to Mars; and how all of those who support it think that this landing will magically result in a means for people to terraform Mars and move our population there - meaning, for them, it is OK to trash our current planet because we'll all be going to a terraformed Mars soon anyway. Completely ignoring that the manned mission to mars is already expensive enough for a small craft, what sort of expenses and resources will be required for colony ships to Mars? Why on Earth do you think a Terraformed Mars, which will both be colder, and with a lower gravity, would be superior to Earth? And how do you think it will be possible to terraform Mars? Wouldn't just a little environmentalism be much much easier? |
I think you completely misinterpret the intention of the mars missions. The scientists don't think: "Hey, let's polute the earth and simply move on to mars as soon as the situation here gets uncomfortable!"
If a bigger asteroid hits earth, all human life on earth will be extinct. And the question isn't IF it's going to happen, the question is WHEN this is going to happen: Next week? Next year? Next millenium? In several billion years? Nobody knows. Mankind will only have a chance of survival if by the time we have found a way to live on another planet or in space.
Currently, protecting the earth's environment is definitely more urgent, but that doesn't mean there is no sense in researching possibilities to populate other planets already now.
