Even If Mars One Fails to Go to Mars, It's Still Important as a Symbol

​Mars One, the ambitious private manned mission to the Red Planet, has been taking a beating lately: it's been called broke, a scam, and going nowhere. But when I emailed a few Mars One fans, their reaction was surprising: they maintained that even if Mars One doesn't reach Mars, the mission is worth attempting.

"Before Mars One, the people of Earth were not trying to go to Mars, and therefore we were not going," said Chris Patil, a biologist who is among the 100 finalists who applied to go to Mars with Mars One. "Now Mars One (and others) are trying, so we're potentially going. Even if Mars One fails to go, someone else will ultimately succeed, and the conversation about Mars One will contribute materially and positively to that effort."

Despite accusations of incompetence and malfeasance, Mars One has become a symbol of humanity's aspiration to colonize other worlds. No matter what happens to the company, it has established itself as the first somewhat plausible effort to send people to Mars. At least, that's how its starry-eyed supporters feel.

"I would not be perturbed if Mars One ultimately fails to place humans on Mars," George Hatcher, a finalist, planetary science PhD, and NASA employee, told me. "Someone is going to do it this century. It is our privilege as living humans to witness who it will be."

By one metric, he said, Mars One has already succeeded. "The amount of buzz Mars One has generated globally during the selection process demonstrates that the people of the world are ready for a human mission to Mars," he said.

From that perspective, Mars One's critics are unproductive. While the accusations that the company prioritized applicants who raised more money are serious, the idea that Mars One should wait until it knows all the particulars of the trip is viewed as a hindrance.

"Fear of failure holds us back as a society," Hatcher said. "Many times it is only through failure that we progress. That's the essence of the scientific method, too: trial and error. NASA is a great example of this, refining their process, spacecraft and culture after failures, and carrying on the legacy of those who gave their lives in the pursuit of space exploration."

Patil agreed. "I absolutely think it's worth trying, and I don't think that failure of one initiative would damage the overall goal of someday going to Mars," he said. "Imagine what the world would be like if no one took risks because they were worried about how it would look if they failed."

In other words, Mars One's contribution is less about where it goes, than who it speaks to and inspires.

Update: After this story was published, Patil clarified that it's not that he doesn't care whether Mars One goes to Mars, just that it's not the only important thing. "To say that something is valuable even if it fails is not to say that one is unconcerned about whether it succeeds," he said.