A One-Way Trip to Mars? Many Would Sign Up
By Natalie Angier
In the article I read by Natalie Angier called A One-Way Trip to Mars? Many Would Sign Up, is a very well written piece about sending humans to Mars. Ellen Stofan, NASA’s chief scientist, said “sending humans to the surface ‘may be the only way to prove life evolved on Mars and what the nature of it is.’” The article states that recently there has been a public enthusiasm for space travel. NASA and about 15 other space agencies are hoping to have a team with international astronauts, in which will board to go to Mars by the 2030s. Mars One, a Dutch nonprofit venture that is talked a lot about in this article, has its eyes set on landing four people (two men, two women) on Mars by 2025. The “catch”, however, is that Mars One is not a round trip. Once landed, there is no coming back. The founders say this would make the project “feasible and affordable”. Nonetheless, 200,000 people from around the world have applied, and they are now down to 660 semifinalists. The requirements include being over 18 and between 5’2” and 6’2”. Also, they need to “have a ready sense of humor and be ‘Olympians of tolerance’”.
The significance of the article is important to humanity because sending people to Mars would be a huge step in furthering our knowledge about our universe. Although thinking about the universe and its depth becomes a little scary, it's still important to investigate it and not stay wondering what could be out there. By actually placing people on Mars, we can receive so much information that we would never have imagined possible. I believe it will definitely take a couple more years and the development of newer technology, but we are taking a step in the right direction. I think that these developments and advancements will occur during our generation and its very exciting to see its progress.
Natalie Angier wrote a very well written article. I found it very interesting and informative. Before reading this article, I was aware some sort of research was being done on Mars, but I had no idea that they were planning on sending people to Mars by the late 2020s. The article was a little bit long, but not hard to follow. I honestly didn’t have any questions while reading the article because Angier gave plenty of detail for every point she was making. Also, something that Angier did very well was add some counter arguments about Mars One. For instance, she states “many experts and Mars aficionados remain deeply skeptical about the program’s odds of success”. I think it was important for her to include this point because its always good to give your reader both sides of your argument. Lastly, it seems to be a credible article because the author mentions many different scientists and experts with credible associations. For example, Andrew Rader, a Mars One candidate and expert in human spaceflight with a doctorate from M.I.T., is quoted throughout the article. After reading this article, I am excited to hear about anymore advancements in this project to send humans to Mars.
Angier, Natalie. "A One-Way Trip to Mars? Many Would Sign Up." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 Dec. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/science/a-one-way-trip-to-mars-many-would-sign-up.html?_r=1
ReplyDeleteAngier, Natalie. "A One-Way Trip to Mars? Many Would Sign Up." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 Dec. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
In Gabbie’s comment on the New York Time’s article A One-Way Trip to Mars? Many Would Sign Up, she did a couple things that helped the reader. I liked how she got directly to the point, right after she opened up her review. She started off with a quote from a professional that helps the reader with the facts straight on. Secondly, I like how after she told about an organization, she gave the full title and explained what the company did. This helps the reader understand what she is talking about and what these people do, and how they are significant to the research. Lastly, I like how she gave many specific data points such as the requirements for the people going on the trip. This helps me figure out how there is the human connection and it helps me relate these people to myself. All of these help me with the understanding of the article.
To make this review better, I feel like it could have been expanded more. It was a fairly short review, and I feel like it could have gone more into detail. Secondly, I think that Gabbie could have given her perspective and maybe said something about if she would want to apply to go to Mars. That could have been interesting so hear about why or why not. Lastly, I was impressed by her emphasis on how this could directly affect the world. Usually, people read these articles and do not care much about it, but you can really tell that Gabbie is truly engaged and passionate about this topic. Overall, I think that the review was well written and interesting to read, and I want to hear about the result later on.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/science/a-one-way-trip-to-mars-many-would-sign-up.html?_r=1
ReplyDeleteAngier, Natalie. "A One-Way Trip to Mars? Many Would Sign Up." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 Dec. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
In Gabbies article review of “A One-Way Trip to Mars? Many Would SIgn Up.” I think she did an incredible job. She immediately opened her review with a strong quote from NASA’s chief scientist which lead the reader directly to the point of the article. I loved how she first described the event at hand, and then went into further detail. In doing this is reader had a general understanding of the mission, and the detailed requirements of the participants. Finally I enjoyed that she included her personal opinion about the research and mission project and how she viewed the near future idea. Although she did an incredible write up, I wish Gabbie had given more of her opinion and further explained her view. It helpful to have the writers opinion because it gives the reader a way to personally connect and form their own opinion. I also think it would have been helpful for her to give her opinion on whether or not she would sign up for the trip or not/ reasons why. I really liked how Gabbie had formated her review and included many quotes and statistics. Her article review gave me a great understanding of what's going on in the program and what has happened so far. I hope to see how everything plays off, and I’m very glad she read this article and wrote an incredible review.