A human mission to Mars is looking not only possible, but likely. Physicist Brian Cox reveals why our future lies in outer space
Mars has terrified humans for millennia. Back in 3000 BC, the ancient Sumerians peered at the blazing red dot in the sky and believed it to be Nergal, their fiery god of the underworld. The Romans thought along similar lines and gave the planet its current appellation, named after their murderous, battle-hungry god of war. Even today Mars is generally presented as forbiddingly hostile when it appears in films or novels—but physicist and TV presenter Brian Cox thinks we need a change of perspective.
“It’s not science fiction any more to say, ‘If we’re going to continue to expand as a civilisation, how are we going to do it without damaging this planet?’” says Cox. “To me, there’s only one answer—if we want to expand, we have to expand upwards. And we will go to Mars because there’s nowhere else to go.”
Cox would know. He is first and foremost a scientist—currently a professor at Manchester University in the UK—but he has found global fame as a presenter of documentaries, taking millions of viewers on virtual journeys through the galaxy, from the towering ice mountains of Pluto to the frozen lakes of Mars, where astronomers are searching for the first signs of extraterrestrial life using remote-controlled rovers.
See also: See The Universe Like Never Before With Rockstar Scientist Brian Cox
To Infinity And Beyond
Soon, scientists might be able to study these lakes in person. “SpaceX [Elon Musk’s aerospace company] wants to go to Mars within a decade,” says Cox.
“It’s possible that you could, if you had the investment. More likely two decades, I guess. The great change in the last few years is the development of reusable rockets, and SpaceX is in the lead there. For the first time in history we can fly into space and then bring the thing that took us into space back again.”
These rockets could carry astronauts, scientists and, eventually, anyone who wanted or needed to move from Earth. “There’s a plan called Mars Direct, which is basically a plan to send the stuff first,” explains Cox. “You send the base first, without the people, then once the base is working you send people. Then it’s a permanent settlement and it grows.”
