INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Mars is back on the agenda.During his address to a joint session of Congress in March, President Donald Trump said the United States "will
pursue our Manifest Destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars."What does this
mean? Manifest destiny is the belief, which was particularly widespread in 1800s America, that US settlers were destined to expand westward
Similarly, then, the Trump administration believes it is the manifest destiny of Americans to settle Mars
And he wants his administration to take steps toward accomplishing that goal.
Should the US Prioritize Settling Mars?
But
should we really do this?I recently participated in a debate with Shannon Stirone, a distinguished science writer, on this topic
The debate was sponsored by Open to Debate, and professionally moderated by Emmy Award-winning journalist John Donvan
Spoiler alert: I argued in favor of settlement
I hope you learned as much as I did.
