Could Mars Be the Next Planet for Human Existence?

Man has always been fascinated by the planets ever since he has used started to see them with the naked eye. With the passage of time, there have evolved more advanced methods of keeping an eye on them, so much so that human race has developed a capability to physically reach out to these pieces of rock in the universe. Now, the next big step is being deemed as making one of these planets as the next home of the human race. And from all the planets located nearby; the solar system of course, Mars is the one that is being focused on the most in this matter. 

Why MARS?

Here is an interesting question that why is MARS the very planet on which human beings want to inhabit? The answer lies in its following similarities with the Earth.

- The solar day on MARS is almost the same in duration as that of the Earth. To be precise, a Martian day is 24 hours and 39 minutes and a few seconds. 

- The surface area of MARS is almost the same as the dry area on the planet Earth. In other words, the human inhabitable area is almost the same.

- The axial tilt that decides at what angle the Sun would shine on a certain planet is also almost the same for both Earth and MARS. They are 25.19 and 23.44 degrees for MARS and Earth respectively.

- There is a high chance of the presence of water ice on the surface of MARS.
- After making careful calculations and after doing extensive research, it has been found that MARS is the cheapest to transport from Earth to it. It requires the least amount of energy that is fuel to reach MARS than any other planet located in the solar system.

These things support the argument that human race can survive on MARS. There are however some things that speak otherwise, that MARS cannot be inhabited, at least not by human beings.

Why not MARS?

- The gravitational force at MARS is very little as compared to that of Earth. It is just 38% as compared to the g force of earth. This means that human beings cannot walk or make structures properly on the surface of MARS.

- Temperature is the next big issue, MARS is a lot cooler than Earth, and it is cooler than even the coldest place on the planet Earth. The temperature can drop to -87 degree Celsius. 

- There is almost no Oxygen on MARS. The Martian atmosphere consists 95% of Carbon dioxide, and human beings cannot breathe in that.