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Melody Su (94401071) Michael Cheng Reading and Writing (2) Essay writing April 28, 2009 Why We Should Send a Manned Mission to Mars All of us can feel that the earth is getting hotter and more crowded. Approximately 6.6 billion humans now inhabit the Earth, resulting from the nearly ten-fold population growth over the past three centuries. (Steck, 2008) Due to the stunning population explosion, people are gradually running out of space on the planet. Therefore, it is critical for the whole world to work together to find a new land to release the high population pressure. Scientists have tried indefatigably to discover outer space with a view to letting people prosper continually, and the nearby planet, Mars, is definitely the best choice. A manned flight to Mars is thus being seriously and controversially discussed, but still without a definite conclusion so far. However, due to the limitless potential of Mars, the ready-built foundation of outer space mission, the beneficial stimulation on human spirit, I think a manned flight to Mars is undoubtedly in need. (topic sentence) Before we go further into the issue, there are some opponent voices that we cannot ignore. For example, some people argue that 1. the cost of the expedition is too much, competing against other fiscal budgets for education, medicine, poverty reduction and public construction. In 1989, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) estimated that a people-to-Mars program would cost $400 billion, which inflates to $600 billion today. Comparing to the annual budget of the United States of $3.5 trillion, it is definitely a huge expenditure. Some conservatives proclaim that 2. the technology is not advanced enough. Based on the current level, a manned flight to Mars is such a great risk that human beings should not recklessly challenge it. Still others are worried that 3. the Super Power like the United States and Russia will colonize Mars and deprive other countries of the rights to benefit from the Mars mission. Those arguments are not completely fallacious, but not objective enough. In my opinion, the expense on outer space discovery is essential for the limitless potential of a Mars mission. Notably, scientists have found several similarities between Mars and the earth. For instance, there are glaciers and channels on Mars and recently bacteria have been discovered within the glaciers. It was also proved that oxygen exists. These geographic features provide a chance to take Mars as the primary destination for outer space emigration. According to NASA, a process called “terraforming” is now being carried out. (terra = Earth) In this project, scientists take advantage of the basic natural Martian conditions to transform the environment into a warm, wet, habitable planet like Earth, applying technical strategies to increase atmospheric pressure and density for people to survive. The mentioned similarities are the fundaments of this transforming project. For example, even though we all know that Mars is a frozen desert with a carbon dioxide atmosphere that is too thin for liquid water to exist, scientists guess that water may exist deep underground in subsurface aquifers because of the tunnel and channels that may be left once water went through. Based on these discoveries, the project “terraforming” is now gradually constructed to make Mars a living planet. Also, the similarities offer opportunities to discover the secrets of the origin of life and ways to protect the environment of our own planet. Scientist Thomas Gangale asserted, “We cling to the hope of a neighboring planet that harbors……at least some primitive forms of life. If Mars contains even nanobacteria─or indisputable evidence of past life of the simplest form─this will profoundly change our conception of our place in the universe. If Mars is dead now, but was once alive, understanding how Mars died may give us a crucial understanding of how close we are coming to killing the Earth.” What he indicated is that by studying the geology of Mars, we must gain more understanding on the earth. Furthermore, The Mars Society, a group which supports Mars exploration, proclaims in its Founding Declaration that “As we being the 21 century, we have evidence that we are changing the Earth’s atmosphere and environment in significant ways……Mars, the planet most like Earth, will have even more to teach us about our home world. The knowledge we gain could be key to our survival.” To be short, Mars mission is not an “invasion” to a new land and then leads to the abandonment of the earth. Instead, it is an expression that human beings want to protect our planet even more strenuously. Some people are worried that once if mankind successfully lands on Mars, Superpowers like the U.S. and Russia will colonize it and occupy all the benefits that should be shared with all human beings. Being aware of the concerns of other countries, Barack Obama, President of the United States, recently had just claimed that international cooperation of outer space expedition should be much more emphasized. The International Space Law is nowadays under construction to assure that all countries can share the good fortune brought by outer space mission. Then, someone may ask “Why don’t we just send an exploratory machine to Mars instead of sending real men?” Although a robot mission is cheaper and safer, it is proved that the best way to attain knowledge is with human scientist. Chris Welch, a lecturer in space technology at Kingston University, once said “Robot can do a lot, but having multiple trained human beings there would tell us so much more.” A real person with scientific or geographic expertise can correctly pick up the most crucial or valuable materials for experiments. Since we have already devoted uncountable money and human resource on robot-exploration, why don’t we spend more to make the program more efficient and productive? If we can make one flight very contributive to all human being, then why should we hesitate to challenge the difficulty? Finally, a manned flight to Mars elevates mankind not only materially, but also spiritually. A success on outer space mission has always been a great stimulation for every man and woman. President George W. Bush once said, “Mankind is drawn to the heavens of the same reason we were once drawn to unknown lands and across the open sea. We choose to explore space because doing so improves our lives and lifts our national spirit.” People of all ages and all races must be strongly impressed by the epoch-making action of Apollo program in the 1960s to 1970s, which created a generation of astronaut heroes. Being motivated by the priceless triumph, people are now so fascinated about the imaginary future on Mars. To sum up, no matter how challenging the mission is, we should have confidence and ambition to pursue the dream. It is not just a mission to fulfill the curiosity of people, but (a) marvelous millstone that (is) related to the present and future of all mankind. As all the hard work that human beings have (been) paid for such a long term, we should be optimistic and supportive to back a manned flight to Mars, no matter how arduous it is. Reference: Joulwan, M. “You Decide: Manned Mission to Mars.” 13 May 2004 KQED. Retrieved on 10 June, 2004 from <http://www.kqed.org/topics/news/perspectives/youdecide/pop/mars/index.jsp?flash=t rue/> Smith, L. “Terraforming Mars” 25 Oct. 2006. Retrieved on 28 April, 2009 from <http://web.archive.org/web/20070915152013/http://aerospacescholars.jsc.nasa.gov/ HAS/cirr/em/10/10.cfm> Steck, T. L. “Human Population Explosion” 18 Sep. 2008. Retrieved on 28 April, 2009 from <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Human_population_explosion> The Central News Agency 美政府救市 上半年度預算赤字直逼 1 兆美元 11 April, 2009 Retrieved on 28 April, 2009 from <http://tw.money.yahoo.com/news_article/adbf/d_a_090411_1_1fvdk> Bloomberg 歐巴馬將整合國防部與太空總署對抗中國 2 Jan, 2009 Retrieved on 28 April, 2009 from http://www.cna.com.tw/SearchNews/doDetail.aspx?id=200901020172 Comments on Melody’s Paper: 1. The yellow highlights are the grammatical errors, in this case very few, that we noticed. 2. Several pieces of quote/fact need to be provided with more details. 3. There’s no problem with the grammar and language in this paper, yet there is a sight structural problem. In paragraph 2, three opponent ideas are mentioned, yet the following paragraphs do not seem to argue against them in the order in which those ideas are mentioned. In paragraph 3, the first sentence “…the expense on outer space discovery is essential for the limitless potential of a Mars mission…” seems to cue the readers that this is the defense part on the money aspect of this issue, yet the following elaboration shifts to the focus of a new program, which seems to retort the opposite argument that “the technology is not advanced enough.” Anyhow, the arrangement of paragraphs is not very parallel, or neat, therefore makes the ideas a bit confusing to readers. Grade: 88, you can improve this paper by simply following either of these structures: 1. Point-by-point (separate the opponent arguments into different paragraphs and attack each one of them straight ahead in each paragraphs.) 2. Mention all the opponent ideas in one paragraph and then develop your arguments against those ideas into separate but order-following paragraphs. It would be even better if you briefly mention again which of the ideas is it that you are attacking in the beginning of each arguing paragraphs.