The Mars Society – conquer Mars privately March 18, 2007
Posted by Al in : future,space,travel , trackbackMars could be the only hope humanity has of keeping it’s gene pool alive. If anything catastrophic happens to the Earth at the moment then there is a reasonable chance that the majority of humanity would be wiped out in no time. Those who are left may well survive, as that’s one thing humans are quite good at, but if the climate were to move outside our tolerances, and technology was lost, then we might not fare as well as some of the more adaptable creatures in this world. OK – this is a very negative outlook, but the Earth is long overdue a serious catastrophic incident.
So what can we do to ensure humanity’s survival (if this would definitely be a good thing anyway)? Well if we could establish a viable colony on another planet, and Mars is ideally situated for such a colony, then losing the Earth might not mean the end of humanity. Also Mars might provide minerals and ores that are in short supply on the Earth, although transportation costs might be a little steep, and may also provide easily accessible micro-gravity environments for drug and nano-tech manufacture. Mars would also become a new frontier, providing a destination and outlet for the more adventurous – releasing tensions that will continue to build as cities grow and spread towards one another.
I have no doubt that settling Mars is both feasible and possible. If you have any doubts then I would suggest you read the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. Although these are works of fiction the ideas, and quite a lot of the details, are taken directly from past and current plans for terraforming and colonising Mars. The timescale is in the region of a few hundred to a few thousand years, but with a spot of luck it might be possible to get an initial domed settlement in place in this century. If you are interested in looking to Mars for our future then pay a visit to the Mars Society and learn all about how this can be done without relying too heavily on government funding or projects.
Comments»
no comments yet - be the first?