thesis: there is enough evidence to support microbial life, and therefore, human life on Mars
Mars has often been cited as a planet capable of being colonized. Well it'd be difficult since it takes at least a year and a half to get there (with supplies being sent separately) with a small crew. That and no evidence of even potentially livable atmosphere.
At least, not for us.
The rovers on Mars, Spirit and Opportunity, have uncovered evidence that there had been a habitable environment in the past. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/11/wmars111.xml The evidence, a patch of pure silica, leads scientists to suggest that a fumarole environment may have created it. This same environment is habitable by microbes on Earth. Although no microbial life was spotted, they may be hiding underground.
In addition, images taken by the ESA's Mars Express Spacecraft suggest that there may be fresh ice forming on Mars. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7151190.stm Although ancient glaciers have been spotted before, these may have been formed within the last thousand years. It is a great achievement if these "white tips" identified in the images are glaciers; it suggests that life can exist on Mars.
Although microbial life is still far off from sentient life we have on Earth, there is still a chance for Mars to support life. Ultimately, if synthetic greenhouse gases were injected into the atmosphere, it could help terraform the planet by melting the ice craps and provide an environment suited for life. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_terraform_050203.html This process would taken hundreds or thousands of years, but creating a new, potentially habitable planet would be invaluable, both scientifically and for the good of humanity.
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Promising, but at the same time not. Two reasons:
Look at the language pervading this description: "capable, difficult, no evidence of even potentially livable atmosphere, suggest, may have, may be hiding, suggests" and most importantly, "hundreds or thousands of years." If there was solid evidence that Mars has/can support life (or even evidence with the consistency of firm tofu), I might be willing to go, but spending that much time, money, and energy on a longshot possibility that has little short term (or foreseeable) effect should definitely be sidelined at the moment.
In addition, as people like me are so fond of saying, "fix the stuff we messed up on Earth before messing up other planets too." We have enough troubles as it is, on social, domestic, international, and environmental levels. Even under ideal circumstances and bucket loads of luck, both of which are notoriously hard to come by, the problems that we face today would take decades to even come close to fixing, and in real world circumstances, the world will probably be saturated with radioactive particles anyway after some terrible holocaust. To waste any effort into things like space travel is almost obscene.
Oh and, "I'm going to fly to Mars so that I don't die when Earth blows up" obviously isn't going to work. Please, don't try it.
"melting ice craps" lololol
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