It’s time for us to go to Mars. What a ridiculous notion. We’re fighting a war or two, our state’s finances are in the crapper, and if international air travel is becoming a pain, interplanetary certainly can’t be any better. But space exploration has never been about the reasonable, the opportune or even the attainable. It is grounded in a desire for inspiration, whether that inspiration is derived through superlatives (we are the greatest) or absolutes (we are great).

We seek inspiration.

Museums don’t feed the hungry and concert halls don’t house the homeless, but they remain an essential part of America. They are central to how we choose to remember our past and how we seek to be remembered by the future.

As an apex of science, engineering, art and humanities, space exploration enjoys this same abstract appeal. Indeed, American pride is founded to a large extent in the notion that we came to a new place. But a manned mission to Mars also offers concrete benefits that we should no longer ignore:

Develop new technologies.

Spaced-based research hasn’t been the huge boon it once appeared to be, but that’s not the point. The tools we develop trying to reach a goal are the most beneficial. Internal combustion engines won’t get us to or around Mars; coal-generating plants certainly won’t power a Mars-based colony. Need fosters invention; we need only to foster the need.

Secure Soviet scientists.

The collapse of the Soviet Union meant pink slips for thousands of brilliant scientists. As our country evaluates global security threats, there is growing concern that nuclear and propulsion experts may be recruited by countries or groups that wouldn’t exactly be welcomed around the dinner table. Directing more resources toward space development provides the opportunity to direct this talent toward going beyond Earth instead of toward blowing it up.

Beat China.

The People’s Republic has publicly stated its goal of sending people to the moon, and it seems to be only a question of time before global television audiences are confronted by images of the red-and-yellow flag being planted high above our heads.

And that is just the beginning. Someday, people will live on other planets. Do we want this to happen now, when we are recognized as the sole global superpower, or down the road, when countries like China challenge our global dominance, if not our democratic and environmental ethics?

Invigorate corporate America.

Boeing is hurting. Corporate boards are scared. Developers are worried their new projects will not or cannot be insured against acts of terror. Our country needs to do something bold. We need to resurrect a modern version of Manifest Destiny, and we need to rekindle some of the audacity that accompanied the great skyscraper frenzy that produced the Chrysler and Empire State buildings.

There is a role for corporations in the colonization of Mars. In fact, there is even a role for capitalism. The space missions of today need not follow the same formula of those fifty years ago, and just like in the case of the Genome Project, investors will step up to the plate if the rewards are big enough. The federal government need only provide the bounty.

Capitalize on political will.

As NASA budget requests go, “Manned Mars Mission” would enjoy a lot more political appeal than “navigational gyroscopes,” and a strong case could be made for a bold investment in our nation’s prestige, especially now.

If Robert Byrd could get a Coast Guard base in landlocked West Virginia, I have little doubt he could get a university up on Mars. Politicians would welcome the “bipartisan” nature of space travel (Kennedy proposed, and Nixon witnessed, the moon landing), and John Glenn is probably itching for another flight somewhere. Give us a good story. We like our heroes, and we like a great adventure. Likewise, we have proven our ability to produce heroes when it matters. The exploration and colonization of Mars presents itself as another great adventure that we can and should undertake.

We can do it.

— Bryant Walker Smith (bsmith@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in civil engineering.