Colonizing Mars: Why Do We Need to Accelerate?

As a species, human beings are facing great challenges. The shadow of hunger, disease and poverty still hangs over billions of people all over the world. At this time, it seems a bit inhuman to invest a lot of resources to return to the moon or even land on Mars.

But this inhuman move represents the right direction. In the face of all kinds of public pressure against space exploration in society, especially rude remarks such as "repairing the earth" or "planting trees", those who leave the earth and immigrate to the universe should fully express their opinions.

Embracing space is a lofty goal, which is vital to the survival of mankind. However, the road ahead is always bumpy. In order to make a breakthrough, mankind must design the best and most powerful tools.

We need to take the initiative in this game!

Let's review the past first. 1850 In the spring, 30-year-old Queen Victoria woke up from her nap. Excited, she gathered the greatest thinkers in England and Ireland to discuss a great idea.

She mentioned, "I just had the strangest and most mysterious dream. I dreamed of a box with glass in front. It can make a sound, and the moving image is reflected on the glass. This is called TV. "

Therefore, she set lofty goals for the elites.

"I ask you to cooperate with scientists all over the world to bring us the first TV. We will bear all the expenses, and in order to achieve this goal, we will do whatever it takes. "

The problem is clear, but even with unlimited funds and strong incentives, can humans make TV sets at 1850?

The physical principle of television (especially emitter tube) requires us to have a deep understanding of electromagnetism, current transmitted through molecules and radio wave propagation mechanism.

/kloc-in the mid-9th century, the legendary physicist Maxwell just published the first revolutionary electromagnetic discovery paper that shocked later generations. Nevertheless, the whole invention process lasted for more than 40 years, and it was not verified by experiments until AD 1890. In addition, it was not until 1880 that heinrich hertz conducted experiments that the world's first transmitter was manufactured.

These theoretical works must be in place before any important technical work is put into use. Without Maxwell and Hertz's pure scientific knowledge, Marconi could not use transmitter and receiver to realize radio wave transmission, which is also a necessary prerequisite for the invention of television.

Investment in pure science will always bring us unexpected technological progress and social development space. On the other hand, if there is no pure scientific knowledge, Queen Victoria can't watch TV no matter how much she spends ... That's exactly the case. Until her death in 190 1, Queen Victoria was 26 years away from the world's first television.

Seeds of the future

The budget allocated by the US federal government to NASA is $23.3 billion, which is less than 0.5% of the federal budget. In contrast, at the peak of the Apollo program, NASA was able to get nearly 4.5% of the total expenditure from the US government.

Today, planetary exploration accounts for less than one-third of NASA's total budget.

The Planetary Society explained, "The allocated funds vary from year to year, but NASA generally spends about 50% of its annual budget on human space activities, 30% on robot missions and scientific research, and the rest on aviation, technology development plans, staff salaries, facility management and other expenses."

7 billion dollars seems like a huge sum of money, but for a country with a population of 328 million, it is only equivalent to 20 dollars spent by each person on space every year-even less than the money that Americans spend on Halloween costumes and vegetarian meat every year.

It is this insignificant investment that has enabled us to obtain many new research results, which are enough to protect and improve people's daily lives. The pure scientific achievements of Hertz and Maxwell in the 1850 s have not been fully utilized in the exploration of Mars until today.

The technologies developed in the process of exploring the solar system include memory foam mattress, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology commonly used in hospitals, fire-retardant coatings applied in modern skyscrapers and building technology.

Water is an essential element in life, but many people still can't get clean drinking water, which leads to rampant diseases and infections. Nowadays, the well-known cheap and easy-to-use water filtration system is developed according to the water filtration requirements of NASA in space environment, which has become the gospel of water-deficient areas all over the world.

Thanks to the help of NASA, our food safety has also been greatly improved. The concept of "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point" developed by Pillsbury for NASA can prevent the packaged food in spacecraft from being contaminated. Today, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also using the same technology to ensure that food is not infected by dangerous microorganisms during production, transportation and in-store display.

In the related research of space exploration, it is found that implantable and auxiliary devices can be used as micro defibrillators to treat heart diseases. Keyhole surgery was originally used in space environment, which helps surgeons to complete in-vivo surgery in a minimally invasive way through video on the screen.

This is an era full of "changes"

We encourage children to get in touch with science as soon as possible. This means more than just reciting concepts or the periodic table of elements. Scientific thinking itself represents an idea, a tool that can prompt scientific mysteries. By mastering it, we can solve all kinds of mysteries from media rumors to politicians' scams.

Moreover, the successful landing of women and colored people on the moon is also to prove to children the infinite possibility of future growth with facts.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is planning to invest a lot of money in the space field, hoping to train more science students to help the country maintain its market advantage in the post-oil era. Obviously, the United Arab Emirates, a country whose wealth comes from oil exports, is also aware that an active space program is expected to help mankind get rid of its dependence on fossil fuels.

China has also made great progress in science, especially recently, the revolutionary China spacecraft successfully reached the moon and Mars, and even launched its own space station. These advances have brought us closer to the goal of living on Mars.

More importantly, a society with profound scientific knowledge is rarely corroded by political, military or capitalist swindlers, and it can examine sensitive issues such as race, gender or nationality from an objective and neutral perspective.

Space exploration may even completely change the relationship between various groups within human beings. On the earth, most people will take nationality, province/state or even city as identity labels.

But imagine that in the future, facing the boundless space, people may work hard on the Mars International Space Station or spend their lives in shelters launched in Europe. We may use water purifiers made in India to get drinking water, use American electrical and communication systems to handle daily affairs, and breathe the air purified by Russian air filters. Without the support and input of the state and various private organizations, we and our families will never be able to experience this unprecedented new life on Mars.

Nowadays, all kinds of deep-rooted ideas that still plague us, including national identity that has caused countless conflicts in history, may be thrown aside with the arrival of life on Mars. But the premise of all this is that we invest in space exploration based on the present.

Public health forces that focus on the whole society and play a central role in saving lives can never be separated from the firm support of scientific development. The backward social science consciousness will make the anti-intelligence concept deeply rooted in people's hearts, leading people to base their views, values and even policy judgments on unfounded propaganda and incitement on the Internet.

Science has brought us new industries, lifestyles, norms and standards, and also made mankind achieve a leap at the species level.

Even if we no longer provide any funds for NASA and other pure scientific research, the saved funds will be quickly invested in military expenditures or provide tax incentives for the oil industry, which is the chief culprit of global climate change.

Science-the Last Hope and the Bright Road

Today, the whole earth is indeed facing a serious climate change crisis. However, the common saying on the Internet that "the whole human civilization will return to the pre-industrial era" is obviously not a reliable cure.

If we are eager to live in a rational society, we must look at the future lifestyle with a more open mind. Only by establishing a strong education system and lifelong learning system can we really prepare for such a future.

After learning genetics, we will realize that the concept of race is not so practical. History tells us that countries and even governments are often temporary results of violence. Mathematics has taught us statistical knowledge and helped us to understand the world better. Most importantly, this ability to think about serious issues (including global climate change) in a scientific way is a prerequisite for us to adapt to the future and even understand the present world.

President Kennedy put forward the challenge of successfully landing on the moon at the end of this decade in the 1960 s, which ignited the light of science in the eyes of millions of Americans. Moreover, in a very short time, the United States has also established a powerful and practical manned space program.

The Planetary Society mentioned in its report that "the United States invested $28 billion between 1960 and 1973 to support the moon landing program, which is equivalent to $283 billion today in terms of inflation. The related expenditure peaked at 1966, which is three years before the first moon landing. During this period, NASA received a total budget of 49.4 billion US dollars (equivalent to 482 billion US dollars today). "

Even a few short moon landings have brought us a treasure trove of information about the universe. We have made clear our position in the universe, and also enjoyed the fruits of the rapid development of computer technology and electronic technology.

In contrast, the cost of the Vietnam War was much higher than that of the Apollo program, which brought only human suffering.

Alan Rohn once wrote in an article, "The U.S. Department of Defense reported that the United States spent about $654.38+06.8 billion in the entire Vietnam War (calculated according to the inflation in 2065.438+065.438+0, it was about $950 billion). These include $65,438+065,438+065,438+0 billion in military operations (from 65,438+0965 to 65,438+0972) and $28.5 billion in economic and military aid funds delivered to the Saigon regime (from 65,438+0953 to 65,438). At this rate, the cost of destroying an "enemy" in the United States is about $65.438+$68 million. "

Now, China is leading the development of new solar cells, hoping to reduce the demand for fossil fuels. In order to achieve a breakthrough in space exploration, we must find a new generation of solar panels with lower cost and weight and higher efficiency. In response, the achievements in the aviation field will be reflected in the civil field, so that solar power generation can reduce the living space of fossil fuels in the market at a lower cost.

"Space is closely related to everyone. Attention to space should not be limited to science, mathematics or astronaut groups. Space is a brand-new field, open to everyone. " -Christa McAuliffe

At present, President Biden has realized the importance of science to the future of the United States. In the 58-page list of important issues, Biden called on the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy to substantially increase their funds. During this period, NASA's budget also increased by 6.3%, and now it is $24.7 billion.

Human colonies on the moon and Mars may be able to establish a permanent self-sufficiency system that does not depend on external supplies, which is equivalent to buying an ultimate insurance for the human species. If something happens to the blue planet where we live, at least there is backup space provided by the red planet.

But it is those short-sighted entrepreneurs, stupid politicians and people blinded by fanatical nationalism that prevent us from going into space.

Science is our best investment in the fate of children, the earth and all mankind. Only when we have a chance to get out of the cradle of the earth can mankind have a real future.