The temperatures on Mars can reach as low as -140 C during the winter time and -85 C during the spring. Not only are the temperatures on Mars able to reach record lows, but the seasons would also last twice as long, as one Mars year is 687 Earth days, meaning that for every Mars year Earth would have only have rotated around the Sun once. Shelter for the people, and animals, living on Mars, would have to be extremely weather proof for the seasons of Mars.
Oxygen supplies are another large problem that, without it, humans will never be able to live on Mars. Mars has no supply of Oxygen that we know of, so people living on Mars would either have to walk around in their space suits and make sure that they have enough oxygen being carried around with them or they would have to stay in specially built shelters which have oxygen already in them.
What to take to Mars would also need to be assessed properly and again careful consideration would need to be taken with what to bring. There would probably be a weight limit on the space ship and if anything was left behind then the people on Mars would have to wait for a year before they could get it back and if there are multiple needs of the things they are taking are need then this will also take up more room on the ship.
Traveling to Mars is expensive, and living on Mars would be even more costly. The estimated value that Mars has is already $358 billion, which is about $10 an acre. Once Mars has been transformed, then the land value of Mars will grow by 100 times, meaning that to buy the planet, you would need $36 trillion. Traveling to Mars just to look at the surface and to have people walking around on Mars would cost approximately $16 billion dollars, however the cost has been 'justified' by people by saying that just in case there is a catastrophic event which may wipe out the human race, we will need a 'spare' planet to go and live on and try to make sure that we do not abuse the next planet like the one that we were originally given.
Some of the other problems associated with landing people on Mars are that, obviously, you are not able to live on Mars like you live on Earth. Even if humans do manage to colonize Mars and have been living on the planet for one hundred years then there would still be so much we do not know, and can never know, about Mars. The people who live on Mars would have to find jobs, and most of the jobs people do on Earth would not be able to be performed on Mars. You would need to have more of the rural humans living on Mars to help the land and vegetation grow. What about the first people who land on Mars? We can not even take care of our own problems with our separate countries without starting a war, what will happen if people start to live on Mars? Then we will be having our own version of War of the Worlds.
2) Imagine that you are one of the astronauts selected to go to Mars. How would you need to prepare for the journey?
If selected to be one of the astronauts to be chosen to travel to Mars, preparation for the journey over to Mars would be long and difficult. It would take over a year to prepare the astronauts for space travel and to make sure that they are physically fit to venture into space. Another is to make sure that the astronauts are mentally able for the emotional aspects of space travel. Seeing Earth from space would be an amazing site and one that some people would not be able to take lightly.
People traveling into space would also need to be educated correctly for the travel and space. They would need to know about Mars's atmosphere and the temperature changes, as Mars has a climate that can be extremely harmful as dust storms can appear out of nowhere in just minutes. The astronauts would also need to learn and become accustomed to the zero gravity in space. They would have to go to special space centers where there are rooms designed to have zero gravity contained in them and they can experience what being in space is really like.
You would also need to be physically fit to go into space. No one is sure of the amount of duties that may have to be performed whilst in space and sometimes during emergencies the astronaut may have to perform tasks that were otherwise assigned to other crew members, but for some reason or other they would not be able to perform the task. Preparation for the trip would also mean having a lot of body check ups to make sure that the astronauts heart is in proper condition and isn't about to fail on them in space. A dead body in space would not be a very pretty site. Astronauts would also need check ups for sicknesses and other diseases. If an astronaut has a cold and whilst in space it flares up and is passed on to the other astronauts on board then there is little they can do in space when they are sick. If an astronaut sneezed whilst in space the bacteria might spread and it might create life, although this is a very small chance of this actually happening as precaution after precaution are taken to ensure the safety of the astronauts and before and after space travel.
Another preparation for the journey is for the astronauts to prepare their families for their departure and some family members would not take lightly the fact that someone they know, a family member, is going into space and all the risks associated with traveling into space. Family members would need to be reassured of the safety of space travel and if it makes them feel any better, to make a will just in case worst comes to worst.
