Going to Mars

Main Topic: The question of whether humans should go to Mars, and the history of Mars obsession in American culture.

Key Points:

• The hosts of Today Explained discuss the idea of sending humans to Mars, with some arguing that it's a waste of resources and others seeing it as a great achievement.
• Lauren Grush, a space reporter for Bloomberg, joins the conversation and notes that President Trump has expressed interest in sending humans to Mars, but it's not a top priority for him.
• Grush explains that NASA's budget has been proposed to be cut by 24%, but the majority of the cuts target robotic science missions, while human exploration programs, including the Moon to Mars program, have seen increases.
• The hosts discuss the history of Mars obsession in American culture, which dates back to the late 19th century when astronomers believed they had discovered canals on Mars.
• David Barron, author of The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America, joins the conversation and explains how the idea of Martians captured the public's imagination.
• Barron notes that the idea of Martians was a reflection of the public's desire for a better world and a sense of hope in the face of despair.
• The hosts discuss how the idea of Martians fell apart in the 1910s, but the idea persisted until the 1950s and 60s.
• Barron argues that the lesson of the Mars craze is that we tend to project onto Mars what we hope is there, not what's really there, and that it's a cautionary tale about the dangers of idealizing a place or idea.