What will the future mars exploration be like?

"Mars is there waiting to be reached"

It's very likely that we'll see another space race again and this time only to mars in early 2033. The private space companies like SpaceX and Lockheed Martian say that they can and they have the technology to reach Mars within the next decade. There is also the Mars-One group in the Netherlands that is committed to sending non-return trip to colonize Mars in the early 2030s. But why are we actually returning to the Moon to stay and aiming at Mars and what will we do once we get there to Mars? Here's a short description of what the first human team on Mars will be like and what will they do?

Firstly, I think that Mars is the perfect place, to begin within the process of searching for extra-terrestrial life on the Universe. It has already been said that when the solar system first evolved Mars was also the living planet like earth. It also had a fewer amount of oxygen in its atmosphere. There are two frozen ice caps on the two poles of Mars. All of these facts show that yes, life might have existed on Mars billions of years back before the planet started to cool down. In the process of cooling down, Mars turned out to be the cold barren desert whose temperature mostly remains below the freezing point.  NASA says that after going to Mars there will be better technological developments,  international cooperation for a common goal, and harmony in building new machinery I think we are going to have even more benefits.

Probably, Mars will help us to broaden our understanding of the universe, pushing for future space exploration. It has already been said that the sun eventually stops burning and when the solar system dies out because of sun we would go with it. Luckily, it won't happen within our lifetime. It will still take billions of years for the sun to burn up abundant hydrogen on its surface into helium atoms. Definitely, Mars cannot be the ultimate savior here because Mars is also the part of exact same solar system and when solar system dies out it will also die with Earth. Then why are we still going to mars and how will this help change the world?

 Even though Mars isn't the ultimate savior here, it will contribute a lot to push for future space exploration. With our technology, we can terraform Mars even though it may take a century or even longer make Mars the next earth for us. Often I prefer calling Mars as 'the second home' while speaking about it. Terraforming Mars may sound like a lot of time but just think what have we done so far in the field of space technology from putting the first man'Yuri Gagarin' into orbit to make satellites leave our solar system and go beyond in just six decades. So, think about what technology might progress in the upcoming 20 years or 50 years? It is unpredictable and unimaginable because as the ancient saying goes " the impossible dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the technology tomorrow".

The dinosaurs lived on this planet and got extinct. Even the first humans on Earth could not encounter those dinosaurs. Why is it so? It is because neither they couldn't adapt to the changing environment of the earth nor they could explore another habitable world in space. In other words, they were extinct because the lived and explored only on one planet. Does anyone of us want the same thing to happen with human beings? I don't want the human race to get extinct because they are the ones who do have the ability to explore other worlds and for this mission to Mars is the perfect beginning. After attaining this goal the universe will open up to us and we can set a base on Mars and go beyond. Possibly, if today I dream of someday going to Mars after me a kid from the next generation will come who will dream of going to Jupiter's moon or Saturn's moon or somewhere else in the Universe. We could perfectly explore Mars with the robots, rovers, and probes but over a decade a rover could travel only 26 miles. So, just think what could human on Mars provide us with: better mobility, flexibility, and most importantly creativity. With humans on Mars, we could easily go and search if there is any bacterial life presence on Mars.

 After we've realized the significance of going to Mars the next thing we need to know is how are we doing this? We've been building on the courage and expertise of the giant leap that took us to the Moon. NASA is building rockets: 'SLS and Orion capsule' in order to get to Mars. As mentioned earlier we also have many other private space companies, governmental space agencies, and self-funded people like Alyssa Carson who want to get there to Mars. This Mars mission will be the result of combined efforts of NASA  and other private space companies and will look very different from it's past. We have astronauts onboard ISS who work every day on new missions to understand space and microgravity environments better. Before, the mission to Mars NASA is planning for Artemis mission to land the first women and the next man on Moon by the early 2024 and have sustained the presence of humans on the moon by 2028 AD; which will serve as a stepping stone to the red planet.

Here comes the most important part of the mission to Mars. Imagine, NASA and all other private space companies managed to all the research work in time and even you completed you're studies and training as an astronaut. You became one of those lucky candidates chosen for the first trip to Mars. Now, the day of your departure has arrived. After that you are placed into a tight spacesuit and loaded into a heavy rocket and sent to Mars through the vacuum or emptiness of space; what would you feel there? You see that without gravity water forms bubble, your stomach gets upset to this environment, you feel extreme pressure on your chest as well as dizziness. If you are well trained enough you'll be able to go through this very easily. After six months of the journey from the earth, you'll approach the planet'Mars'.

Once you have approached the planet and you are one of those first astronauts to land on Mars it would be better if you start cleaning up the place and prepare it for human colonization. You will definitely want to scream in joy, burst out in happiness and laughter, jump around as high as possible, and search for the Earth in the night sky from Mars but if that's all that you want to do this trip is definitely not meant for you. You might really expect to see something beautiful on Mars but the reality will be much much different. Well, with this you begin your trip on Mars.

Unlike Earth, you'll find it very difficult to balance yourself on Mars as mars have only one-third of the gravity of the earth. You'll keep walking on Mars but never see a bush neither a tree nor an ocean anywhere. All you'll get to see is the rock and sand spread all over the planet. So it's a very different kind of beauty. Even the temperature of the planet remains much much colder than the average temperature of the earth. A year on Mars is litter longer than a year on Earth. You need to put on your spacesuit every time you go out. You'll experience frequent storms and winds on the surface of Mars but no rain. The sun appears only half of the size of what it appears on Earth. You'll experience the night with two small moons. There is a blue colored sun and you live underground isolated from your family and friends on Earth in a completely new environment. So, it's like a new life on a new planet.

Your first goal will be to set a base on Mars and it just can't be anywhere. Researches and scientists believe the best place for camp on Mars is near the poles. It is because the poles contain massive ice composites containing water deposits. Water is the key life-supporting element for human beings but carrying it all the way from Earth will occupy most of the rooms in your spacecraft and also there is a chance of leakage. The only way to solve this problem is to turn the ice on Mars into the water to drink, use, and study as well as research. Scientists believe that water may contain sulphur and iron that can be used for the manufacture but in the future.

Coming back to building the base, you don't need to do that. Space companies are planning to send robots and machines to do that for you. As per the online sources, the base will roughly be 13 m high and 5 m in diameter. That's a pretty big space but you won't be alone. You'll be sharing it with the other five people there. NASA aims to send six people on the first trip to Mars. There is a high chance that you need to build your base underground because Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than that of the Earth which causes extreme radiation on its surface.

The first astronaut on Mars will be unlike any astronauts we've seen so far. From knowing about everything about physics to spaceship they must also be farmers, botanists, and excellent problem solvers. One of the massive problems you need to solve is food production. As per the simulation of the university in the Netherlands on crop production on Mars, they found that potato, pea, carrot, and radish all can grow on Mars. You will be able to use the soil on Mars and water will come from recycling your own urine and whatever other water products present there. Unfortunately, you'll have to use your own loo to fertilize the crop growing. Also, you'll have to perform multiple experiments regarding the possibilities of life on Mars, the presence of primitive life forms there, and test long term effects of space on the human body. After farming, recycling, and exploring the red planet for a little over a year; you'll begin your way back home. As the complete mission takes three years it will the absolute longest humans have ever been outside the earth. Also, it will mark the beginning of human beings as a multi-planetary species.

The hardest part of the entire mission is to drive your vehicle back to Earth from Mars. You'll move in your Mars sent vehicle for short. Then you'll have to line it up perfectly with the biggest spaceship that is orbiting Mars. That asset of your spaceship could last as long as half an hour or it could be several days. If you couldn't line it up properly things could go very very bad. But if everything goes well, just imagine what you've done. You've made a remarkable contribution in the field of science and exploration. This will also make it easier for future generations to live on the red planet permanently making it the next Earth for us.

Even though the mission to Mars may sound like fiction for instance it is the absolute reality that the world will see within the next fifteen years. Yes, there are various challenges in taking humans from Earth to Mars that include: Radiation level between Earth and Mars, Gravitational fluctuations, heat, light, temperature, pressure, and many more but one-day humans will overcome all of these challenges and get there to Mars.

"The first person to land on Mars is already born in some corner of this world". Also, the NASA head says"the first person to land on Mars is likely to be a woman". It's because the mars generation comprises girls like Alyssa Carson and Abigail Harrison who have been training since childhood to get to mars. They say" From childhood a dream to be one of the astronauts on the first trip to Mars."One day we'll definitely go to Mars and the is approaching.

I'm the Mars generation. We are the Mars generation. Somebody from our generation will leave their footprints on the Martian soil. 'THE MARS GENERATION' is our time. What will be your role for your generation of space exploration? Through this article, I invite you to prepare for the next great adventure in space.

''It's our duty to look into the imagination of these young people because our true place is among the stars"

                             The- End!!