Conclusion: Horizons of Red and Green
摘要
This chapter closes the book Mars and the Earthlings: A Realistic View on Mars Exploration and Settlement. The main messages from its different sections are summarised. We conclude that the human exploration of Mars is a valuable goal, which seems achievable but should not be taken for granted; that its terraforming would not be feasible with technologies that can be foreseen today; and that planning to use Mars as a fallback plan should the Earth be damaged by humanity’s excesses would, in today’s context, be unethical.