Refer to the ideas you just noted to determine and state whether you agree or disagree that humans should travel to Mars. Justify your position by referencing your notes about a “Common Idea,” “Differing Idea,” and “Understanding,” as well as ideas and information from the source notes. ANSWER:

Based on ideas and information from all three texts, we should not travel to Mars. As stated in “Should We Terraform Mars?” and “Mars,” there is much to be gained by simply studying the planet from afar. “Mars” also states that we don’t even currently have the technology to get to the planet. In contrast, “Why Mars?” lists several key benefits of traveling to Mars, such as “innovation” and “collaboration.” However, those benefits do not seem to outweigh the negative effect human settlement could have on the planet, which is the contamination of existing life-forms.