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(Editors note: The following is a response to a previous article entitled, "Mars Now!" by James Taylor, which discussed the feasibility of a manned Mars mission and eventual colonization using the ideas pioneered by Robert Zubrin.)

Mars Later! or,
"I'm sorry, but you're just not old enough to play on other planets."
by Michael Mossberg

    Alright, call me a luddite if you like but I just don't think the time is right for a mission to Mars or for that matter any huge space project. Mr.Taylor and I agree on quite a few things but we part company on this point. It is not the concept of such a mission that I disagree with but the timing. When I look at the world we live in all I can think is that it would be best for us to get our own house in order before we go calling on our neighbors.

    First off, let's consider the why of a mission to Mars. The reasons James expressed in his article are the same as those cited for most scientific projects; the furthering of scientific knowledge and the human urge to explore. These are noble pursuits and in a just society would make strong arguments but we have yet to achieve such a society.

    I am afraid that if we open the door to Mars it will be a rerun of the western exploration paradigm. Exploration quickly leads to conquest, colonization, exploitation and finally, assimilation or elimination. There are apparently no Martians ready to have there culture destroyed to provide cheap labor (But if there were....check out Martian Time-slip by P.K. Dick-Editor) and a ready market for the global mega-corporations but there is a planet to be stripped of it's resources and turned into yet another open sewer in the name of human "progress."