Why I can’t support Nasa’s Mars mission

Are we not deserting our planet – literally and metaphorically – at the precise moment it needs us most, asks Rupert Hawksley

Nasa’s Perseverance rover has landed on Mars after a 300 million mile journey from Earth (Nasa/JPL-Caltech)

I was struck by a letter we received last week from a reader called Ian Reid. While most people were rejoicing at the news that a Nasa robot had landed on Mars, Mr Reid was less impressed.

“Curmudgeonly though it may seem,” he wrote, “I remain mystified why so many resources are being deployed to explore Mars for life that is likely to have been extinct for at least two gigayears (if, indeed, it existed at all) when we have so many issues to address on planet Earth.”

I simply hadn’t considered this as anything other than a good news story, so thrilled was I by the idea of a man-made machine beetling about on the surface of another planet. But Mr Reid might be right. It does seem strange to spend billions of dollars – the mission is expected to cost $2.8bn over 10 years – on exploring Mars when our own planet is beset by problems, most obviously the climate crisis, which may yet be ruinous. Yes, perhaps that money would be better spent getting our own house in order.