Suburbs On the Red Planet
The year is 2200. Earth's population
approaches 100 billion; nations vie for the planet's remaining resources.
Earth is
in the throes of death. But there is hope: Mars! Settled 100 years before, the
frozen Martian landscape now sports dozens of domed cities.
This is science fiction for now, but scientists believe Mars
could one day harbor human civilization. It's the most Earth-
like planet in the solar system, with a relatively agreeable climate and large
deposits of water. The Viking I and
II landers found that on a good day Mars is
about as warm as New England in October, though on a bad day
temperatures can plunge to -224 degrees Fahrenheit.
NASA says more knowledge is necessary before colonization is remotely feasible. Further exploration may answer the important questions. Mars Pathfinder continues to astound scientists with a stream of exciting data. Mars Global Surveyor, which reached the planet in the fall of 1997, is gathering data on the Red Planet's surface features, atmosphere and magnetic properties. Several follow-up Surveyor missions will try to fill in the gaps.
The Mars Sample Return mission, slated for liftoff by 2005, will land a spacecraft on the surface which will dispatch Sojourner-like rovers to collect rocks, and return them to Earth with the help of fuel synthesized from the Martian atmosphere. Humans could be the next visitors, possibly as early as 2020.
In order to convince governments to cough up enough green for the Red Planet, more compelling arguments for the missions must be presented, says TIME's Jeff Kluger. "A more tangible reason to go would be to learn more about the Earth and planetary formation through the direct study of Mars," he argues. Other reasons include using Mars as an observatory or as a launching pad to other destinations in the solar system. — Taran Provost
