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"Gravity on Mars is only 38% that of Earth’s. What this would mean for the long-term health of colonists on Mars is not known" I think this fact is often overl

"Gravity on Mars is only 38% that of Earth’s. What this would mean for the long-term health of colonists on Mars is not known" I think this fact is often overlooked. The problem of gravity (and radiation) are probably harder to overcome than food and oxygen.

nickff 12y ago
This kind of argument was made early and often in the late 1950s, with respect to zero gravity, and it proved to be fear-mongering. Without evidence for this sort of proposition, it is simply pessimistic speculation. This piece was not well researched, please do not invest too much credence in it.
- pbh101 12y ago
  To this day astronauts need to spend good amounts of time exercising during long stints in zero-g aboard ISS to avoid significant bone loss. Of course, maybe if you never leave Mars, you would be just fine with the bone density/strength you have.
  - nickff 12y ago
    Citing specific problems can be instructive, and I would agree that bone and muscle mass loss could prove very bad. My issue is with nebulous claims that 'anything could happen'. I would add that the bone and muscle problems are very well known to just about everyone who has done as much as read a science fiction book. Heinlein went into the subject in detail in his 1966 novel "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", and more recent writers such as Kim Stanley Robinson have written about it too.
    - andyjohnson0 12y ago
      It is worth remembering that Heinlein and KSR are writers of fiction, which tends to gloss-over difficult problems in favour of pleasing stories. Neither were/are scientists, although Heinlein had an engineering degree, and it would be inadvisable to rely on their work. In 1966 the space endurance record was just under 14 days (Gemini 7) and very little was known about the long-term effects of low gravity environments at that time.
  - twelfthnight 12y ago
    That's a good point. I always associate the astronauts in the ISS with having very severe health effects from the zero-g, but if they never came back, perhaps they would be okay!
avv5ome 12y ago
The human body has the ability to adapt, nobody knows if our body would naturally adjust to that or not, the probability that we just get used to it after a long time living there is actually big. In that case if a person living on Mars for a long time coming back to Earth, he would actually suffer bone loss or things like that.

nickff 12y ago

This kind of argument was made early and often in the late 1950s, with respect to zero gravity, and it proved to be fear-mongering. Without evidence for this sort of proposition, it is simply pessimistic speculation. This piece was not well researched, please do not invest too much credence in it.

pbh101 12y ago
To this day astronauts need to spend good amounts of time exercising during long stints in zero-g aboard ISS to avoid significant bone loss. Of course, maybe if you never leave Mars, you would be just fine with the bone density/strength you have.
- nickff 12y ago
  Citing specific problems can be instructive, and I would agree that bone and muscle mass loss could prove very bad. My issue is with nebulous claims that 'anything could happen'. I would add that the bone and muscle problems are very well known to just about everyone who has done as much as read a science fiction book. Heinlein went into the subject in detail in his 1966 novel "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", and more recent writers such as Kim Stanley Robinson have written about it too.
  - andyjohnson0 12y ago
    It is worth remembering that Heinlein and KSR are writers of fiction, which tends to gloss-over difficult problems in favour of pleasing stories. Neither were/are scientists, although Heinlein had an engineering degree, and it would be inadvisable to rely on their work. In 1966 the space endurance record was just under 14 days (Gemini 7) and very little was known about the long-term effects of low gravity environments at that time.
- twelfthnight 12y ago
  That's a good point. I always associate the astronauts in the ISS with having very severe health effects from the zero-g, but if they never came back, perhaps they would be okay!

avv5ome 12y ago

The human body has the ability to adapt, nobody knows if our body would naturally adjust to that or not, the probability that we just get used to it after a long time living there is actually big. In that case if a person living on Mars for a long time coming back to Earth, he would actually suffer bone loss or things like that.