Should we find a second form of life right here on our doorstep we could be confident that life is a truly cosmic phenomenon. If so there may well be sentient beings somewhere in the galaxy wondering as do we if they are not alone in the universe.
Perhaps the best motivation for going to Mars is political. It is obvious that no single nation currently has either the will or the resources to do it alone but a consortium of nations and space agencies could achieve it within 20 years.
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One thing however is sure – that in all cases the effort should be to impose all the cost of repairing the wrong upon the doer of the wrong. This alone is real justice and of course such justice is necessarily free.
