Will the first colonization of mars be a disaster?

[Friendly Lich]

UPDATE: consider when reading this the mutinies of crews on wooden sailing exploration ships

Will the first colonization of mars be a disaster? The smallest hole in your space igloo would mean certain death. Claustrophobia/ cabin fever, extreme isolation and removal of authority + being surrounded by strangers with no escape. The first people to live on mars for an extended time will truthfully just be lab rats to see how humans can survive in this mentally hostile environment. Remember a sane person can always become insane.

It is also possible that many of the volunteers will have shady pasts they are trying to escape, many of the first settlers of North America were debtors and criminals.

Who will enforce the LAW? How will justice be handled? Oh the Drama!


also watch this (JUST FOR HUMOR) http://www.cracked.com/video_18542_why-future-space-travel-going-to-suck.html

 

[Thaluikhain]

Why a disaster? Difficult, certainly, but its not going to happen until lots of those difficulties are overcome.

Claustrophobia/ cabin fever, extreme isolation and removal of authority + being surrounded by strangers with no escape. The first people to live on mars for an extended time will truthfully just be lab rats to see how humans can survive in this mentally hostile environment. Remember a sane person can always become insane.

You say that as if it's a new and unusual thing. That sort of thing has happened to people for ages. What about sailors on nuclear submarines, or the explorers on wooden ships of yesteryear?

It is also possible that many of the volunteers will have shady pasts they are trying to escape, many of the first settlers of North America were debtors and criminals.

No, not going to happen. Background checks are a tad easier nowdays.

 

[Esotera]

If the planet doesn't kill everyone through it's fairly hostile environment (little atmosphere and high radiation) then as soon as the population gets above a certain level & has multiple colonies, humanity will have successfully settled it.

People born on Mars are very likely going to have a different view, and hate Earth. They'll be the future of any colonisation effort.

 

[Erttheking]

Considering how many times my country cocked up launching rockets to the moon, it's not impossible.

 

[Friendly Lich]

Why a disaster? Difficult, certainly, but its not going to happen until lots of those difficulties are overcome.

Claustrophobia/ cabin fever, extreme isolation and removal of authority + being surrounded by strangers with no escape. The first people to live on mars for an extended time will truthfully just be lab rats to see how humans can survive in this mentally hostile environment. Remember a sane person can always become insane.

You say that as if it's a new and unusual thing. That sort of thing has happened to people for ages. What about sailors on nuclear submarines, or the explorers on wooden ships of yesteryear?

It is also possible that many of the volunteers will have shady pasts they are trying to escape, many of the first settlers of North America were debtors and criminals.

No, not going to happen. Background checks are a tad easier nowdays.

How was I saying as if it was a new thing? Actually I thought specifically of those exact points you just brought up when making the post. I think you just like being snarky. Or maybe you are in a bad mood because usually you are calm and non-hostile.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Judging by the two major attempts I've heard so far (both private companies looking less for a safe trip, and more for a quick buck -- the one wanting to turn it into a reality show was particularly egregious) I'd say that's a categorical "yes." If one of the big space programs, like NASA or its Russian counterpart tried, then it would have a chance of ending well. But I'm not so confident in the private sphere, not with the projects currently floating around, anyway.

 

[Ryotknife]

Well, if it was the US, it would depend on if NASA was running the entire show. If the politicians/bereucrats get involved you might as well just attach a bomb to the rocket. Although even NASA has done some bone head moves (hey, make sure you use the right measurements this time please).

 

[Vegosiux]

Although even NASA has done some bone head moves (hey, make sure you use the right measurements this time please).

Since there's only three countries in the world who do not use the SI metric system (USA, Burma, Liberia), I'd say USA should simply adopt that one and get used to it...Overall standardization of metric systems would make it a bit less of a hassle.

As for colonization of Mars? You're right on the money there, it really really really can't be a political project, and politics should be left out of it entirely.

Judging by the two major attempts I've heard so far (both private companies looking less for a safe trip, and more for a quick buck -- the one wanting to turn it into a reality show was particularly egregious) I'd say that's a categorical "yes." If one of the big space programs, like NASA or its Russian counterpart tried, then it would have a chance of ending well. But I'm not so confident in the private sphere, not with the projects currently floating around, anyway.

I think collaboration between NASA, ESA and Roscosmos would be the best option there. More smart people working together in such an undertaking would work out a lot better than one third of the smart people competing on each separate team.

 

[Ryotknife]

Although even NASA has done some bone head moves (hey, make sure you use the right measurements this time please).

Since there's only three countries in the world who do not use the SI metric system (USA, Burma, Liberia), I'd say USA should simply adopt that one and get used to it...Overall standardization of metric systems would make it a bit less of a hassle.

As for colonization of Mars? You're right on the money there, it really really really can't be a political project, and politics should be left out of it entirely.

Judging by the two major attempts I've heard so far (both private companies looking less for a safe trip, and more for a quick buck -- the one wanting to turn it into a reality show was particularly egregious) I'd say that's a categorical "yes." If one of the big space programs, like NASA or its Russian counterpart tried, then it would have a chance of ending well. But I'm not so confident in the private sphere, not with the projects currently floating around, anyway.

I think collaboration between NASA, ESA and Roscosmos would be the best option there. More smart people working together in such an undertaking would work out a lot better than one third of the smart people competing on each separate team.

Well you are right that it would be better if we went metric, but that transition is....tough. about the only aspect of the metric system that most americans are familiar with is volume (mL L). Course, it does help that the imperial volume system is confusing as hell.

I spent 4 years using nothing but metric when i was studying to be a chemical engineer, and the imperial system is still more comfortable to me.

 

[Pinkamena]

UPDATE: consider when reading this the mutinies of crews on wooden sailing exploration ships

Will the first colonization of mars be a disaster? The smallest hole in your space igloo would mean certain death. Claustrophobia/ cabin fever, extreme isolation and removal of authority + being surrounded by strangers with no escape. The first people to live on mars for an extended time will truthfully just be lab rats to see how humans can survive in this mentally hostile environment. Remember a sane person can always become insane.

It is also possible that many of the volunteers will have shady pasts they are trying to escape, many of the first settlers of North America were debtors and criminals.

Who will enforce the LAW? How will justice be handled? Oh the Drama!


also watch this (JUST FOR HUMOR) http://www.cracked.com/video_18542_why-future-space-travel-going-to-suck.html

I'm sure that whoever they send will have gone through rigorous testing to see if they are fitted for the task. Good collaborating skills will probably be extremely important.

 

[Heronblade]

We're doing it too soon if that's what you mean.

There's a chance we can pull it off as is, but we don't have the infrastructure in space to support even the most meager of habitats that far away.

Its a bit like building the presidential suite of a new skyscraper when 30 of the floors below that level are little more than the superstructure. Technically possible, but extremely difficult to pull off, and not exactly worth the effort.

At the absolute minimum, we should first work on establishing a semi permanent way-station on the moon, with fuel, O2, and other supplies ready to go.

EDIT: Oh, thought you specifically meant the trip they're trying to set up now.

In that case, it depends. The odds of it being a failure change drastically depending on the circumstances. A large well adjusted crew that has all of the skills and tools they need to be as close to self supporting as possible has a good shot of survival, especially if, as mentioned above, we have the foresight to be ready to send emergency supplies along in the event of a disaster that doesn't kill them right off the bat.

 

[tahrey]

It might not be a totally reliable example, but I think all the guys who were stuck in the simulated Mars-journey capsule in Russia came out the other end of it OK alright didn't they?

Don't make the mistake of confusing yer typical space-horror film/videogame/TV show with more mundane reality. We already have and have had space stations after all, which are themselves little tin boxes which you can't escape from for months on end (floating space prisons with no exercise yard, pretty much), and no-one has yet gone crazy and murdered the rest of the crew before blowing up the vessel. Sailing ships sometimes suffered mutinies or wrecks, it's true, but the vast majority didn't. Space travel, like old timey sea travel (and indeed overland treks) is far from risk-free, something bad may well happen, and there have been some well known fatal space accidents (plus the survival-from-the-jaws-of-death story of Apollo 13), but that's no reason not to give it a go. It didn't stop us in the wooden ship days, why should it stop us now?

Anyway, if we're going to go for that kind of analogy, shouldn't you be bothered about the far more worrying threat of Space Pirates?

 

[King of Asgaard]

Will we find any bits of Prothean technology?
If not, then why should we even bother?

Seriously though, it will definitely be difficult, and you're right, one small mistake will mean bad things, but we won't know until we try.

 

[craftomega]

I hope not... Im on the list of volenteers for the first few flights out there.

 

[Boogie Knight]

By virtue of the hostile environment, the first colonization will be plagued with troubles. However, I think we should start with the moon before thinking seriously about going to Mars. The moon is closer.

 

[GeneralFungi]

I think that if we do try to make a habitat on mars, humans probably won't be the first species to live there. They'd probably get some other earth animal to live in the environment for a year or two first. Not that it wouldn't be any less of a disaster if things went wrong, but I think it would be thoroughly tested before any humans will be living permanently on the surface. Even then there is a chance for failure though.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

I hope not... Im on the list of volenteers for the first few flights out there.

God's Speed, Mr. Craftomega. You and your generation of Mars/Moon livers, God's Speed. *Salute* ... Let me know what it's like when you get there.

OT: Well, it could, but it wouldn't necessarily be because of the way they live. It would be more because of there where they live (in this case, Mars). Roanoke didn't self destruct because of the people, it was destroyed by natural disasters/diseases. Your question of law enforcement won't be a problem if Cops are sent to Mars (Why wouldn't there be a cop or two who'd wanna go to Mars?).

And I highly doubt that Mars will be a Penal Colony; most of the people going probably won't (or can't) have Criminal Records, or else they'd be kicked off the list (Remember, neither Private Organizations nor a Government would wanna send Criminals to space).

 

[Fullmetalfan]

I hope to science that they name the base "Bowie Base One". Then again, they'd have to be very careful that nothing got in the water supply.