Dare to debate Should we settle Mars, or is it a dumb idea for humans to live off world? Should we all just read A City on Mars and call the whole thing off? Eric Berger – Apr 14, 2025 5:56 pm | 43 An expanded settlement on Mars in the late 2020s, as envisioned by Mars One. Credit: Mars One An expanded settlement on Mars in the late 2020s, as envisioned by Mars One. Credit: Mars One Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Mars is back on the agenda. During his address to a joint session of Congress in March, President Donald Trump said the United States "will pursue our Manifest Destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars." What does this mean? Manifest destiny is the belief, which was particularly widespread in 1800s America, that US settlers were destined to expand westward across North America. Similarly, then, the Trump administration believes it is the manifest destiny of Americans to settle Mars. And he wants his administration to take steps toward accomplishing that goal. Should the US Prioritize Settling Mars? But should we really do this? I recently participated in a debate with Shannon Stirone, a distinguished science writer, on this topic. The debate was sponsored by Open to Debate, and professionally moderated by Emmy award-winning journalist John Donvan. Spoiler alert: I argued in favor of settlement. I hope you learned as much as I did. Eric Berger Senior Space Editor Eric Berger Senior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 43 Comments