📖 GFP English Reading Comprehension Test

Section 1 and Section 2 (Reference)

Section 1: The Future of Space Exploration and Colonization

A. The dream of exploring and colonizing space has captivated humanity for generations. What was once confined to the realm of science fiction is rapidly becoming reality as technological advances and private sector involvement accelerate progress toward establishing a permanent human presence beyond Earth. The modern era of space exploration began on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon. This achievement, witnessed by an estimated 600 million people worldwide, demonstrated that space travel was possible and inspired decades of continued exploration. Since then, space agencies have sent robotic missions to every planet in our solar system, landed rovers on Mars, and maintained a continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since November 2000. The ISS, orbiting approximately 400 kilometers above Earth, serves as a laboratory for testing technologies and studying the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body—essential knowledge for future missions to Mars and beyond.

B. Mars has emerged as the primary target for human colonization in the coming decades. Often called Earth's "sister planet," Mars shares several characteristics with our home world, including a 24.6-hour day (remarkably similar to Earth's 24 hours), polar ice caps containing water, and evidence of ancient river valleys suggesting that liquid water once flowed on its surface. However, Mars also presents formidable challenges. Its atmosphere is extremely thin—just 1% the density of Earth's—and composed primarily of carbon dioxide, making it unbreathable for humans. Surface temperatures average minus 63 degrees Celsius, though they can range from minus 125 degrees Celsius at the poles during winter to 20 degrees Celsius at the equator during summer. Additionally, Mars lacks a protective magnetic field, exposing the surface to harmful cosmic radiation and solar winds. Despite these obstacles, NASA's Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon by 2025 as a stepping stone toward Mars, while SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has outlined ambitious plans to establish a self-sustaining city of one million people on Mars by 2050.

C. The technological challenges of Mars colonization are substantial but not insurmountable. Transportation represents the first major hurdle: the journey to Mars takes approximately seven to nine months using current propulsion technology, during which astronauts face radiation exposure, bone density loss, and psychological stress from isolation. SpaceX is developing the Starship spacecraft, designed to carry up to 100 passengers and 100 tons of cargo per trip, with the goal of reducing launch costs to as low as $2 million per flight—a dramatic reduction from the current cost of approximately $200 million per launch using traditional rockets. Once on Mars, colonists would need to produce their own oxygen, water, and food. NASA's MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) instrument, aboard the Perseverance rover, has successfully demonstrated the conversion of Martian atmospheric CO2 into oxygen. Similarly, subsurface ice deposits could provide water, while enclosed hydroponic or aeroponic farms could grow crops under controlled conditions, protected from radiation and extreme temperatures.

D. Habitat construction on Mars requires innovative solutions adapted to the planet's harsh environment. Traditional building materials would be prohibitively expensive to transport from Earth, so researchers are developing methods to use Martian resources. One promising approach involves 3D printing structures using Martian regolith (soil) mixed with binding agents. NASA's 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge has yielded designs for domes and underground habitats that could house colonists while providing radiation shielding and temperature regulation. Another concept involves inflatable habitats that could be deployed quickly upon arrival and then covered with regolith for protection. The European Space Agency (ESA) has tested habitat prototypes in Mars analog environments, including the Haughton-Mars Project on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic and the MARS-500 isolation study, which confined six crew members in a simulated spacecraft for 520 days—the duration of a round trip to Mars. These studies have provided invaluable data on the psychological and physiological challenges of long-duration space missions and have helped refine habitat designs and crew selection criteria.

E. Beyond Mars, scientists envision even more ambitious projects. The moons of Jupiter and Saturn, particularly Europa and Enceladus, show evidence of subsurface oceans that could potentially harbor life. Mining asteroids for precious metals and rare earth elements could provide resources worth trillions of dollars while also supplying materials for constructing space stations and spacecraft. The concept of space elevators—structures extending from Earth's surface to geostationary orbit—could revolutionize access to space by dramatically reducing launch costs, though the required materials (such as carbon nanotubes strong enough to support such a structure) remain beyond current manufacturing capabilities. Some visionaries, including physicist Stephen Hawking before his death in 2018, argued that humanity must become a multi-planetary species to ensure long-term survival, as Earth faces risks from climate change, asteroid impacts, and nuclear war. Private companies like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are already offering suborbital space tourism flights, while Axiom Space plans to build the first commercial space station, indicating that space is becoming increasingly accessible to civilians rather than remaining the exclusive domain of government agencies and professional astronauts.

Section 2: The Ethics and Economics of Space Colonization

"Space colonization is not just a technological challenge—it's a philosophical and ethical one," argues Dr. Lisa Chen, professor of space policy at Georgetown University. Her work examines the complex questions surrounding who has the right to claim celestial bodies, how resources should be distributed, and whether humanity has an obligation to preserve pristine extraterrestrial environments or a right to exploit them for survival and profit.

The legal framework governing space activities remains rooted in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which has been ratified by 112 countries including all major spacefaring nations. The treaty establishes several key principles: outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is the "province of all mankind" and cannot be claimed by any nation through sovereignty; space exploration must be carried out for the benefit of all countries; and celestial bodies must be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. However, the treaty was written during the Cold War era when space activities were exclusively governmental, and its provisions have become increasingly ambiguous in the age of private space companies. For instance, while the treaty prohibits national appropriation of celestial bodies, it does not explicitly address whether private entities can claim ownership of resources extracted from asteroids or the Moon. The 2015 U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act and the 2020 Artemis Accords attempt to clarify these issues by asserting that companies and individuals can own resources they extract from space, but these frameworks have been criticized by some nations as violations of the Outer Space Treaty's spirit.

The economic potential of space resources is staggering. According to Goldman Sachs, the first trillionaire will likely make their fortune in asteroid mining. A single metallic asteroid like 16 Psyche, approximately 226 kilometers in diameter, is estimated to contain iron, nickel, and precious metals worth over $10 quadrillion—more than the entire global economy, valued at approximately $100 trillion. Several companies, including Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries (both now defunct after failing to secure sustained funding), have attempted to develop asteroid mining technology. The challenges are immense: identifying valuable asteroids, developing spacecraft capable of reaching them, extracting resources in microgravity, and returning materials to Earth or utilizing them in space all require technologies that are still in early development stages. Nevertheless, Luxembourg has positioned itself as a hub for space mining by passing legislation recognizing property rights for resources extracted in space and investing over €200 million in space mining companies.

Environmental and planetary protection concerns have also emerged as crucial considerations. Dr. Margaret Foster, an astrobiologist at the University of Edinburgh, leads the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Panel on Planetary Protection. "We must ensure that our exploration doesn't contaminate pristine environments that could harbor life," she explains. NASA and ESA follow strict planetary protection protocols, sterilizing spacecraft before launch to avoid inadvertently introducing Earth microorganisms to other worlds. Conversely, samples returned from Mars or other celestial bodies must be carefully quarantined to prevent potential extraterrestrial contamination of Earth's biosphere. The discovery of life elsewhere in the solar system would fundamentally alter humanity's understanding of biology and our place in the universe, making contamination prevention essential. However, these protocols could conflict with commercial interests: thoroughly sterilizing mining equipment or tourist spacecraft would increase costs and complexity, potentially making ventures economically unviable.

Social equity issues raise additional concerns about who benefits from space colonization. Professor James Wilson of Howard University studies the intersection of space exploration and social justice. "Historically, exploration and colonization have benefited wealthy nations and corporations while marginalizing indigenous populations and less developed regions," he notes. "We must ensure space doesn't follow the same pattern." Currently, space programs require enormous financial investments accessible only to wealthy nations and billionaire entrepreneurs. The risk exists that space resources could concentrate wealth even further, with a small elite controlling access to asteroid minerals or Martian real estate while billions of people on Earth struggle with poverty, hunger, and climate change. Some ethicists argue that resources spent on space colonization—NASA's budget is approximately $25 billion annually, while private space companies have received tens of billions in investment—would be better directed toward solving pressing terrestrial problems. Others counter that space technology has produced invaluable spinoffs, including satellite communications, weather forecasting, GPS navigation, water purification systems, and medical imaging devices, benefiting all of humanity. Furthermore, they argue that human curiosity and the desire to explore are fundamental aspects of our nature, and that the technological innovations driven by space exploration ultimately benefit society broadly, even if the initial investments come from concentrated sources.