Moon Or Mars — Which One Should Be Colonised First?

    • Dheeraj.Jangra@timesgroup.com
    • Publish Date: Jan 10 2017 8:33PM
    • |
    • Updated Date: Jan 10 2017 9:41PM
Moon Or Mars — Which One Should Be Colonised First?

On July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong took that one small step on moon, it was indeed a "giant leap for mankind." Many believed that moon will eventually become a human outpost in the coming years. But as we know, this is not the case. On December 11, 1972, Apollo 17 touched down on the Moon. This was not only our final Moon landing, but the last time we left low Earth orbit. Experts say that moon is now a more compelling destination than ever...

A number of countries are setting eyes on Moon. Russia is to send a manned mission to the moon in 2029. The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced its intentions to send astronauts to our nearest satellite by 2030. Japan and China are also in the hunt.
 
As for the US — will it ever get back to the moon? Right now, it doesn't seem likely. Most of its mission in the coming decades are laying the groundwork for the manned mission to the Red Planet in late 2030s. Though, many experts have cautioned that ignoring moon could be a costly mistake.   

Moon: A good testing ground for deep space exploration
1. Human colonies on the moon present several advantages. The moon has 1/6 the gravitational pull of the Earth, so we can establish cheaper human outpost on it to launch future missions in outer space.  Last year, a Nasa-commissioned study said that returning humans to the moon could cost 90 percent less than expected, bringing estimated costs down from $100 billion to $10 billion. 
 
 
A still from Moon (2002). In the movie, it is shown that the lunar surface is mined for helium-3, an alternative fuel. 
 
2. The Moon is also a good testing ground for what mission planners call "in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU)." To put it simply, ISRU is the practice of leveraging resources found on other celestial bodies (Moon, asteroids, Mars etc.) to sustain a human colony/mission. For example, if we are going to establish an outpost on Mars, we need to mine raw materials locally: oxygen, water and various metals (for construction). We can try this on the moon first. We know that the lunar surface is rich in raw materials such as magnesium, aluminium, silicon, iron, titanium and helium-3. If can make use of lunar resources, then we can facilitate scientific and economic activity in the vicinity of Earth. 
 
3. During our missions to other planets — like Mars — and asteroids, we will be challenged in a number of unimaginable ways. Moon is a perfect laboratory where we can test our equipment and more importantly, our resolve. We all know that moon is not an easy place to survive.  The Moon and the Earth are approximately at the same distance from the Sun, but the former lacks atmosphere. This results in extreme temperatures.  The average temperature on the Moon varies from -183 degrees Celsius, at night, to 106 degrees Celsius during the day. If humans can learn to survive in this harsh environment, then we can endure almost everything that space throws at us. 

Difficult, but can be done
We agree that establishing a moon village will not be an easy task. But space agencies around the world have plenty of experience in complex space collaborations. A case in example is International Space Station (ISS) —  a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Five different space agencies representing 15 countries built the $100-billion ISS and continue to operate it today.
 
Although, the ISS is slated to wind down in 2024, we can replicate its model on the surface of moon. The private sector can also be roped in to ease the financial burden. Experts say, if humans can establish footprints on moon, space exploration will become a lot easier and less risky. 
 

Do you agree that it makes sense to colonise the moon before Mars? Let’s know your views in the comments section below. 

 
 
 
 

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Comments

TAVISHA ARORA dav public school

I agree, living on the Moon just for the sake of it would really serve no purpose. I don''t really support that "Humans need a backup plan in case an asteroid destroys Earth" idea either proposed for Mars though. Mining on the Moon for rare things on Earth might require, or at least benefit from, a temporary or semi permanent human presence.we should take precautions to save our earth and not to colonise on moon

dev Children''s Academy, Ashok Nagar, Kandivli East

moon

Om Badiyani Sandipani

Colonizing moon will be better as it is nearer to the Earth and seems a bit easier to reach than mars.

vansh RYAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL(VASANT KU

colonising mars first would be a really good step as there is a chance of life forms to be found in mars although this would be very hard for us to do because of the harsh weather condition and deadly gases covering the atmosphere but there is a hope for life to be found on mars on the other hand there is no benefit colonising moon as it has nothing to offer towards us.

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