There is no planet B

To provide our basic needs and changing wants, we have rapidly degraded our life support system by misusing, depleting and degrading earth’s natural capital.The detrimental impacts of our actions range from shrinking forests for suburban development, to vast disappearances of species and extreme warming- resulting in an inhospitable and barren world(Tyler and Spoolman,2010). 

In 2008, the World Wildlife Fund(WWF) and the Global Footprint Network estimated that humanity’s global ecological footprint exceeded the earth’s ecological capacity to indefinitely support humans and other forms of life by at least 30% .Simply put, to continuously  supply our  current use of renewable resources individually and dispose of the resulting wastes and pollution, we need about 1.3 earths.If this consumption pattern continues by  2035, we will need about 2 planet earths to meet our future resources  needs(WWF, 2018). Searching for a  new and pristine  planet , we built impressive astronomical telescopes and ships to scour the skies for earth-like planets.But where are we going? Are there possibilities of finding planet B?(Nicholson and Haywood,2012).

Although  scientists believe that life could exist on another planet, it is unlikely that life forms on earth will be found on any planet within our solar system. Mars and Venus are often  considered to possibly contain  some form of life because of the similarities between these planets and earth(Nicholson and Haywood,2012).Because life is composed of water, any planet that contains life should not  be too cold(water will freeze) nor too hot(water will evaporate). Planets farther away from the sun than earth  are too cold while  those closer are too hot(Lang, 2016). The surface of Venus, for example, is extremely hot and vaporizes any living thing, but the surface of Mars is frozen solid. Additionally, earth contains nitrogen (79%), oxygen(20%), and a small fraction of carbon dioxide, water vapors and other gasses. This makes the existence of life possible on Earth. However, the atmospheres on Venus and Mars mainly consist  of carbon dioxide which can range from  95% to 97%(Hallsworth et.al,2021) . 

Challenges of Living on other planets

Made up of 96% carbon dioxide, 3.5% nitrogen, and less than 1% carbon monoxide, argon, sulfur dioxide and water vapor, Venus lacks oxygen, water and contains extreme surface heat-about 900 degrees Fahrenheit. The acute heat on Venus’s surface is a result of a carbon dioxide atmosphere with thick clouds of sulfuric acid. Due to the absence of water, life on Venus is unrealistic(Hallworth et.al, 2021). 

Mars

Even though there is water on the surface and below  Mars, the available water is frozen with a mixture of CO2. Due to temperature fluctuations, lack of oxygen  and extreme radiation, inhabiting Mars is challenging. Because humans need oxygen to survive, the amount of oxygen on Mars(0.13%) can not  support life(EFK,2022).

NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

• EFK. “Can Humans Live on Mars? What Would it Look Like?”.August 24,2022.https://www.engineeringforkids.com/about/news/2022/august/can-humans-live-on-mars-what-would-it-look-like-/
• Environmental Science T H I R T E E N T H E D I T I O N  G. TYLER MILLER, JR.SCOTT E. SPOOLMAN  January 1, 2010.
• Hallsworth, J. E., Koop, T., Dallas, T. D., Zorzano, M. P., Burkhardt, J., Golyshina, O. V., Martín-Torres, J., Dymond, M. K., Ball, P., & McKay, C. P.(2021).Water activity in Venus’s uninhabitable clouds and other planetary atmospheres. Nature Astronomy, 5(7), 665-675. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01391-3

• Lang R. Kenneth”What are the chances of life on another planet?”TuftsNow,May 6 ,2016 .https://now.tufts.edu/2016/05/06/what-are-chances-life-another-planet
• Nicholson E. Arwen and Arwen E. Nicholson Haywood D. Raphael “There’s no planet B.The scientific evidence is clear: the only celestial body that can support us is the one we evolved with. Here’s why”2012. https://aeon.co/essays/we-will-never-be-able-to-live-on-another-planet-heres-why

•  Sabine Stanley “Exploring Venus: Earth’s Twin Planet:FROM THE LECTURE SERIES: A FIELD GUIDE TO THE PLANETS” WONDRIUM DAILY, June 23,2020.https://www.wondriumdaily.com/exploring-venus-earths-twin-planet/#:~:text=Venus's%20atmosphere%20is%20make%20up,sulfur%20dioxide%2C%20and%20water%20vapor.

• Worldwide Fund for Nature.Global Footprint Network),Living Planet Report 2008.  www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/world_footprint/)