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Living there [Mars] is comparable to getting by on Antarctica, and provides similar challenges. That right there is complete, unadulterated bullshit. The cost
by akavi 14y ago
Living there [Mars] is comparable to getting by on Antarctica, and provides similar challenges.
That right there is complete, unadulterated bullshit. The cost of getting a pound of supplies to Antarctica is several orders of magnitude cheaper than getting a pound of supplies even as far as orbit, let alone Mars. And Antarctica is a much less hostile environment (breathable atmosphere, for one).
That line alone tells me this isn't remotely a well-thought-out, plausible venture.
- aperiodic 14y agoThe logistics of supplies and rescue are a lot easier, sure, but the two environments have more in common with each other than the rest of the surface of this planet. You already need to live in artificial structures that can take a pounding, grow your own food with little from the environment but sunlight and some raw materials, and you can't survive outside for very long without ample protection. I mean, for a training environment, where else would you go? Also, if you look at the context of the quote, you can see that they're making an analogy: Living there [Mars] is comparable to getting by on Antarctica, and provides similar challenges. However, the South Pole now has a number of very advanced, large research stations that boast a great deal of modern facilities that provide a good quality of life. These looked very different 50 years ago. The Mars settlement will develop in the same way.
- blake8086 14y agoI see a lot of differences: * Internal combustion engines work in Antarctica. * The atmosphere is breathable. * The atmosphere is livable if heated first. * The gravity is the same as Earth. * (I'm guessing) more sunlight falls on a given area of Antarctica per year than Mars. * There's no communication delay with Earth. * Earth-orbit communications satellites are reachable from Antarctica. * The ground is covered in water, if you heat it first (I don't know how useful this is, but it's probably more useful than Mars soil) and finally: You can come home from Antarctica.
- marquis 14y agoI agree. I have long wanted to spend time in Antartica, but I wouldn't set foot on a shuttle destined for Mars for this reason: breathable atmosphere. Maybe the Mars project is more comparable to sending people into deep sea, leaving them there, and sending fresh supplies with a 6-month delay?