- Woo, howdy, partner!

Hop on board, we're headin' out to settle the frontier except this time, the frontier is on another planet.

(mellow twang music) Okay, don't panic.

I'm not really on Mars.

Plus.

This thing smells funny.

(sighs) The point is that according to the Mars Society, Earth is old news.

(sighs) The point is that according to the Mars Society, The real party is here on the Red Planet, baby!

So if our species is truly going to be in it for the long haul, we gotta figure out how to live in places like here, but are you interested?

How much longer until we're not a single planet species?

- Well, I hope that we can get to Mars in my life time.

(mellow music) We're looking to be in the 2030's to start the Mars missions timeframe.

- That's Marshall Smith, and he's the head director of Human Lunar Exploration Programs at NASA.

His job is to lead the teams that are working to get humans to the moon by 2024, and then to Mars in the 2030's.

What is moon to Mars, and why have these plans been expedited?

- This has been in our long term plan for quite awhile.

We had a plan that was to get us to the surface in our long term plan for quite awhile.

of the moon in '28, we've accelerated it to '24.

- So NASA's plan to get back to the moon has been accelerated to 2024 by the order of the President, - So NASA's plan to get back to the moon and from there, they'll develop sustainable human presence - So NASA's plan to get back to the moon on the moon by 2028.

So in 10 years, when you look up at the moon, there will be people living there.

And after all of that, the infrastructure developed from these trips will help NASA get to Mars in our very near future.

- We did Apollo in nine years.

And that would probably not have happened if we didn't have that commitment from the President And that would probably not have happened and the administration.

And that would probably not have happened We've got that same commitment now from the President and the administration to go forward and expedite, and let's take the next step.

- Okay, let's put this into perspective, a trip to the moon could take up to three days while a trip to Mars can take up to a few months.

And the full journey could take astronauts a full three years before they get back home.

A few years ago, the Mars One Project made news by creating sort of a reality show that planned very literally to establish a Mars colony by 2032, the only catch for the participants?

It was gonna be a one-way ticket, by 2032, the only catch for the participants?

and once you got there, it was pretty certain by 2032, the only catch for the participants?

that something at some point was going to kill you.

And probably in a pretty awful way.

that something at some point was going to kill you.

It's an interesting idea.

that something at some point was going to kill you.

Let's find some brave pioneers who are willing to take the greatest of all risks.

The question is how do you motivate people to make that kind of leap?

Well, last time we did something like this, it was pretty simple.

We paid them.

A few hundred years ago, the American frontier We paid them.

wasn't that different from Mars.

It was rugged, it was unpredictable, and there were plenty of things that could kill you.

It was rugged, it was unpredictable, (upbeat music) (mellow music) - But here's the key.

For the government, it was essential that lots and lots of people take the risk.

For the government, it was essential that lots So they had to figure out what sort of award was worth this risk.

- The United States government gave away free or cheap land to encourage settlers to move and set up homesteads out in the West.

to encourage settlers to move and set up homesteads Now, we'd be remiss if we didn't bring up that colonization is a continually dark chapter in the history of indigenous peoples, that colonization is a continually dark chapter from which European settlers have profited.

Mars, as you can guess, is probably a tougher sell.

Farmland?

Nope, not yet.

Religious freedom?

I guess, maybe, if you find a way Religious freedom?

to build a Mars church or something.

And a chance to live however you want.

Sure, just don't take off your helmet or forget to clean your carbon dioxide scrubbers three times a day.

or forget to clean your carbon dioxide scrubbers All I'm say is that it's probably going or forget to clean your carbon dioxide scrubbers to take more incentives than it did last time.

or forget to clean your carbon dioxide scrubbers Could you see that happening with Mars?

In an advent where it's like, hey nobody really wants to go out there, potential death could happen at any point in time.

Could you see people getting large sums of money to possibly go out to Mars to inhabit it?

Could you see people getting large sums of money - And you say it's part of NASA's spirit to explore.

If Mars is an inhabitable planet, at one point do you believe, in your opinion, that it would turn from exploration to potential colonization or civilization in NASA's mission, or would that never be NASA's mission to potential colonization or civilization and that would take some outside type of entity to make that happen?

- I don't know the answer to that question, it's a good policy question for people above my pay grade, but I could tell you to that question, it's a good policy question that those are the things that we think about.

What are the next steps?

- But NASA doesn't like using the word colonization.

What are the next steps?

- But NASA doesn't like They're not looking into a continuous human presence in deep space, but they are interested in building an infrastructure for private companies in deep space, but they are interested in building to enter into that field.

They described it like building the railroads to enter into that field.

for settlers to move out West.

For you and NASA, what are we hoping to learn or get out of going to Mars, like what is the point of the journey?

- We know that there's flowing water on Mars, we've seen it, we've documented it.

of the journey?

- We know that there's There are things like Mars quakes.

We understand in the geology of Mars as Mars is a planet that was, we think, maybe Earth-like some long time ago.

And so, studying that might help us understand the future of Earth.

- There's one other historical parallel we need to consider here, the last time there was this much land - There's one other historical parallel we need settled in our country, there were major players involved, - There's one other historical parallel we need including Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands.

And as we know, to the winner went the spoils.

and the Netherlands.

Today, there's a similarly complicated power struggle forming in space, with China, Russia, India, Today, there's a similarly complicated power struggle Israel, not to mention the private sector.

All doing what they can to claim a piece of the pie.

Last time, the winner would get to become the ruler of the free world.

Tomorrow, maybe the winner will become ruler of the free solar system.

- We've definitely been working closely ruler of the free solar system.

with our international partners.

Matter of fact, I have a meeting today with a country that's coming up that wants to participate in this endeavor, I know somebody that says if you wanna go fast, go alone.

If you wanna go far, go together.

- So this is a lot different than the Space Race?

- Well, 50 years ago, we were in a race with the Russians, and now they're one of our partners on the International Space Station, and as we move forward, we're in discussions with them about how they want to participate in how we move forward.

So yeah, so it's definitely a different flavor.

- The real question is beyond the dollars and cents, is it worth it?

There was a time when the American experiment is it worth it?

depended on lots of fresh blood and muscle.

is it worth it?

The argument today is that our collective future may depend on a new type of expansion between overpopulation, climate change, and maybe simply running out of space on Earth.

So if we don't figure it out, this old dog and pony show and maybe simply running out of space on Earth.

known as humanity, it's all for nothing.

known as humanity, Though it may not be part of NASA's current mission, known as humanity, is it important for humans to be able to live on other planets?

- I personally think so.

is it important for humans to be able I read a lot of science fiction, mainly because I like it, but I see these civilizations that are multi-planet civilizations and I think, if we're gonna always be on Earth, I think Earth has got its set of resources and that's it.

Other planets have other resources.

I think Earth has got its set of resources and that's it.

To me, today, we're taking the baby steps, I think Earth has got its set of resources and that's it.

the initial steps, to expand our human presence beyond the Earth permanently, and where's that leave us?

Do we go to the asteroids next?

Do we go to planets surrounding Jupiter?

Those are the kinds of things that I think we need Do we go to planets surrounding Jupiter?

to take the steps for today to make happen in the future.

- So here we are.

Potentially, there's a future where we'll need to pay people to rocket off to their deaths, or maybe, just maybe, to rocket off to something closer to a Utopian, science fiction wonderland where the future really is limitless.

science fiction wonderland where the future And that's why we wanna hear from you.

If America was ours to make today, would we consider paying the families of Mars colonists, If America was ours to make today, and how much should we pay them?

Or is this all nonsense?

Let us know.

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PBS is bringing you the universe with Summer of Space, Or is this all nonsense?

which includes six incredible new science and history shows streaming on PBS.org and the PBS Video app.

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Follow me over to Reactions to check out their Summer of Space episode on what the moon smells like.

Woo-hoo!

on what the moon smells like.

(Toussaint mumbles) Cheese and rice.

(Toussaint clears throat) (Toussaint sighs) Woo, howdy, partner!