Should The Us Go On A Manned Mission To Mars Advantages And Disadvantages

33.9 million miles away lies our future, the red planet, Mars. NASA has started planning a manned mission to Mars that is set to take place sometime in the 2030’s (Wilson 1). Many people believe that this mission will be a milestone in the future of exploration of our solar system, and will lead to the inspiration of a new generation of astronauts and scientists. In contrast to this argument, there are a select few who believe that this mission will be a waste of resources and money, as the mission cost could go up into the range of 450 billion dollars or more (“FAQ” 2). Although the overall cost of the mission and resources would be high, the USA should go on a manned mission to Mars for the benefits of inspiring a new generation of scientists,

Primarily, many people believe that a mission to Mars is unnecessary because of the cost of the mission and danger of the mission. Some taxpayers believe that the large amount of money that would cover a manned mission to Mars could be used better elsewhere in NASA’s budget. An author from Leaf group, an American content company, has said, “NASA has estimated the cost of a launch alone at $12 billion because of the large amount of fuel a traditional rocket would need” (“The Advantages” 1). With the cost of a launch at $12 billion, some believe the mission’s budget could have a greater effect if it was put into a different project. Otherwise, even if the cost is overlooked for the Mars mission, there are other negative factors like the danger of the mission. Furthermore, the idea of a very long, deep-space mission brings with it a good amount of danger associated with the mission. The amount of time that the mission will take is eye-opening and leaves much time for things to go wrong. Under the mission plan called Mars Direct created by Robert Zubrin, an aerospace engineer, the first crew of astronauts would return to earth after spending a year and a half on Mars (“FAQ” 1). A period this long on the surface combined with about a six month travel time to Mars creates