by M. Andrew Sprong

Created on: August 07, 2009   Last Updated: August 20, 2009

I agree with Doctor Stephen Hawking about the subject of extraterrestrial colonization. In order for humanity to survive minor cosmic events, such as asteroid or cometary collisions with Earth, we need to prepare a second seat of civilization. We are in constant peril of extinction as long as we keep all of our eggs in one basket. While some may think colonizing Mars will corrupt the red planet, I don't feel this will be the case at all.

Of all of the worlds in the Solar system, Mars is the best candidate for a future colony. It has an atmosphere, albeit thin and loaded with carbon dioxide, it lies close enough to the habitable zone of our system to allow for future terraforming, and it is rich in resources necessary for a young colony. Mars in many ways is a more viable candidate for colonization than the Moon, since a lunar colony would have to operate under hard vacuum and constant meteoric bombardment. While it is true that Mars' thin atmosphere doesn't stop all of the meteorites, such is also true of the Earth.

It wouldn't be easy to colonize either terrestrial body, but Mars' colonization has other advantages over the lunar option. Evidence of geothermal activity on Mars means there is available power just below the surface, while the Moon is stone cold. Near the equator, the temperature rises above freezing for brief periods, and images show evidence of water erosion as well as freeze and thaw cycles. The day is close to an Earth day, while a lunar day is two weeks long. While the energy from sunlight is just a quarter of that on Earth, experiments have show many plants can adapt to such lower light levels, as many already have, yet two weeks of lunar darkness is asking a bit much of anything more than lichen.

The steps to colonization are not easy, nor is terraforming. The first stages to colonization may be the introduction of lichen to transform the atmosphere and create soil, as well as various extremophilic organisms to release oxygen from the abundant iron oxide on the surface. Geothermal sources must be tapped to provide power for subsurface water extraction and energy production. Unlike the Moon, human colonization can begin immediately, since current technology an already derive our basic needs from the Martian environment. While the distances involved may be daunting, so were the first crossings of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Over time, we will get better at it. Practice makes perfect and there is nothing like a few dozen years of space travel

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