Let’s stop pretending going to Mars is for mankind
I read the news of the proposed one-way trip to Mars for up to 40 lucky Earthlings with curious fascination. First, I browsed through the 100 candidates who had made the shortlist. Of course there was a Nigerian, a certain Ighodalo whose upbeat personableness came across well in his application video. No matter how bizarre the enterprise, I am always glad to see Nigeria represented. Next, I discovered that to fund the mission, both the journey out and the first years on the red planet will be turned into a reality show: perhaps Big Brother Mars, The Only Way is Martian, The Real Housewives of the Athabasca Valles. I could go on for a whole episode of Star Trek.
What struck me as I surfed through the profiles of shortlisted candidates and watched applicants' interviews, was that the mission is surrounded by a certain rhetoric of progress. Going to Mars will move humanity forward and open up new frontiers; it will be a veritable leap for mankind. I watched a woman look forward to the day her statue will be planted on Mars's red soil in honour of her services to mankind. I watched a father willing to leave his wife and children behind for a chance to make this jump for humanity. I watched a young man speak of his application as a "sacrifice" for the rest of us. Through the glories of modern science, mankind is once again forging ahead.
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