From Earth to Beyond: Will Humans Ever Live on Another Planet and What Would Life Beyond Earth Look Like?

Past, Present and Future

Humans have always been a curious species and have spent lots of time trying to figure out the mysteries of the universe. From launching thousands of satellites to space to landing a man on the moon, space exploration has continuously advanced through time. Throughout time, space agencies from around the world have completed various missions to space to explore different stars and planets such as the Moon and Mars. Humans continue to explore as they did in the past and now with the increasing interest in space exploration, there is no doubt that one-day humans will live on another planet.

Where would we go?

In the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in searching for possible planets for humans to survive on. This has led to increased funding for research on planets like Mars. Mars is one of Earth’s closest neighbouring planets. Mars was first discovered in 1609, by Galileo Galilei who first saw it through a telescope. Since then, many satellites, probes and rovers have been sent to Mars to examine its surface and look for water and other signs that can help sustain life. Mars falls within the habitable zone in our solar system known as the Goldilocks zone. The Goldilocks zone is a zone around a star which is at a distance good enough for liquid water to exist. The zone is shown in the photo below. Research has shown signs of water on Mars but due to its thin atmosphere, much of it has frozen or evaporated. There are methods which are possible to artificially warm-up Mars according to space companies such as SpaceX. Mars also has 38% gravity of Earth which researches suggest humans can adapt to. Moreover, a day on Mars is about 24 hrs and 37 min which is very similar to a day on Earth. These factors have shown that Mars is a suitable candidate for supporting human life.

Credit: Cornell University
Found on NASA astrobiology website

How will people get there?

People will travel to destinations such as Mars via rockets. Space flight is very expensive and can cost almost 100’s of millions of dollars just to send one rocket to a planet like Mars. Despite the overwhelming cost of rocket launches, many companies such as SpaceX and government agencies such as NASA and China National Space Administration (CNSA) have invested in Mars research. Technological innovation is leading to a decrease in these prices. SpaceX has a plan to send its first crew to Mars in the year 2024 while NASA has a more long term plan which includes sending crews to the Moon first as a preparation for larger missions to Mars.

Life on Mars

Due to the amount of radiation on Mars surface humans cannot walk around unprotected. The thin atmosphere on Mars would have to be shielded from solar winds and life on Mars would be mostly spent living in capsules. Over time, Mars can be transformed into a fully habitable planet like Earth.

– Sandeep Singh