

Mars Is the Next Step for Humanity – We Must Take It - brock_r
http://www.space.com/28513-mars-is-the-next-step-for-humanity-we-must-take-it.html

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dalke
> "Our environment is a highly balanced system and we are the destabilising
> element."

Okay, so we colonize Mars. Then what? We continue to destabilize the Earth's
ecoystem? And what of the billions of people on Earth - do we ship them all to
Mars?

If we can build a self-sustaining environment (either in an enclosed area or
through terraforming), then why can't we do the same here? Building a self-
sustaining city/arcology here on Earth is 1) certainly cheaper than doing so
on Mars, and 2) will help mitigate humanity's impact on the Earth's ecosystem.

> "Space exploration is also inspiring: during NASA’s Apollo programme to the
> Moon, the number of graduates in mathematics, engineering and the sciences
> in the US doubled."

Also, the US dumped massive amounts of money into the sciences post-Sputnik.
Quoting from
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_crisis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_crisis):

> Education programs were initiated to foster a new generation of engineers
> and support was dramatically increased for scientific research. Congress
> increased the National Science Foundation (NSF) appropriation for 1959 to
> $134 million, almost $100 million higher than the year before. By 1968, the
> NSF budget stood at nearly $500 million.

BTW, all sorts of things can be inspiring. In the UK, TV shows like Time Team
and Meet the Ancestors have greatly increased public interest in archaeology,
and no doubt inspired some to enter the field. Going back a few decades, Julia
Child inspired a lot of people to start doing French cooking. So yes, space
exploration is one of many things that can and have inspired people.

