On Sept. 27, Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, announced his goal of bringing 1 million humans to Mars in the next 40 to 100 years, in hopes of creating a self-sustaining colony. Many experts and non-experts alike have criticized this idea as outlandish and absurd because of the enormous expense and technological capital required for such a daring project. Nonetheless, putting a human on Mars is a task worth striving for as it will spur technological innovation, employ thousands of individuals and, yes, make America great again.
The launch of Sputnik in 1957 made the Soviet Union the first nation to successfully put a satellite into earth’s orbit. This was particularly troubling because it refuted the notion that the Russians were decades behind the United States technologically and posed the possibility that the new satellite could be used as a launching pad for nuclear weapons. Unsurprisingly, American policymakers were not willing to stand idly by while an emerging Soviet Union taunted them with their new toy. Four years later, the Soviets put the first human into earth’s orbit; it was at this time that President John F. Kennedy unwaveringly enunciated his goal to landing a man on the moon.
As we know, Kennedy’s goal was fulfilled in 1969 thanks to the dramatic expedition of Apollo 11. NASA was pressured to produce technology that could keep pace with the Soviets, culminating in the production of new rockets that strong enough to leave the earth’s orbit and launch pads that could accommodate such thrust from the ground. This ambitious project put more than 400,000 Americans to work in the industrial sector and required the support of over 20,000 engineering firms and universities. Perhaps most importantly, it transformed American fear into pride, as NASA’s technological successes also made clear the America was to be the new leader of the Space Age.
The America of today is far different than that of the 1960s, yet this is partially because we do not feel a need to invest in space technology as we used to. For instance, Donald Trump’s political rise has been fueled by his claims that Americans feel unsafe, industrial jobs are fleeing the country and there is an overwhelming sense that America is no longer great like it was in the 20th century. Kennedy’s space program did much more than put a human on the moon. It fomented enormous technological advancements that made citizens feels safe, allowed the industrial sector to flourish and revitalized American exceptionalism at a time when the Vietnam War and turbulent racial relations nearly tore this country apart. Obviously, putting a man on the moon did not solve all of America’s problems. Yet, it allowed Americans to dream and to work in ways that would have been impossible had Kennedy not laid out this succinct and determined goal.
Of course, such a mission to Mars cannot be undertaken unless enormous investments are made in the space industry. NASA and SpaceX have made it clear that they want to undertake a manned mission to Mars as soon as possible. Yet NASA has suffered from steadily decreasing national funding for space research since the late 1960s. And SpaceX, despite enormous investments from Google and other companies, is still struggling to establish itself as a legitimate competitor to NASA in the industry. This competition is beneficial and will breed innovation, yet we need more than simple market forces if we are to reap the rewards of a successful expedition to Mars.
What we need is for the next president of the United States to act as committed to a mission to Mars as Kennedy was to a mission to the moon 50 years ago. Hillary Clinton has stated she would support increased funding for NASA and Trump has been all over the place, saying he “loves what [NASA] represents” but that “we have bigger problems.” Regardless, they should not lose sight of the enormous positive consequences putting at least a small team of astronauts on Mars could bring. And while the Soviet threat is not the primary motivation driving technological innovation, there are countless other benefits that might ensue if we make a coordinated effort to reach the Red Planet.
Jesse Berman is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at j.berman@cavalierdaily.com.
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