Inhabiting Mars: Close Yet So Far Away
             Mars, also known as the Red Planet, is Earth's closest neighbor, which is 35 million miles away. The Red Planet seems to have the most potential out of all the other planets to support human life. A journey to Mars could take around four to six months, but scientists are unsure of how the health of human beings would be affected during this sort of journey. (www.flatoday.com/space/explore/stories/2000b/080600a.htm)
             If the trip to the Red Planet is successful and goes as planned, the first human beings there would face many troubles. A number of of these troubles would be: They would be required to wear space suits when venturing outside, because the atmosphere of Mars is too thin; Humans would also face the possibility of running low on their supplies, since they would have to carry everything they need with them or send it on a separate cargo ship; They might even have to grow their own plants just to be sure they would not run out of food and because of the fact that Mars is desolate. Plants would have to be grown inside greenhouses inside a Mars colony since nothing can grow on the surface of Mars yet. (www.flatoday.com/space/explorestories2000b080600a.htm)
             The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) plan, right now is for the first humans arriving on Mars to live there for at least 18 months. Some scientists wonder when human beings will ever reach the Red Planet and start to inhabit it. The planet never comes closer than 80 kilometers to our Earth and a round trip could take years. At the moment the biggest obstacle is the huge cost of trip. And it all comes down to one important number: the mass of the aircraft. The less space the space craft will have, the cheaper the cost of the craft and the more space the space craft will have, the more it will cost to build. (www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/think_mars 001025.html)
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