"Dying in Space: An American Dream"
Megan Garber
The Atlantic
The article first hits the reader
as extremely morbid. But as I delved into the text I realized that the idea of
one way space trips is the only way to practically explore Mars during our
generation. The focus of this article is the nonprofit organization “Mars One”.
They are a nonprofit organization that promises that it will be sending a one
way mission to colonize space by 2023. Online applications are open now and
thousands have already submitted their applications. Garber is clearly in favor
of this plan and seems to be persuading the reader that the idea that they
won’t be coming back is “a feature, not a bug.” Garber
insists that we must get away from the Apollo way of thinking where there is
always a return trip. Former NASA Engineer says, “To maintain project inertia,
the concept must have a goal that accomplishes the manned landing within as
short a time as possible." The best way to achieve all that? A
"one-man, one-way" trip.” Garber has been writing for the Atlantic
for three years and is an accomplished writer but she is not a scientist or an
engineer so she herself is not an expert on the topic either. So to build
credibility Barber uses quotes from experts like the one above, and points out
that this is not the first time that we have thought of one way journeys into
space. During the early stages of the Apollo program NASA played with the idea
of sending a man alone to stay on the moon for about a year until they designed
a return vehicle. This was the result of a race to beat the Russians now we are
using this method to start a new era in space exploration. This will transform
our travels from visits to colonization. The latter being the future of our
planet and our species.
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