Motivation
Many people like to read and watch science fiction about space travel, especially to Mars, the most habitable planet in our solar system next to Earth. The public interest is growing. But what is the motivation to really get there, to make the dream come true? This page wants to collect reasons and shall help to find possibilities to encourage more people to spend part of their lives for the realization of a settlement on Mars. NASA has already introduced the motivation items "Human Evolution" , "Comparative Planetology", "International Cooperation", "Technological Advancement", "Inspiration" and "Investment".[1] But let's see if we can find more ...
Contents
Pioneering spirit
Mankind has always bred pioneers to face the challenge of new land. The human race has an inherent urge to reach for new settlement space and build their houses on the edge and beyond. This impulse rules any financial concerns out.
Scientific
A manned mission may perform more scientific experiments and produce results faster than remote controlled rovers.
Survival of mankind
Currently mankind is living solely on Earth and is completely dependent on its fragile habitability. A number of possible events can bring mankind to the edge of extinction. A fatal epidemic plague of a virus with the combined characteristics of both ebola and influenza or the deep impact of a large asteroid may wipe the human race off the planet. But in such critical situation mankind would survive on other planets, because the occurrence of such events at the same time on two planets is extremely unlikely. While the death of Mankind is hard, the collapse of complex civilization is less so. Having viable scientific economies on two worlds can protect both if one loses technology.
Stephen Hawking put is like that: "I believe that the long-term future of the human race must be in space. It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster on planet Earth in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand, or million. The human race shouldn't have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. Let's hope we can avoid dropping the basket until we have spread the load." [2]
Political reasons
The three nations with human space access USA, Russia and China are interested to be the first permanent dwellers on the near cosmic bodies. The political heads aim to carve out territories. The first dwellers will have the best chance to get a big piece of land. For fear of going away empty-handed while other nations occupy the Moon and the planets drives the government to support the effort.
Profit-making
Tourism can be a mighty business. Rich people already spent several million dollars for a week in near-Earth orbit, which is thrilling enough to begin with. A trip to the Moon or even to Mars is even more exciting. A manned one-way mission to Mars might be a business model.
Mars may be able to sell products to Earth or Luna at a profit if they cost $10,000 / kg or more (at current space transport costs).
If exploration of the asteroid belt opens up, low tech supplies can come from Mars significantly cheaper than from Earth.
Economy
The access to space and the occupation of space can be seen as an expansion of the limits of the economical sphere, allowing humanity to sidestep expected limits to growth (Club de Rome) and allow virtually infinite economical expansion. Mars may serve as the first expansion of the economical frontier.
Freedom
It is likely that Mars will have less bureaucracy and regulations than Earth, and people may wish to go somewhere where results matter more than filling out paperwork. People may move to Mars to avoid political, or other forms of persecution in their home nations. People may flee to Mars to avoid anti-scientific pogroms, etc.
Self Actualization
People may feel that building a new world is contributing something meaningful to humanity, rather than working at 'rat-race' jobs on Earth.
Metaphysics
The occupation of Mars might be seen as a first step in spreading life throughout the universe. Building upon the premise that life is rare and valuable, and intelligent life even more so, the spreading of intelligent life can be seen as a goal in itself, increasing the self awareness and the 'value' of the universe.
- In a universe devoid of meaning (existentialism), improving the diversity of life might be seen as a worthwhile goal in itself, a revolt against the emptiness of the universe.
- In a religious sense, spreading life to other planets can be interpreted as accomplishing a divine commandment to increase and multiply, or to improve the stewardship of life.
