Why we

should go to
Mars
Clay Patterson
 Some Interesting Mars Facts
Roughly half the size of Earth
One Mars year is 1.9 Earth Years
or 687 Days
Surface temperatures between
-243 F and 68 F
First recorded in 2nd Millennium BC
by Egyptian astronomers
On Mars the sun appears about half
the size compared to what we see
on
Earth
Red Color is due to rusting of Iron
So why is Mars so special?
Located in the Goldilocks Zone
Could harbor life, or life in its past
Could possibly be Terraformed
Relatively close to home
Water
 Challenges
Distance of 34 million miles
away
at its closest
Galactic Cosmic Rays (GRC)
Politics Multiple
administrations
Ethics Possible astronaut
deaths
Cost estimated at $100
Billion
U.S. Government Tax Spending
Sharing of cost across
multiple space
administrations
Private sector SpaceX
Effects on Society
Improve interest in STEM fields
Unite people towards a common
goal
Provide jobs in Manufacturing,
Engineering, Science, and other
fields
Provide a perspective of our
place
in the Universe
Bill Nye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVZmL5UARcs
00:00 1:16
Sources
Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars, NASA,
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_83.html
Why Mars, and not another planet?, Mars-One,
http://www.mars-one.com/faq/mission-to-mars/why-mars-and-not-another-planet
Curiosity Self-Portrait at Mojave Site on Mount Sharp, NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/msl/pia19142
NASA's Space Launch System Design 'Right on Track' for Journey to Mars NASA/MSFC,
https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/artist-concept-of-the-sls-block-1-configuration.html
Interplanetary Transport System, SpaceX, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interplanetary_Transport_System
Kepler-22b Comfortably Circling within the Habitable Zone, NASA,
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/multimedia/images/kepler-22b-diagram.html
Mount Sharp Buttes and Layers From Near Darwin, NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/msl/pia19083
Discretionary Spending 2015: $1.1 Trillion Chart, OMB, National Priorities Project,
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/
Taylor, Alan. The Year Men Walked on the Moon, The Atlantic,
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/07/45-years-ago-we-landed-men-on-the-moon/100775/
NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Sees Evening Star Earth, NASA, https://
www.nasa.gov/jpl/msl/earth-view-from-mars-20140206
Bill Nye: Why We Explore, Big Think, 00:00 1:17, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVZmL5UARcs