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December 02, 2002
Should We Colonize Mars?
Topic du jour: should we colonize Mars? I think so, but I'm a member of The Mars Society, so I am biased. There are many reasons why colonizing Mars is a good idea. If you are interested, read Robert Zubrin's The Case for Mars. Zubrin is one of the most enthusiastic supporters of Mars colonization, and has actually testified in front of Congress to make the case for colonization. One of the interesting points of contention for colonization of Mars is the issue of property rights. Who gets property? Should it be on a first come, first serve basis? If that's the case, what about all the third world nations that do not have the means to send people to Mars? There have been proposals to divide up the land on Mars such that all Earthlings get a parcel of land that can then either be sold for profit or kept for later use. I can see a couple of problems with that scenario as well. For example, a person who is making $500/year income is going to be more than happy to sell their parcel for a pittance than someone whose annual income is much higher. Also, since the entire surface of Mars is not all equal, who gets which parcel of land? Maybe what will happen is that there will be a central organization that prices each parcel of land according to value and sells the parcels. Anyhow, while you're pondering this point, you can check out these inspiring pictures. There's a new picture each day.
Posted by Kathy at December 2, 2002 08:24 PM