15 Astronauts, if they even managed to get on a spaceship, would face a rigorous seven-month journey, even when in the favourable conditions of the Earth’s orbit. Once they reached Mars, they would be scrambling for protection against the radiation and freezing cold temperatures. Before they even got a chance to learn something about the planet, and whether it’s even remotely habitable, it would be time to fly back, in order to get back before they die. All of that in 30 days. Ok, so we can do it. Right, let’s try and manoeuvre a slightly bigger population of 7.6 billion people onto a hostile planet we’ve been to once. Not to mention, there would be war, financial issues, bias, and that’s before we even think about the possibility of transporting people on such a colossal scale for seven months in a spaceship. So, why are we still dreaming of this possibility? If all that is even remotely possible in today’s society is the rigorous plan of sending a few astronauts to Mars for a month, what on earth makes humanity think they can start a life out there? I think we had better leave the dream in the children’s stories for now. By Cameron Davies
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