Should you go to Mars? ft Bill Nye

Would I go to Mars, on a round trip ticket? Heck yeah!

Would I go on a one way ticket? Absolutely

Yeah, it's scary and terrifying and a death sentence. But it would also be a life sentence! The first person to walk on another planet. The first person to see Phobos and Deimos rise and set. It's the nature of an explorer to go out and search the unknown. Mars is one of the best options out there (Titan and Europa not withstanding). 

Assuming that a one-way mission is also to begin the process of setting up a permanent outpost or colony (bubble colony), you would be one of the first people to start a new civilization. The birth of a new country without having to invade or demolish another culture. And that's not even considering the potential for advancement for science and technology. 

The tech-dev that would have to happen in order to get us there would be huge, and have dramatic impacts on life here. Bill mentioned water reclamation, but there's CO2 cleaning, propulsion, communications, material sciences, construction systems, computer architecture, food production and medical advancements all of which would reap a huge bounty back here. Then once you're there, discovery of how Mars developed and went from a wet rock to a cold dry one. Is that inevitable for us, or can we dodge the bullet here by learning what happened there. And what about life? We still don't know why it took off on Earth when it did since the time lines don't seem to make a whole ton of sense. Maybe some Martian-proto-tardigrade caught a lift on a rock that started out on Mars? (... or maybe not). What if there is life there now, being able to see it, let alone first hand would be an experience that would literally be in the history books for centuries.

Would it be hard? Absolutely. Would you likely get snuffed out before you got there, probably. But for me it's worth the risk.

 It would be humanities first true step off our warm little blue wet rock and onto a cold dry red one. If you think of homo sapiens as a child growing up, it's time we stretch our legs and go out into the solar system. We might not make it, but is not trying because it might be hard really a good reason not to go? Above all else....you wouldn't get caught in a traffic jam EVER AGAIN! 

 Sign me up!