6 ms·

I'm glad when I see I'm not the only one who thinks living on Mars would be awful. I only skimmed the article, but I didn't see any ideas on supplementing the 6

by Pigo 9y ago

I'm glad when I see I'm not the only one who thinks living on Mars would be awful. I only skimmed the article, but I didn't see any ideas on supplementing the 62.5% less gravity. I can't imagine what that'd do to your body after years of living in it. But the lack of nature (and Internet for that matter) would drive me crazy. I'm already too old to enjoy my PlayStation for more than an hour or so. Maybe once we're able to terraform the planet to resemble the world we evolved on, or build enough Bio-Domes for his million people to enjoy (keeping in mind it only takes one Pauly Shore to ruin a dome), and compensate for the lack of gravity somehow, then I'd consider going.

Lambdanaut 9y ago
> I wonder if I'm the only person who thinks living on Mars would be awful. It'd be awful if you're a person who is concerned with physical comfort/health. The drive for those that wish to go is the big transcendent picture and goal. It's beyond those desires for self preservation and comfort.
sirtimbly 9y ago
Elon has said repeatedly that he is not concerned with how people will live on Mars, he's just interested in how to get people there en-masse. Living, surviving, and making it economically, and ecologically feasible is beyond the scope of what he can plan for.
- grondilu 9y ago
  That sounds like a morally questionable attitude. Like people selling drugs or weapons. "I'm just selling the stuff, whether it's good or not for my customers is none of my business".
Sangermaine 9y ago
The kind of people who would want to do this are the kind who would be willing to put up with discomfort and danger. Even on Earth many people voluntarily participate in sports or other activities that involve extreme risk or danger, or visit and live in dangerous and challenging places. It sounds like this experience isn't something you'd want, but that's not true of everyone.
- Pigo 9y ago
  It's definitely not something I'm interested in, and that's all I'm saying. I like having a family, spending time with my family, and having a fully functional digestion system. If people want to, I say more power to them.
elihu 9y ago
> I didn't see any ideas on supplementing the 62.5% less gravity. I can't imagine what that'd do to your body after years of living in it. Another way of looking at it is that if you have medical problems that make it hard to walk in full gravity, low gravity might make the difference between being stuck in a wheelchair and being able to walk. Ignoring for a moment the optics of sending our old people away to Mars, I think a Martian old folks home could actually be quite popular and successful.
- rcurry 9y ago
  There'd be a lot more flying triangle chokes in MMA, that's for sure.
- anth1988 9y ago
  Except it's going to be a hard life that has no room for retirees sitting around.
djsumdog 9y ago
You should read the Kim Stanley Robinson books on Mars. They're really good. With less gravity, you'll see native be considerably taller. Hopefully their retinas won't detach, as tends to happen in zero-G. Make no mistake, the first colonists to Mars will NEVER return to Earth. They will die there. Will they be able to propagate? We have a LONG way to go. Biosphere II is an amazing project that shows many of the problems we'd face trying to create a new contained eco-system. They're incredibly complex. We need advances in automatic-machine-fabrication (we literally need to be able to drop factory robots that can both dig and make buildings), advances in radiation shielding (you can only come above ground in a fully shielded suit), advances in CO2/O2 recycling, advances in food production and self contained eco-systems. It's not impossible, but I'd say it's a good 90 ~ 100 years out minimum. All of these needs to be in place and highly advances and reliable, with test units dropped to Mars, before the first colonists go there .. and eventually die there.
- Obi_Juan_Kenobi 9y ago
  ITS is designed to be round-trip, FWIW. Reuse of the transporter is essential to the design.
  - sqeaky 9y ago
    Colonists don't take round trips, otherwise they would be visitors.
    - sillysaurus3 9y ago
      Not quite. Elon has said you can hitch a ride back if you want to. It's part of the deal. You'll be able to choose to stay, of course. But you can choose to leave.
      - djsumdog 9y ago
        I know that's what he said, but I don't think that will be the reality. When we do actually send people to mars, I don't think we'll be able to bring them back ... not the first generation anyway. And many of them will die.

by Pigo 9y ago

Lambdanaut 9y ago

> I wonder if I'm the only person who thinks living on Mars would be awful. It'd be awful if you're a person who is concerned with physical comfort/health. The drive for those that wish to go is the big transcendent picture and goal. It's beyond those desires for self preservation and comfort.

sirtimbly 9y ago

Elon has said repeatedly that he is not concerned with how people will live on Mars, he's just interested in how to get people there en-masse. Living, surviving, and making it economically, and ecologically feasible is beyond the scope of what he can plan for.

grondilu 9y ago
That sounds like a morally questionable attitude. Like people selling drugs or weapons. "I'm just selling the stuff, whether it's good or not for my customers is none of my business".

Sangermaine 9y ago

The kind of people who would want to do this are the kind who would be willing to put up with discomfort and danger. Even on Earth many people voluntarily participate in sports or other activities that involve extreme risk or danger, or visit and live in dangerous and challenging places. It sounds like this experience isn't something you'd want, but that's not true of everyone.

Pigo 9y ago
It's definitely not something I'm interested in, and that's all I'm saying. I like having a family, spending time with my family, and having a fully functional digestion system. If people want to, I say more power to them.

elihu 9y ago

> I didn't see any ideas on supplementing the 62.5% less gravity. I can't imagine what that'd do to your body after years of living in it. Another way of looking at it is that if you have medical problems that make it hard to walk in full gravity, low gravity might make the difference between being stuck in a wheelchair and being able to walk. Ignoring for a moment the optics of sending our old people away to Mars, I think a Martian old folks home could actually be quite popular and successful.

rcurry 9y ago
There'd be a lot more flying triangle chokes in MMA, that's for sure.
anth1988 9y ago
Except it's going to be a hard life that has no room for retirees sitting around.

djsumdog 9y ago

You should read the Kim Stanley Robinson books on Mars. They're really good. With less gravity, you'll see native be considerably taller. Hopefully their retinas won't detach, as tends to happen in zero-G. Make no mistake, the first colonists to Mars will NEVER return to Earth. They will die there. Will they be able to propagate? We have a LONG way to go. Biosphere II is an amazing project that shows many of the problems we'd face trying to create a new contained eco-system. They're incredibly complex. We need advances in automatic-machine-fabrication (we literally need to be able to drop factory robots that can both dig and make buildings), advances in radiation shielding (you can only come above ground in a fully shielded suit), advances in CO2/O2 recycling, advances in food production and self contained eco-systems. It's not impossible, but I'd say it's a good 90 ~ 100 years out minimum. All of these needs to be in place and highly advances and reliable, with test units dropped to Mars, before the first colonists go there .. and eventually die there.

Obi_Juan_Kenobi 9y ago
ITS is designed to be round-trip, FWIW. Reuse of the transporter is essential to the design.
- sqeaky 9y ago
  Colonists don't take round trips, otherwise they would be visitors.
  - sillysaurus3 9y ago
    Not quite. Elon has said you can hitch a ride back if you want to. It's part of the deal. You'll be able to choose to stay, of course. But you can choose to leave.
    - djsumdog 9y ago
      I know that's what he said, but I don't think that will be the reality. When we do actually send people to mars, I don't think we'll be able to bring them back ... not the first generation anyway. And many of them will die.