By Jeff Meints 

Staff Writer 

Space travel has long moved from the realm of fantasy into reality. Since the first moon landing, technology promised humankind a steady foothold towards walking on Mars.

Students on the CSUSM campus were asked if they had a choice to either be among the first to travel to space on a one-way-trip to colonize Mars or to be the first person to travel to the deepest depths of the ocean. 20 students responded on an equal footing.

Through satellite imagery or remotely controlled devices cruising the craters of the moon; it will take many years to inhabit Mars. Recently, there were proposals for creations of an “Interplanetary Noah’s Ark” from Google and Virgle, or the “Silverbird,” which would perform transcontinental flights for suborbital tourism.

On May 31, 2012, it was announced that an application process would be opened allowing people to sign up for a one-way-trip to Mars.  The Mars One Foundation is a not-for-profit private organization focused on setting up a reliable habitat on the surface of Mars by 2023. Every two years new settlers and cargo will arrive to resupply the colony.

Less than a year later, over 78,000 people had signed up for the project and just recently over 200,000 had signed up as Aug. 31, 2013 finally arrived. This closed the application process temporarily as the newly accepted applicants are reviewed and considered.

There continues to be debate on whether our scientific focus might best be suited, instead, on our oceans and not space.

There are many who question if space is really the final frontier. Humankind has not traveled to the deepest depths of earth’s oceans. Only 5 to 7 percent of the ocean has been explored.

Interest in discovering space versus the ocean by students at CSUSM demonstrates that there are at least two frontiers left for humankind to explore.