So there is a lot of discussion going on now about getting humans to Mars sometime in the near future. Lots of it, sadly, lives in the fantasy-o-sphere. Actually getting to the Red Planet is going to take a lot more thought, a lot more effort and a lot more money than some commentators (and billionaires) are willing to admit. Also, given the chaos happening at NASA right now we are definitely not on track to make that deep-space trek soon. Finally, even given the time, cash and effort there’s still a good chance that anyone who makes taking the trip won’t be coming home.

It’s gonna be really easy to die getting to Mars to say nothing of getting off that planet and back home to ours.

So… given that likelihood, would I still go?

Hell yeah! To watch just one sunrise over the Martian horizon would be worth it. There are more than ten billion trillion planets in the Universe and so far I’ve only see one. To gain just a little more experience about the Cosmos and its possibilities would be a kind of enlightenment experience on its own. And, to me, dying on an alien planet beats out spending my last years in an assisted living facility hoping for chocolate pudding at the desert table.

So yes I would absolutely go because Mars has been out here, waiting for us, for four billion years. In the long term, if we can get through the mess of climate change, AI, nuclear war and our other (many) challenges, I do believe we will settle the solar system. Going over the next hill to see what’s there is kind of what we humans do. So, if offered, how could pass on being part of that grand journey.

In truth though, we can get astronauts to the Red Planet and back safely if we get serious about it. That means funding NASA at the levels it needs to get the job done. It means working with partners in other countries to share the enormous costs. Fundamentally, means getting serious about getting all the answers right to all the questions that must be resolved so humans can make the trip to Mars and back.

Finally, I do have one caveat about dying on Mars. I don’t want to leave my beloved wife. Maybe I can convince her to come with me. It will definitely be better than sharing that last cup of chocolate pudding at the old age home.

— Adam Frank 🚀