MAR 98-005

On the Importance and Duty of Colonizing Mars
Josef Oehmen
Landstrasse 81, Titz, Germany 52445. j.oehmen@usa.net

Already nowadays, a great many people are discussing the technical aspects of reaching Mars, and have done so for some 50 years. What becomes quickly obvious is that a sustained human presence on Mars, done that way or this, will certainly place a strong demand on resources and manpower. It becomes thus more and more important to also address non-technical questions of reaching the red planet?

When one encounters for the first time the idea of sending men to Mars and colonizing the red planet, one is instantly absorbed by it: This bold undertaking, this challenge, this impossibility of establishing a continued, and given a little time, largely independent presence of human beings on another celestial body is simply not going to leave one alone. I can hardly imagine any cases where those thoughts, played with a little in one’s mind, aren’t among the most fascinating and exhilarating. The simple thought of leaving Earth and found a new home for mankind among the stars, an outpost of life, is enough to make one addicted to this subject. Then, the whole effort of colonizing Mars seems to completely justify itself beyond the shadow of a doubt. But as deeper as one gets involved with the technical aspects of reaching Mars, the more does it become important to address non-technical questions regarding the establishment of a human presence on one of our neighboring planets.