Joseph P. Valentine
Prof. Paden
Eng. 111 (4243)
11/3/16
Earth 2.0 We’ve spent a lot of time here on Earth; rather, all of it. We’ve grown so much: learning to walk, talk, make friends, build cities, start wars, and make bombs that can cleanse entire planets of life. This is our home. Sadly, we can’t live here forever. The concept of expanding our domain isn’t just about exotic Martian vacations or low-gravity sports. Earth may not be habitable forever. The ever-impending “consequences” of climate change, nuclear war, and a slew of astral natural disasters threaten the existence of all life on Earth. It’s time to take a rocket ship out of the nest and on to the next planet, Mars. As the second step in our next frontier, this big red dot in …show more content…
The Poles of Mars are covered in the necessary gasses, in solid form, to create a runaway greenhouse effect that will warm the climate dramatically and build up enough pressure to support human life. Both ice caps have a top layer of solid CO2 (dry ice) that go through phase shifts during the changing seasons which already contribute to the greenhouse effect (“Martian Polar Ice Caps”). Both the southern and northern poles consist of about 1.6 million cubic km of ice, making up a total of a discouraging 3.2 million cubic km of polar ice, compared to Greenland’s 2.85 million cubic km of ice (“Martian Polar Ice Caps”). This is not very impressive compared to Earth’s roughly estimated 2,000-meter average across its entire face; however, it’s just enough to put the red planet in about 22 meters of water (“Water on Mars”). This is if just the two poles alone were to melt. NASA scientists believe that there are huge deposits of solid water all over the Martian surface but hidden under the immediate soil. Life on Mars, without the introduction of foreign bodies of water, such as comets, is looking rather dry. Still, this should be enough water to fuel an enormous demand for water as well as creating similar Earth-like …show more content…
As our understanding of the universe grows, so too do our fantasies. The rate at which our imaginations are coming to life is truly inspiring. Mars is more than just a real-life fantasy; It’s an opportunity to start over, just like the pilgrims did. As long as there’s a political, social, commercial, dream, any reason to go at all, we’ll more than likely get there. One thing’s certain: as sure as we have the means to get there, we’ll get to Mars, and we’ll secure our species’ place in the
Prof. Paden
Eng. 111 (4243)
11/3/16
Earth 2.0 We’ve spent a lot of time here on Earth; rather, all of it. We’ve grown so much: learning to walk, talk, make friends, build cities, start wars, and make bombs that can cleanse entire planets of life. This is our home. Sadly, we can’t live here forever. The concept of expanding our domain isn’t just about exotic Martian vacations or low-gravity sports. Earth may not be habitable forever. The ever-impending “consequences” of climate change, nuclear war, and a slew of astral natural disasters threaten the existence of all life on Earth. It’s time to take a rocket ship out of the nest and on to the next planet, Mars. As the second step in our next frontier, this big red dot in …show more content…
The Poles of Mars are covered in the necessary gasses, in solid form, to create a runaway greenhouse effect that will warm the climate dramatically and build up enough pressure to support human life. Both ice caps have a top layer of solid CO2 (dry ice) that go through phase shifts during the changing seasons which already contribute to the greenhouse effect (“Martian Polar Ice Caps”). Both the southern and northern poles consist of about 1.6 million cubic km of ice, making up a total of a discouraging 3.2 million cubic km of polar ice, compared to Greenland’s 2.85 million cubic km of ice (“Martian Polar Ice Caps”). This is not very impressive compared to Earth’s roughly estimated 2,000-meter average across its entire face; however, it’s just enough to put the red planet in about 22 meters of water (“Water on Mars”). This is if just the two poles alone were to melt. NASA scientists believe that there are huge deposits of solid water all over the Martian surface but hidden under the immediate soil. Life on Mars, without the introduction of foreign bodies of water, such as comets, is looking rather dry. Still, this should be enough water to fuel an enormous demand for water as well as creating similar Earth-like …show more content…
As our understanding of the universe grows, so too do our fantasies. The rate at which our imaginations are coming to life is truly inspiring. Mars is more than just a real-life fantasy; It’s an opportunity to start over, just like the pilgrims did. As long as there’s a political, social, commercial, dream, any reason to go at all, we’ll more than likely get there. One thing’s certain: as sure as we have the means to get there, we’ll get to Mars, and we’ll secure our species’ place in the