One way trip to Mars

Bas Lansdorp is interviewing people for a one way trip to Mars in 15 years. While the gravity of Mars is 229% of the moon, the real issue seems to be that the distance is almost 600 one way trips to the moon.

Temperatures on Mars average −67 °F but Surface temperatures may reach a high of about + 68 °F at noon, at the equator.

I suppose some people would so love to be the first person to do something that they would sacrifice their life. People have lived in Siberia for decades without seeing another person.

There's lots of thrill seekers risking their neck every day on Earth. I would actually be surprised if there were any shortage of volunteers.

Quote: Pacomartin

Bas Lansdorp is interviewing people for a one way trip to Mars in 15 years. While the gravity of Mars is 229% of the moon, the real issue seems to be that the distance is almost 600 one way trips to the moon.

You've heard of fantasy football? Now you're hearing about fantasy space exploration.

I know the idea is to colonize Mars. But the real difficulty is this: there is no launch vehicle, no space stations here or around Mars to support such missions, no infrastructure to aid in exploiting Martian resources, and a long list of etc. And none of that will be in place in only 15 years.

What's really right is the notion of one-way trips. They would be much cheaper than round trips. Early on all colonization efforts in Mars will be made up of volunteers on one-way trips joined by cargo on one-way trips as well. Perhaps some samples of Martian soil, rocks, air and water may be sent back to Earth (cargo is always cheaper to ship), but then again perhaps not.

Many early colonists died or had misfortune on Earth when they settled somewhere else. Kind of similar in many ways.

Quote: rxwine

Many early colonists died or had misfortune on Earth when they settled somewhere else. Kind of similar in many ways.

Apollo 8 had a Mission duration of 6 days, 3 hours, 42 seconds which gave them 10 lunar orbits. There is even plans to begin space tourism to the moon. The probability of resupply missions would be very high.

If I was going to plan a one way mission to live in space, then why not go to the moon. It would be nice to think that it is possible to deliver replacement equipment at some point in your life.

If we could find a way to do it, I'd support sending all our prisoners to Mars.

Quote: Wizard

If we could find a way to do it, I'd support sending all our prisoners to Mars.

What did Mars ever do to you?

Australia didn't turn out too badly.

Quote: Pacomartin

If I was going to plan a one way mission to live in space, then why not go to the moon. It would be nice to think that it is possible to deliver replacement equipment at some point in your life.

The Moon would be a very convenient place from which to obtain many raw materials cheaply. But not much water has been found, and it seems deficient in light elements like Hydrogen, which BTW is crucial as a convenient rocket fuel. One thing much in favor of the Moon is the lack of atmosphere and the abundance of sunlight. You get dependable sunlight for 14 solid days at a time. Without atmosphere, you can easily build Sun-powered magnetic launch tracks and send supplies all over the Solar System cheaply.

A bigger concern is gravity. We know a bit of the adaptations the human body undergoes in "zero g" and a bit on how to combat them. We don't know what the long-term effects of 1/6 g (Moon) or 1/3g (Mars) would be. It makes sense to suppose some things would be alike, only to a different degree, like muscle and bone atrophy. Btu we just don't know. Short of sending people to the Moon or Mars for extended periods, it will be hard to find out.

Oh, you could build a habitat in Earth orbit and spin it to provide 1/6 or 1/3 g. But that also has its own set of problems. not the least being we've never built a habitat with spin-provided inertial "gravity."

Quote: Nareed

A bigger concern is gravity. We know a bit of the adaptations the human body undergoes in "zero g" and a bit on how to combat them. We don't know what the long-term effects of 1/6 g (Moon) or 1/3g (Mars) would be. It makes sense to suppose some things would be alike, only to a different degree, like muscle and bone atrophy. Btu we just don't know. Short of sending people to the Moon or Mars for extended periods, it will be hard to find out.

The woman who lived in Siberia and never saw anyone except her immediate family for 2 years, and not lives alone at age 70 has asked for someone to live with her.


I suppose that gravity is only one of many questions. However, the way I figure it I would rather live at 1/6g and know that there was the possibility of someone rescuing me (albeit with several years notice). We landed on the moon 6 times and orbited 3 times. In 15 years if you go to the moon, there is a possibility of tourists circling the moon every year. At the very least they could drop equipment.

If you go to Mars it could be half a century before someone tries again. It took half a century for the second crew to circumnavigate the globe. It's been 43 years since we went to the moon.