How would you like to take a trip to Mars? That’s right, only to Mars. There would be no coming back.
You don’t have to make up your mind right now, because there are no missions planned or even on the horizon. But when the idea of a one-way ticket to Mars was first broached last year in a cosmology journal, the response was rather overwhelming: More than 1,000 people said they’d be eager to go.
It was not proposed as a suicide mission but as what would potentially be the greatest scientific adventure and exploration of all time.
The idea was floated by two scientists, Paul Davies of Arizona State University and Dirk Schulze-Makuch of the University of Washington, in an article in the Journal of Cosmology. One of the journal’s editors, Ron Becker, said that as the hundreds of e-mails flowed in from prospective Mars explorers, the initial reaction of researchers and journal staff was to dismiss them as not serious. But that changed as it became apparent that many of the correspondents were quite sincere.
“The response told us the spirit of exploration remains alive around the globe and that some people understand that the science involved would be extraordinary,” Davies said. “Just like with earlier explorers, they are prepared to set out knowing they won’t come back, but willing to do it because their time on Mars would be so remarkable.”
The idea, which is clearly not what NASA managers have in mind for Mars exploration, has now led to the release of “A One-Way Mission to Mars: Colonizing the Red Planet,” a compilation of articles from the Journal of Cosmology, plus some additions from scientists with the Mars Society and others.
Schulze-Makuch said the idea would be to start a colony on Mars, not simply to send astronauts there and abandon them. He imagines them living in the shelter of a lava tube or some habitat they take with them, and imagines that a stream of others would follow.
The initial volunteers are a broad range of people — old and young, male and female, military and civilians.
Jeff Lane, for instance, is 45 and a police officer in Youngs town, Ohio. He said his kids would be grown by the time any Mars mission would be ready and that the mission would need some kind of law enforcer.
“Growing up, I watched the moon shots and shuttle missions and would have loved to have been a part of it. Never came to be, so I thought I would volunteer. Strange for some people to think that way but why not? I’m gonna die, right? So why not die doing something really cool?” he said.
Paul Gregersen of Clarno, Wis., is a 61-year-old former Marine and now a clergyman in the United Methodist Church. He said that mental health is important in such an endeavor.
“I feel that spiritual advisers would also be necessary,” he said in an e-mail. “That would be where I come in, along with my other background experiences as a combat engineer (I doubt we would need the combat part) and administrator. I am a firm believer in a God that created the universe and all that is in it. So where we go, God is already there, and folks of faith will be going.”
The trip to Mars would be inherently dangerous, yet the authors say it is both important for the long-term survival of humanity and in keeping with the most basic nature of human beings.
“The culture has become risk-averse, and creativity and the pioneering spirit get lost in that kind of atmosphere,” Davies said. “This is an opportunity to do something remarkable for science, and we’ve seen many, many people are willing to take up the challenge.”
