Chris Valenzuela
The new frontier for exploration is the cosmos. Humans have enormous potential to go out of our safe haven here on Earth and to explore or even colonize celestial objects from beyond. If we really want to take this new frontier seriously we need to start with a place that is capable of supporting human life independently. One such place is our cousin planet Mars.
I refer to Mars as our cousin planet because it was eerily similar to our Earth today. It had an atmosphere, water and many speculate that even microbial organisms populated the planet. Unfortunately Mars' core had a shorter lifetime. At first glance the core of a planet might seem insignificant but you must understand that the core of a planet such as our Earth has a very vital function. For almost any celestial object such as a star, planet, or moon a spinning core creates a magnetic field. This magnetic field deflects solar radiation that comes from our sun or from distant stars in outer space; without protection organisms are subject to unnatural mutations in their genetic codes or can develop cancer. Since Earth has an active core we are all shielded from this radiation. Unfortunately Mars' core became inactive at some point in the past which resulted in the loss of most of its atmosphere and air pressure due to solar winds. Without air pressure water cannot exist as a fluid at the surface. This is why present day Mars looks barren and lifeless but all that can change.
If we are to colonize Mars as a species we must first overcome some technical challenges. The first challenge is getting there. The orbit of Earth and Mars are somewhat separate because if we time our launch perfectly the first astronauts can reach Mars in seven months. This means those astronauts need to carry enough material to last seven months and if something were to happen to them or their vital resources then they are on their own. The solution to this problem is the use of caution and to produce the necessary resources as light and efficient as possible
Another technical challenge is when the astronauts arrive on Mars. There is little atmosphere no pressure and high velocity winds go from local winds to a massive number of sand storms that can cover the whole planet. The solution to that is a strong and sturdy space ship that can withstand these conditions. Also construction of green house facilities should begin immediately so that the colonies become less dependent on Earth resources. There are plants that are capable of surviving in minute amounts of water and nutrients. These plants are the ones the pioneering astronauts need in order to survive. Hopefully if all goes well Mars can become an independent system that would be open to the general public as the conditions are artificially altered. If we succeed we are on our way to a new era of space exploration.