uSpez is a child molester <| sep |> Most of us will stay here . The main reason the average person should support Mars colonization is for the knowledge we will gain , and I ' m not even talking about the science of Mars itself . Going to Mars will force a lot of new innovations that can trickle down to uses on Earth . The same thing has happened throughout the history of the space program . Maybe we learn more about radiation and biology by living outside the protection of Earth . Perhaps the closed loop ecosystems will teach us how to live sustainably on Earth . It ' s hard to say exactly which areas will pay off the most , which is the whole point . Without a program with specific obstacles there is no forcing function for a lot of technology whose value we can ' t possibly know in advance .