XPost: alt.astronomy, alt.fan.heinlein
On 7/12/24 09:34, Jim Wilkins wrote:
"a425couple" wrote in message news:tickO.11338$[email protected]...
from https://www.inc.com/chloe-aiello/why-elon-musk-sees-1-million-people-on-mars-by-2040s.html
Why Elon Musk Sees 1 Million People on Mars by the 2040s
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Are these the million people trying to colonize the Sahara?
I do not know.
I think somewhere was a quote, I can not remember well enough.
But Google gave me this that is on the general topic:
r/IsaacArthur icon
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r/IsaacArthur
•
3 yr. ago
D3cepti0ns
To all the people that would choose to live on Mars but not in
Antarctica, why?
I just don't understand why anybody would actually want to live on Mars.
I don't think people quite understand how desolate it is. Antarctica is
a thousand times more hospitable, but you don't see people volunteering
to move there. You want oxygen, higher temps, abundant water, agreeable gravity, radiation protection, fast communication? Mars isn't probably
for you.
If you'd volunteer to live on Mars but not in the middle of Antarctica
you seriously misunderstand the situation you are so excited to
volunteer for. I don't think anyone will be living on Mars before anyone
is living in Antarctica.
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u/Flaxinator avatar
Flaxinator
•
3y ago
People don't want to go there for the comfort and amenities, they want
to go because it is a different planet. They want to be part of the next
great leap for humankind, even if it means discomfort and hardship.
u/Harbingerx81 avatar
Harbingerx81
•
3y ago
It saddens me how many people find this so hard to understand.
Upvote
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u/MandatoryFunEscapee avatar
MandatoryFunEscapee
•
3y ago
Humans haven't had to pioneer a new frontier in a while now. I would not
go on one of the first missions, but I would go on one of the first 20
or so, if given the chance.
The opportunities, the discoveries, the adventure sounds incredible.
I've deployed with the military a few times. I can sleep anywhere, carry
all my stuff in a ruck, I'm used to uncomfortable rides and wearing
equipment to counter rough environments. Going to Mars is orders of
magnitude more difficult and intense than anything I've ever done, but I
bet I would truly feel alive again in a way I haven't in years, and may
never feel again.
That alone is worth the risk.
theistdoge
•
3y ago
•
Edited 3y ago
I'm not going to volunteer to live on Mars, but I can point out at least
a few things:
The Antarctic Treaty System makes it really, really difficult to legally
settle Antarctica.
Antarctica actually do have residents all year round. Amundsen-Scott
base on the south pole for example. There are even a few people born on
the continent.
Mars doesn't have a 6 month long night, so you can have solar all year
round.
Mars doesn't have the kinds of storms that can make you unable to walk
outside and will blow you away if you're caught unawares.
Mars doesn't have the kind of ice that literally bury your station over
the winter. It has dust that would cover it in a layer, but that's a lot
easier to handle.
Temperatures are similar, but conduction/convection through the Mars
atmosphere is much, much slower. So staying warm is lots easier. In some
cases, you may have a problem cooling down.
What it does have in common is radiation - Mars is a harsher, but the
poles are also significant.
Mars is harsh, but it's not all the same things and in some ways the
Martian harshness is easier to handle. Curiosity wouldn't have survived
a week on Antarctica, let alone 8 years - and I don't know if we could
even build a rover that survives 8 years there.
Despite all this, I think there would be some people who would have
tried to set up shop on Antarctica if it weren't for the ATS. We are > 6 billion people and you're going to find some percentage (however small)
that would like that kind of thing. Same is going to apply to Mars.
You want oxygen, higher temps, abundant water, agreeable gravity,
radiation protection, fast communication?
What you're saying is you can't go outside with only a t-shirt and jeans
on and you can't talk with your old mum in real time or google cat
memes. Everyone that wants to go already knows that and still wants to.
What you're doing is pointing out your own preferences and assuming it
applies to literally everyone.
agreeable gravity
Question is how would partial gravity affect reproduction? Muscle/bone
atrophy is not a huge issue since any martians will be doing lots of
hard physical labor, especially in the beginning.
19 more replies
u/Ilyushenka avatar
Ilyushenka
•
3y ago
People who want to go to Mars are not doing it for the comfort, they are
doing it because they want to be part of something important. Astronauts
who travel to the ISS face discomfort and danger for up to a year, yet
most of them would say it’s one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences in life.
Colonizing Antarctica won’t provide much tangible benefit to humanity
(aside from the research we’re already doing), but Mars will help us in
lots of ways. Learning to terraform Mars and turn barren regolith into
soil will help us learn to use earth’s resources more efficiently. Mars
will also act as a helpful launchpad for exploring the rest of the solar system, since we can potentially launch rockets from there more cheaply
because of the lower gravity. Finally, a self sustaining civilization on
Mars would help safeguard humanity against catastrophe.
[deleted]
Titanosaurus
•
3y ago
Whoa whoa whoa. Let’s not get too pretentious with our thoughts.
Antarctica is the last part of earth to colonize. There’s untapped
resources that can last humanity 100s if not thousands of years. It’s a continent, not some deserted island in the middle of the pacific.
There is a lot of benefit to humanity in Antarctica.
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