Should we send humans to mars in the near future?

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Should we send humans to mars in the near future?

Cons?

We would interfere with the biosphere of mars that may or may not exist. We will inevitably bring our own microbes and "dirty" the planet with our own life.

Is living on another planet really all that great?

Could we bring people home? Do we want to?

Isolation kills people.

Maybe it is unsafe due to rapid unplanned..."disassembly". See the challenger accident for details on what I mean.

It's very expensive, especially if it is done by NASA or other government funded aerospace companies. Privatized business care a lot more about using their money efficiently because a lost penny is a lost profit.

Prolonged exposure to solar radiation in the gap between planets, and on mars itself, would prove a difficult challenge to overcome. Would it be worth it?

Prolonged microgravity could cause rapid loss of bone and muscle mass. This is bad for obvious reasons.

Pros?

Choosing to do things that are hard make us stronger.

We have plenty of volunteers to go.

Recreation. Imagine a football game on mars! many people would pay for this. Players could throw the ball 3x as far as on earth.

Asteroid mining? Huge economic boost. Those precious metals really are precious!

Privatized businesses are making cheaper and more efficient ways to get to mars. This could make mars profitable.

It is popular, people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are actively working to put themselves and others into space. Jeff already has.

A mars mission could spark inspiration in young people to dream bigger than ever before.

If we discover ways of terraforming mars, we will learn about ways to help our own planet become more habitable and this could help to reverse climate change.

More land.

A greater risk for mankind to explore has almost always proven a greater reward.

Cancer research? Radiatation exposure.

If the previous space race could unlock so many new technologies, maybe going farther beyond is the key to pushing humanity to the next level.

Better housing on earth and in space. ICON is capable of 3d printing entire habitats using nothing but martian resources. This could lead to more efficient housing here on earth.

Better batteries! Consider the space race in the 50s-60s and all the technology we got from that. (insulation, water filtration, sneakers, etc.)

Better energy production technologies! NASA helped keep the solar market alive when it was not popular and has provided efficient modifications that the industry uses today. Think of how beneficial nuclear fusion or mass scale radioisotope thermoelectric generators could be?