The Case Against Mars Colonization

Which answer choice BEST explains why the author wrote this article?

• to explain how robots can do human jobs quicker and cheaper

• to tell government officials to stop funding space travel to Mars

• to weigh the arguments against colonizing Mars

• to convince the reader humans should colonize Mars

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CCSS.RI.8.9

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What conflicting viewpoints does the article explore?

• Elon Musk thinks that space travel to colonize Mars can be done cheaply, but the American public thinks it will cost too much money.

• Some scientists and engineers are committed to Mars colonization, but much of the American public does not think it is worth it.

• Most Americans are in favor of colonizing Mars, but experts from the University of Colorado Boulder think it is unsafe.

• Most Americans are in favor of colonizing Mars. but the author thinks it is a foolish way to spend government money.

The author claims it would be better to send robots to Mars instead of humans.

Which piece of evidence is NOT relevant to the claim?

• Its goal was to begin making plans for landing, building and maintaining a human colony on Mars within the next 40 to 100 years.

• They are much cheaper than humans because they don't require vast resources to provide things like water, food and breathable air.

• They are immune to the risks of cosmic radiation, which are high-energy particles that can harm the human body.

• They can investigate craters and canyons that humans can't reach and they might even drill for Martian microbes.

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CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

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The author claims that we are not quite ready to go to Mars.

Evaluate whether the reasoning is sound and there is enough evidence to support this claim.

• There is only a little evidence to support this claim; the author mainly relies on their own personal experience relating to waiting to make big decisions.

• There is some evidence to support this claim; the author explains why humans would contaminate Mars by bringing microbes such as bacteria and viruses from Earth.

• There is adequate evidence to support this claim; the author explains three major reasons we should not send humans to Mars now, but remains hopeful that we would be ready in the near future.

• There is more than enough evidence to support this claim; the author shows that scientists, business owners, and the American public are not in favor of going to Mars.