There is a pressing issue that we are all facing right now.
Billionaires are competing to become skeletons on Mars, while the mouths that feed their wallets are fighting for basic living resources.
Going to space may represent hope for a few people, but if every single person in the world were asked about their opinion on going to Mars, i would bet that the majority would say that it doesn’t represent hope for them. Even if they were offered a ticket. Why should we go? Off to Mars? Just to try to survive as a species?
I understand that humans are explorers, and it is this inherent desire to explore and go further and push ourselves that has gotten us as far as it has. Now i ask you to take a real inventory on what you are seeing around you. Was the advancement all worth it? This is a topic worthy of a thesis.
The point is, Elon wants to get to Mars because he wants to challenge himself, and he does not think that it is worth saving the Earth. He thinks the only chance for humanity is to expand past this atmosphere.
Climate change activists say there is no planet B. while I want to be an Asimov/ Pratchett dreamer and say something maybe a little mysterious. We don’t know this wasn’t Planet B to begin with. But we may never know that, so this theory remains an interesting point for science fiction.
Realist in me acknowledges that there’s a good chance that the technology that can make planet B functional for life is really helpful for life on planet A. I don’t think we have to choose between the planets. I agree that it’s an egregious expenditure to get people off onto Mars… And it’s outrageous that the extremely wealthy would rather prioritize saving themselves; They’re just leaving all the poor people to burn on the planet that they ruined. And then they have the audacity to think that they can send rockets back to us to restock. (Am I alone in thinking that if they leave, they are pretty much on their own? Who is going to fight their political battles on Earth? Does anyone volunteer as tribute to be their proxy and fight on their behalf?)
I don’t think there’s anything we’re gonna do to convince them not to. Unstoppable force, meet immovable object.
The technology needed to allow for humans to survive on Mars is what is valuable to us earthlings, not the technology to get them there. The wealthy can hoard the blueprints for the rocket ships, but if they design agricultural practices to sustain life on minimal land and resources and they don’t share it with everyone for free, they are officially very very bad people.
So mister unstoppable force, meet the immovable object. At least if you will be leaving our planet with intentions of creating a self sustaining society on Mars, can you also leave the blueprints for the technology that can allow this crew to feed, water, clean, and entertain themselves? We could really use it here, see, some capitalists took everything they could from us and are leaving us with nothing.
