One-Way Ticket: Mars One Project Applicants Top 100,000

Bas Lansdorp's projected trip to Mars has a well-known catch: the ticket to space is free (rather than the millions of dollars for the more conventional kind of space travel available to civilians), but it's one-way only. That's a downside for any potential astronauts who'd like to do things like visit the beach or ever see their Earthside family again in person. Still, the Mars One project announced this week that more than 100,000 volunteers have announced their willingness to forsake this planet in favor of the next. The application process is ongoing; have you signed up?

Comments

what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[alen]

will they sterilize the women first or will they risk children being born on Mars?

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[Anonymous Coward]

I will make it my goal if i get accepted to have a child born on mars.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[sentientbeing]

Mars aint the kind of place to raise a kid

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[Opportunist]

Why? Virtually no crime, pretty much nonexistent unemployment, lots of free space, no environmental issues, no civil unrest or wars anywhere on the horizon... it's THE place to be!

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[lxs]

In fact it's cold as hell.

Re: what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[ecotax]

Not so sure about there being no environmental issues...

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[AchilleTalon]

No need to sterilize them, they will sterilize during the journey due to high level of cosmic rays.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[AchilleTalon]

It is very unlikely to succeed. High radiation levels and first of all, you need to survive at least nine months.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[KeensMustard]

The OP is probably referring to the fact that conception and gestation are likely impossible on Mars due to it's low gravity. And if a child is born there are still more hurdles:

1. The child will be unable to travel to Earth, because the higher gravity of earth will kill him or her.

2. If the child is part of this group then it will die of starvation or whatever, just as they will, except of course, they chose to die, and the child didn't. It's an ethical minefield. If these people are serious about going to Mars, rather than paying $38, they should volunteer to be sterilised if chosen. This way, the severe ethical and medical issues associated with procreation can be avoided. Oh, and instead of $38 each, they should be paying $38000000 dollars apiece. At that kind of money, and with 100 K people pitching in, we are getting closer to a viable enterprise. Of course, for that money, what they will get is to be able to fly their cremated remains to Mars and have them scattered on the surface by an automated probe. Same outcome.

But to address your points specifically:

Virtually no crime, pretty much nonexistent unemployment,

If as settlement is ever established on Mars, in the long term crime is likely to be a huge problem, owing to the desperate circumstances arising from the incredibly bad economic conditions. Mars will be in a very disadvantageous position WRT to Earth. They will lack power, industrial skills, economies of scale freedom of movement, everything that goes to making a society prosperous. Mars has nothing the Earth dwellers want or need, and craves the things the Earth can provide. Earth dwellers can travel to Mars, and then back to Earth, Long term Mars residents cannot travel to Earth. Mars lacks the water and sunlight to be competitive or even self sufficient agriculturally, it lacks the power, and likely, the metals needed for industrialisation, it cannot support a population large enough for a diversified economy. Mars will be a ghetto. Unemployment and crime will be rampant.

lots of free space,

Hypothetical residents on Mars will live underground in tunnels - they have to, due to the deadly radiation. They will rarely, if ever, venture to the surface. Space will be at an absolute premium, more like living on a submarine than living on Earth.

no environmental issues,

Well, Mars is dead, so it's true that we are unlikely to cause any environmental damage. Economic activity will be low to non-existent so Mars is unlikely to have many problems with industrial pollutants. However living quarters will be cramped and sanitation poor, plus many of the techniques used to move pollutants out of our nests on the earth (like flushing them into rivers) won't work on Mars - the water recycling strategies used on the ISS and similar will likely fail early in the piece owing to a lack of parts and the impossibility of buying new ones.

no civil unrest or wars anywhere on the horizon.

Mars will resemble the classic breeding ground for civil unrest for the reasons given above. Wars, maybe not, because there will never be enough people there to ever go to War, and the classic geographical style war is impossible anyway.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's far easier to sterilize the men.

Re: what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[miketg23]

Mr Mustard, you're absolutely insane. Just an fyi

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[__aaltlg1547]

The OP is probably referring to the fact that conception and gestation are likely impossible on Mars due to it's low gravity.

That's not a fact. That's unfounded speculation.

1. The child will be unable to travel to Earth, because the higher gravity of earth will kill him or her.

More speculation. There's no data on which to base that conclusion. No person have ever been in gravity between 0 m/s2 and 9.8 m/s2 for more than a few days.

2. If the child is part of this group then it will die of starvation or whatever, just as they will, except of course, they chose to die, and the child didn't. It's an ethical minefield.

That's pretty likely.

Mars will be in a very disadvantageous position WRT to Earth. They will lack power, industrial skills, economies of scale freedom of movement, everything that goes to making a society prosperous. Mars has nothing the Earth dwellers want or need, and craves the things the Earth can provide. ... Mars lacks the water and sunlight to be competitive or even self sufficient agriculturally, it lacks the power, and likely, the metals needed for industrialisation, it cannot support a population large enough for a diversified economy. Mars will be a ghetto. Unemployment and crime will be rampant.

That also seems likely.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[__aaltlg1547]

One unsterilized woman can get pregnant. One unsterilized man can get all the women pregnant.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[mikael_j]

I suspect humans make it there and create permanent settlements the crime and war situations may change rapidly.

Speaking of which, I should finish reading Green Mars...

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[interval1066]

Wars, maybe not, because there will never be enough people there to ever go to War, and the classic geographical style war is impossible anyway.

People will engage in war under any circumstances, geography is hardly a factor. A more likely scenario is that war will be difficult due to the scarcity of resources on Mars. War requires the squandering of vast amounts of resources, weather its money, goods, materials, or people. Far more likely is guerilla insugency, backed by earthly powers (countries) with some kind of vested interest in the social disruption of Martian society. Crime will be a given with the same scarcity of resources.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[interval1066]

The main problem with your analysis is that the kind of people they will (or ought to) send will be very easy-going, non-violent, kind, highly intelligent and well educated.

Quite likely. For a working model we could actually use the early internet. Back before the arpanet became the internet there were fewer users and most were highly educated researchers. Forward to the present and we know what we have now.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[Provocateur]

will make for one hell of a reality show

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[fustakrakich]

...no civil unrest or wars anywhere on the horizon...

Read Lord of the Flies, and remove all the nice 'tropical paradise' parts for a peek into their future.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[ahem]

Because then the kid might come back and form the Church of All Worlds, which would piss off the Fosterites.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[gweihir]

That would be a crime against humanity. It is one thing to throw your life away because you are stupid, but it is something else entirely to inflict this on e person that did not get a choice in the matter.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[Dereck1701]

"High radiation levels"

You might want to do a little research, Curiosity has only recorded radiation levels equivalent to being aboard ISS, and that is without any shielding (I believe). Astronauts on ISS itself receive about 1 millisievert per day, whereas people in Colorado for example are probably exposed to 9-15 millisievert per year. So it is quite an increase from Earth normal, but even astronauts with long duration space stays only have a few percent higher risk (3% I believe). There is no doubt that inhabitants of Mars will have a higher incidence of Cancer (even with decent shielding), but they're not going to drop in 9 months. With even basic shielding 98% of people are going to live for decades, with decent shielding they're going to live quite normal lives. If you go extreme, with subterranean facilities for example, cancer risks for Long term Mars inhabitants could actually be below that of "Earthlings".

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[Zero__Kelvin]

Evidently nobody told you, and I hate to be the one to break the bad news, but you would be required to leave your mother's basement in order to participate in this one.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[Zero__Kelvin]

"The OP is probably referring to the fact that conception and gestation are likely impossible on Mars due to it's low gravity."

So you think that Elton John posts on slashdot?

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[tuxgeek]

Virtually no crime

What planet are you from? General human nature makes us all selfish self centered pricks. Here, on earth, you put two people within 100 yards of each other and you're going to get some form of confrontation. Theft, argument, fight or death. That's just the way it is, was and has always been. Will pretty much be the same on mars as well.

Although I would like to nominate my ex wife to be on the next shuttle when it leaves ..

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, what a complete lack of vision...

Mars has a gravity of ~38% of earth's gravity. This would make it ideal for refining materials gathered from asteroids. You wont have to worry about your processes not working due to a lack of gravity, a lot less energy would be required to descend and ascend with loads of ores/refined metals and other goods. The lack of civilization means that you wont have to worry about the NIMBY culture when building your nuclear reactors to power the massive refineries and other such industrial sites. Heck, you could even use uncontrolled descents to deliver raw materials (full asteroids if they are not too big) planet side...

The only real hurdles to a mars colony is getting there, becoming self sufficient (would either need the materials to refine the required materials for the colony or to send the actual materials to build the colony and supporting infrastructure) and some of the technology required, such as recovering oxygen from either carbon dioxide in large quantities or refining it from minerals, does not exist yet as far as I know.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[voidptr]

Fun fact: having a child on Earth also means inflicting an uncertain existence upon them including certain death. That fact doesn't appear to have stopped significant numbers of earthers from breeding either, even in conditions most of us wouldn't want to spend a day in let alone a lifetime.

Re: what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[FatLittleMonkey]

Mostly. Yes.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[mdielmann]

Oh, and instead of $38 each, they should be paying $38000000 dollars apiece. At that kind of money, and with 100 K people pitching in, we are getting closer to a viable enterprise. Of course, for that money, what they will get is to be able to fly their cremated remains to Mars and have them scattered on the surface by an automated probe. Same outcome.

Of course, when you limit the discussion to the ultimate outcome, this is true for just about any activity that can be contemplated. You can live out your life, in all likelihood a mere cog in the machine called civilization, or you can be cremated and have your ashes scattered in some place of significance to you. So, are you planning on killing yourself today, or will you try to do something truly memorable instead?

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[93 Escort Wagon]

And there's no one there to raise them if you did.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[dkleinsc]

Actually, Hell freezes over fairly regularly in the winter.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[nukenerd]

Virtually no crime

What planet are you from? General human nature makes us all selfish self centered pricks. Here, on earth, you put two people within 100 yards of each other and you're going to get some form of confrontation.

Funny you should say that. I live in a backwood area (remote by UK standards) and my nearest neighbour is 1/4 mile away, four times your distance, separated by forest, and not even in sight. He is a guy with a tractor for hire. I never met him until four months after moving here, when he dumped a truckload of building gravel in a forest entrance near my house, incidentally blocking one of my two rights of way to my house. Basically, he started using the area as a storage yard. So we had a bit of a confrontation.

There will always be issues between people. The number of people simply determine the scale of it.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[Belial6]

On what planet? Here on Earth, sterilization for both men and women is an outpatient procedure with a recovery time of a few days.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[ultranova]

Virtually no crime, pretty much nonexistent unemployment, lots of free space, no environmental issues, no civil unrest or wars anywhere on the horizon...

And the reason why a Mars base won't have unemployment is the exact same reason why military submarines don't have unemployment. There's also about as much free space. Unless you exit through the hatch, in which case the consequences will be the same too.

We are not talking about a settlement, we're talking about a base. Well, actually we're almost certainly talking about a scam, but we're definitely not talking about a base.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[KeensMustard]

Not saying you aren't right. You are - full scale, cooperative, organised violence will likely be limited due to a lack of resources. My geographic comment was related to the fact that people will live underground and the underground will be prized ground whereas the surface will have no strategic value. Any parties engaged in fighting will be looking to preserve tunnels and infrastructure because they are such a premium. Thus territorial disputes, limited though they be, will be much more in the style of close urban warfare than wide geographic disputes e.g. artillery or tank battles.

I'm not sure there is a distinction between the two things the OP mentioned "civil unrest" and "war" or how, in such a setting, we would denote the difference anyway.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[godel_56]

Actually, Hell freezes over fairly regularly in the winter.

I remember reading a memoir of a US soldier in WW2 who wrote about seeing a sign pointing to Hell in Norway, and noticing that the roadway headed UP from his current location.

That Hell regularly freezes over too. According to Wikipedia, the name come from a word for "cliff overhang" in the Norwegian case.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[KeensMustard]

Of course, when you limit the discussion to the ultimate outcome, this is true for just about any activity that can be contemplated. You can live out your life, in all likelihood a mere cog in the machine called civilization, or you can be cremated and have your ashes scattered in some place of significance to you.

I'm not telling these people what they can do with their own money. As long as it's their money, and not someone elses. As long as it's understood that this is about personal ambition and ego (as you have helpfully pointed out).

So, are you planning on killing yourself today, or will you try to do something truly memorable instead?

Well, that's a bit off topic, however - if I had $38000000 dollars I would not spend it on some death cult ritual, no building a monumental pyramid, self aggrandising statue made of gold, or scattering of my ashes on another planet. If I'm to be remembered beyond my death, I don't particularly want to be remembered for my ego, or my fascination/fear of death or even fear of life.

In earthly reality land, we have some significant problems to deal with. Climate change, for instance. The collapse of the rule of law and democracy. These problems need people who will stand and fight, not live for escapist fiction based fantasies about life on another planet. Not people who would rather cash in and commit suicide on Mars. In future generations, these schemes will come to have a kind of infamy, along with climate denialists and their cash cow sponsors. If I'm to be remembered, I'll be remembered for standing on the side of good.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[godel_56]

One unsterilized woman can get pregnant. One unsterilized man can get all the women pregnant.

Or you could ship fertilized embryos in heavily shielded containers and implant them there, although I'm no sure why you'd want to.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[KeensMustard]

The OP is probably referring to the fact that conception and gestation are likely impossible on Mars due to it's low gravity.

That's not a fact. That's unfounded speculation.

Not exactly: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15607544. The premise of the study is logical: to stave off the effects of low gravity, martians need to rigorously exercise. Constantly. Fetuses cannot do that. The need to exercise will increase dramatically during developmental phases. That is, in utero and childhood.

Of course, there have been no experiments that confirm these observations but we are choosing between 2 contrasting speculations:

(a) that despite our observations of the effects on post development adults, developing humans will be unaffected by low gravity or

(b) based on our observations of the effects on adults, developing humans will also be affected, severely and detrimentally, more so if the cannot be made to exercise.

Out of those speculations, we should pick the one that is logical.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[__aaltlg1547]

The OP is probably referring to the fact that conception and gestation are likely impossible on Mars due to it's low gravity.

That's not a fact. That's unfounded speculation.

Not exactly: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15607544. The premise of the study is logical: to stave off the effects of low gravity, martians need to rigorously exercise. Constantly. Fetuses cannot do that. The need to exercise will increase dramatically during developmental phases. That is, in utero and childhood.

Of course, there have been no experiments that confirm these observations but we are choosing between 2 contrasting speculations:

(a) that despite our observations of the effects on post development adults, developing humans will be unaffected by low gravity or

(b) based on our observations of the effects on adults, developing humans will also be affected, severely and detrimentally, more so if the cannot be made to exercise.

Out of those speculations, we should pick the one that is logical.

Fetuse in flotation, which is pretty much the same as zero G except for the resistance provided by the aqueous medium. There is no reason to expect that the minute differences would affect fetuses.

There's also no logic in either of your false choices. First, because there are no observations of effects of fractional gravity on adults and because there could be effects is not the same as there would be severe and detrimental effects.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[__aaltlg1547]

There would be no point until you had an established colony capable of raising them. If the colony is thriving, it would be advantageous because it would increase the genetic diversity of the population, which in the long term increases the viability of the colony. But there would also be an advantage is allowing natural selection to enhance the frequency of alleles that prove adaptive in the Martian environment. Different genes might prove adaptive to microgravity.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[gweihir]

I agree. Life is really cheap to most people as long as it is the life of somebody else, even if it is their child. The problem is of course just the original one: It is far too cheap and easy to produce more human beings. Kind of the main problem we have.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[Hentes]

At this point, I think that's pretty much the least of their worries. For example, I doubt they have any solution to the problem of how to actually get humans to Mars.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[interval1066]

I'm using the classic definition of war; armed conflict declared between two opposing forces composed of professional armies going head to head. In that light the US hasn't been in such a conflict since the early 50's. The last such war ever that I'm aware of was the Iran-Iraq war. Everything else has been insurgencies.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[mysidia]

Oh, and instead of $38 each, they should be paying $38000000 dollars apiece.

No... they should spend $38 each to get there.... but before they leave, they should sell all the rest of their assets, and use the proceeds to create an enormous foundation whose purpose for existing is to get them back to earth: in case they later realize the mistake they have made.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[kthreadd]

According to Wikipedia, which is always right, there is a Hell in Norway too. But it's not that high up, only 14 meters of elevation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Norway

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[mysidia]

If the child is part of this group then it will die of starvation or whatever, just as they will, except of course, they chose to die, and the child didn't. It's an ethical minefield.

No... if having a child on mars is an ethical minefield, then having a child on earth is also an ethical minefield. How come people living in 3rd world countries on earth aren't required to sterilzie themselves?

Survival of the human race depends on reproduction. Forced sterilization is a cop-out.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[ianare]

There is a major difference though: the Internet's population has increased by connecting the rest of humanity to it, not only by the children of the early Internet.

A better model would be communes, where people join on the basis of religion, philosphy or purpose. In many cases the children born in these communes stay and continue the exmple set forth by their parents.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[KeensMustard]

Any other sounds you'd like to share?

Re: what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[KeensMustard]

Well, thanks for letting me know, I'll be sure to note that down.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[KeensMustard]

Fetuse in flotation, which is pretty much the same as zero G except for the resistance provided by the aqueous medium. There is no reason to expect that the minute differences would affect fetuses.

So you imagine that somehow, amniotic fluids cancel out gravity waves? *facepalm*

Just an FYI - uteruses aren't anti gravity devices. Foetuses feel gravity just the same as born people do.

There's also no logic in either of your false choices. First, because there are no observations of effects of fractional gravity on adults and because there could be effects is not the same as there would be severe and detrimental effects.

You're in denial.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[KeensMustard]

He might.

Re: what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[DasSquid]

The issue is that there IS no environment

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[mdielmann]

You're right, doing things for silly reasons like patriotism, religious freedom, and the joy of discovery never brought us new or better things. So why bother?

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[MalachiK]

I'd mod this up if I had points. Shavano, thou art righteous.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[KeensMustard]

Are you words supposed to relate to this topic somehow? Because at the moment they do not through any conceivable mechanism.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[KeensMustard]

The mistake that they made was to give $38 to these scammers in the first place. Does anyone honestly believe these people have any intention of even "looking into" a manned spaceflight to Mars?

It's a scam.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[__aaltlg1547]

I'm reading the same abstract you are. The abstract is very unclear and badly written. "On the basis of published Magnetic Resonance Images and the values of the specific fetal and amniotic fluid weights, apparent weight of the fetus from the 18th week of gestation until term was determined. Up to the 21-22nd gestation week the fetus is in conditions similar to neutral floating, while after the 26th gestation week the apparent weight of the fetus is 60-80% of the actual weight. Decreased effect of the buoyant forces that affect the fetus in human species during the last trimester has a number of implications for the colonization of the solar system. During space flight it is impossible to apply the existing countermeasures against microgravity deconditioning of the muscular and cardiovascular systems to the fetus. Absence of gravitational loading during the last trimester of gestation would cause hypotrophy of the spinal extensors and lower extremities muscles, reduction in the amount of myosin heavy chain type I in the extensor muscles of the trunk and legs, hypoplasy and osteopeny of the vertebras and lower extremities long bones, and hypotrophy of the left ventricle of the heart muscle. Because of decreased capacity of postural and locomotor stability, acquisition of the gross developmental milestones such as sitting, standing and walking could be delayed. In the authors' opinion, only artificial gravity (rotating platform) during space flight will allow physiological development of the human fetus. Independency of offspring's of the guinea pig as regards locomotion and nursing increases probability of successful breeding in microgravity compared with rat offspring's, and make this species a candidate for future experiments under conditions of microgravity and hypergravity. Examining the gestation of this species in different gravities requires first the experimental determination of the amount of buoyant force to which the fetus is exposed in physiological conditions." What species of was measured with MRI and under what conditions? I know it wasn't people in fractional gravity because there is no MRI machine in space big enough to scan a human, nor were there any other large animals in space in decades. What I see here is barely any data, taken on unstated animals in unstated conditions and then a whole lot of speculation -- presented as fact -- that doesn't follow from anything they have shown. I guess you're in good company. These guys got published even though their abstract is shit.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[mdielmann]

Yes, I'm sure you've never used a VCR, or a computer, or any of the other cool things that came out of the Apollo program, which, when you get right down to it, is ego on a national scale. And willing lives were taken in the process. And, given the odds you're an American, you're part of a country which was founded, in part, by people who were woefully unequipped to live where they went, and many of them died in the first few years. And we've benefited by people spending their lives, and many of them losing them in the process, in exploring one of the last and most dangerous frontiers on our planet (Jacques Cousteau is one who didn't die performing his research).

People throw their lives away all the time. You might see what this group is doing as pure ego stroking. I'll agree that that is certainly a component. I'm unwilling to concede that that means nothing good will come of it, though. Of course, you're entitled to your opinion, as well. I'll assume you won't be one of the volunteers or patrons of this little project. So quit pissing and moaning, and support something you believe in, instead.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[RivenAleem]

Any man can provide sperm, but only women can carry a child. You should sterilise all the men on the trip and bring a supply of sperm for later impregnation if the conditions permit it.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[KeensMustard]

If the child is part of this group then it will die of starvation or whatever, just as they will, except of course, they chose to die, and the child didn't. It's an ethical minefield.

No... if having a child on mars is an ethical minefield, then having a child on earth is also an ethical minefield. How come people living in 3rd world countries on earth aren't required to sterilze themselves?

People who live in 3rd world countries don't have a choice. These people do. They say they expect to die. Under what circumstances would they even consider having children?

Survival of the human race depends on reproduction.

These people and the so called "colony" aren't going to survive. As I said, if they have babies, those babies will die just as soon as they will. This is not a survivable scenario.

Forced sterilization is a cop-out.

Nobody is forcing them to go to Mars.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[jonadab]

What do you mean, what happens? The same thing would happen to the kids as to the parents, duh. They'll all die off *well* within a generation. (If I were entering a betting pool, I'd probably go for "within a year", but the exact timeframe is rather difficult to predict without knowing the particulars of exactly who and what they're planning to take.)

There's no way to pack even remotely enough resources to last anywhere near a lifetime, and there aren't any meaningful resources to be found on Mars. If you can somehow manage to haul in enough solar collectors from Earth, it might be possible to keep yourself in air and water until the equipment breaks down, but food's going to be a serious problem, and you can just forget about anything complicated like medicine or the ability to repair the air-making equipment when it breaks.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[kermidge]

Yup, I've been there, it gets winter, or did, when I lived nearby.

Mar One, a scam? Maybe; a lot can happen in ten years. I'm gonna wait and see, I live so long. If it is a scam, the few folks at the top ought to make a living at it for a while. What they'll do after is a question.

Re:what happens if the chick get pregnant?

[mysidia]

People who live in 3rd world countries don't have a choice. These people do. They say they expect to die. Under what circumstances would they even consider having children?

Expect to die doesn't mean will die. And certainly doesn't mean their children would die.

Soldiers go to war expecting to die. That doesn't mean we sterilize the women, so they don't get pregnant, and have a child at risk.

That's OK, You Can Go First!

[theodp]

How a Mission to Mars Could Kill You

Re:That's OK, You Can Go First!

[ElementOfDestruction]

They split that article into three pages? Discovery fucking sucks. I miss when the internet wasn't all about shoving as many baiting images to bullshit stories as they can on one page. Might be time to bust out Lync again. Here is the web page you requested: 20% information, 40% video, 40% links to other bullshit. Maybe I shouldn't use NoScript since then the links might be somewhat relevant, but fuck them.

Registration fee?

[Anonymous Coward]

At $38 a pop, they've raised $3.8M on an endeavor that will almost certainly fade into obscurity? Talk about a fucking scam!

Hey, I'm going to send people to Mars, too, and my application fee is only $35. Everyone come sign up!

Re:Registration fee?

[redback]

whip up a signup site, start spreading it around on facebook.

Re:Registration fee?

[Deadstick]

$30, and I'll name a star after you too.

Re:Registration fee?

[MysteriousPreacher]

I'll do it for $20. I'll put the name in a database, and will print a handsome certificate of ownership.

As a bonus

[countach]

All 100,000 get honorary darwin awards.

Re:As a bonus

[oodaloop]

And the remaining 7 billion people left on this dying planet get them as well.

Re:As a bonus

[JoshuaZ]

And it wouldn't surprise me if someone said something similar about the humans who first moved out of Africa. And it applies as well to those who went on voyages of exploration, or those scientists who selflessly used their own bodies for medical tests (a category often underappreciated and discussed Lawrence Altman's excellent book "Who Goes First"). We progress by taking risks and we should be grateful for those willing to do so.

Re:As a bonus

[Vanderhoth]

It's funny how we claim in western culture that we should be free to do as we please as long as it's not hurting anyone else, but there are so many that feel the need to jump in and stop others from go on what could be the greatest adventure any of us could ever go on, possibility for the betterment and all mankind, but everyone and their dog feel it's absolutely necessary to try and stop them.

I find it very disheartening

Re:As a bonus

[nukenerd]

And it wouldn't surprise me if someone said something similar about the humans who first moved out of Africa.

No doubt they did, but walking from Africa only meant going through a progressively changing environment in which you could turn back at any point, and which you could do in small stages over generations. Even those who sailed away in ships (a closer analogy) had no thought that it might be impossible to breathe air or find water at the destination (they were OK as it happened), or have to be confined to a small enclosure. They assumed (rightly as it happened) that it would be the same as home with perhaps some funny new plants and animals.

A trip to Mars however is far worse than those old migrations because we know that the place has no plants or animals, and is not survivable except in a very confined space and with some very specialised kit of finite reliability.

Re:As a bonus

[epiphani]

There's a real problem here: they're planning to fund this project through Survivor type television selection process.

And there is a relatively high probability that these people could die. We'll have the world watching as we send a group of four likely under-equipped people to Mars. I would wholeheartedly like to see us go to Mars and beyond, but I'm concerned that this half-hazard approach may end up damaging the long-term will to do this than succeeding.

We need better radiation shielding - which is easily done with a meter or two of water in the hull. The problem is cost and construction - and I think we really should be putting our efforts towards orbital construction: building things in orbit - not plugging modules together. Honestly, I think the largest impact we could make to long-term, long-distance space flight at this point is getting good at one thing: welding in orbit.

Re:As a bonus

[interval1066]

...building things in orbit - not plugging modules together...

You will apparently be surprised to learn that modern building techniques make heavy use of modularized materials.

Re:As a bonus

[Princeofcups]

It's funny how we claim in western culture that we should be free to do as we please as long as it's not hurting anyone else, but there are so many that feel the need to jump in and stop others from go on what could be the greatest adventure any of us could ever go on, possibility for the betterment and all mankind, but everyone and their dog feel it's absolutely necessary to try and stop them.

I find it very disheartening

The problem is that statistically they are all lying. Maybe there are a few who understand and accept the risks for a higher cause. But for the most part these are people hoping for their 15 minutes. Maybe a quick interview on local news, maybe a bragging right on Facebook, maybe just frat boys who think its funny. Sorry, but almost no one is taking this seriously.

Re:As a bonus

[jklovanc]

There is a difference between dying due a resupply ship malfunction (or cutting of funds) and dying in a few thousand generations.

Re:As a bonus

[oodaloop]

I don't what planet you're from that has thousands of generations of natural resources left on it, but I'd like to move there.

Re:As a bonus

[Belial6]

I'm not sure how much welding is the key. As I understand it, the primary reason to use metal for the hull is to protect against space debris. The reason you would need to weld is so that you get air tight structures out of the metal. It seems that metal structures that clip, bolt or rivet together would be more than adequet if an inflatable structure was put inside. Metal on the outside to stop the debris from puncturing the soft air tight inside.

Re:As a bonus

[DNS-and-BIND]

Are you sure we are actually saying this? Or are you just making shit up?

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/mar/07/its-your-own-good/

Re:As a bonus

[Anonymous Coward]

This one. Unless someone has a tame black hole, pretty much all the resources ever used by humanity are still right here. As a matter of fact, they've been concentrated for us. As long as the Sun shines, we are OK. Oh, we might have to change our social model as to HOW we assign these resources. But that's happened many times already in our history, we have a knack for it.

Re:As a bonus

[gl4ss]

fun fact: material doesn't disappear just because you eat it. plenty of resources to keep going for a thousand generations, lifestyles might change and overall population might go up and down but that's to be expected.

compared to mars we're living in garden of eden. any tech that would sustain you on mars would sustain you easier here(in biodomes or whatever, if you think the atmosphere is going bust) and mars isn't filled with unobtanium magic feed crystals...

if you just count stuff such as oil and coal as natural resources(and not soil) then tough luck since mars has none of that.

Re:As a bonus

[ewibble]

No they thought they might fall off the end of the world. Anyway you are right they will most certainly die (relatively quickly) but I am sure many previous explorers had a high change of death.

But in the end, if we ever want to expand to other planets some people are going to have to take incredibly risky step of being the first people to go.

Can we wait until we have better technology, yes, but at some point we will go (or at least I believe so).

Their deaths will provide invaluable knowledge about next time, in a much quicker fashion than laboratory tests, and simulations.

Think of it this way people climb deadly mountains http://gearjunkie.com/worlds-10-most-dangerous-mountains the worst has 41% death rate and what for? Someone has already climbed it, you aren't going to live there. At least with going to Mars are knowledge of colonizing planets will be increased, and if they will be famous for a very long time.

Re:As a bonus

[Time_Ngler]

I think you put too much faith in these "needy" adults to do much of anything. There are many countries where people live in far worse conditions with far more unemployment and far less military and police technology to deal with these types of things. I also don't think you'll get very far with the government with a rising minimum wage, at least not in any meaningful sense.

Why do you thing the US G keeps printing money expect as a way to reduce everyone's effective paycheck even further than what it is now?

Re:As a bonus

[crunchygranola]

LOL Failboat. The Russian revolution? You mean the one that put in place the government that toppled in the 90's? ..

He probably meant the second Russian revolution, that overthrew Tsar Nicholas II on 2 March 1917 due to the dire condition of most Russia citizenry, and the Tsar's mismanagement of the war. It established an elective democracy led by Alexander Kerensky.

There was a previous revolution in 1905, for similar reasons, that established some measure of democracy, but not enough.

You are thinking of the Bolshevik coup d'etat, which was not a revolution at all, and which led to a civil war. It is true that the Soviet government established by the coup called it "the Russian Revolution" but you shouldn't be so gullible as to swallow Communist propaganda.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Sign up for indentured servitude!

[random_ID]

The Company owns the food, the clothes, the housing, the air itself... and you.

Re:Sign up for indentured servitude!

[Opportunist]

So you want to say Mars ain't the place where we could escape that?

How to build a better world

[gmuslera]

Reject all those applications and send to Mars the 100.000 that are in the top 0.1%. Uh, and later send a second batch with lawyers.

Re:How to build a better world

[Bremic]

Destination - Golgafrincham

Mars One torn to shreds by their own AMA

[Quiet Sound]

These people know nothing about space travel and are completely incapable of answering technical questions about the project. They aren't legitimate.

Re:So, wait...

[taiwanjohn]

Yes, at least they are attempting to provide for all those things. But even with multiple redundant fallbacks, it will be a very risky endeavor.

As for landing, Elon Musk claims his next-gen Dragon capsule will be able to land (propulsively) on Mars. That remains to be seen, but at least on paper it is possible. If he can get the Falcon rocket to be fully reusable (another big "if"), it would dramatically reduce the cost of the mission, possibly to the point where this odd "reality show" funding scheme might have a chance of working.

Still, it's not the death I'd choose. But for some adventurous types I can understand the appeal of it.

Re:So, wait...

[nukenerd]

Do these people have plans for recycling systems and habitats that can survive ... As well as have medical staff to deal with people possibly being injured and/or dying?

Don't worry, maybe they will folow the example of the Pilgrim Fathers, who went to America equipped only with several hundred copies of the Bible (but not a single book on agriculture) to help them. The only qualification to go was that they shared some religious issues which today seem not of the slightest importance, and the hope that by resettling in the middle of nowhere their children could not be "drawn away by evil examples into extravagance and dangerous courses". Presumably these volunteers are the present day equivalent nutters.

Can we volunteer *other* people?

[gestalt_n_pepper]

I a little list. They will never be missed...

Re:Can we volunteer *other* people?

[Anonymous Coward]

I think we can fill 535 here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress
and the rest with fortune 500 CEOs.

I'm sure she'll be fine.

[Andunelen]

No, but I signed my mother-in-law up.

Re:Old Barsoomian Proverb

[kannibal_klown]

Really? I heard

There are nooooo cats on Maaarrs, and the streets are paved with cheeese!

DOA

[ebonum]

One solar flare pointed in the wrong direction and they will fry before they get there. Without science fiction, there is no practical shielding tech that offers a solution (a room with 6 inch think lead walls is heavier than you think). Keep in mind, if you have a heavy shielding solution and you get that thing up to speed, slowing down becomes a problem. You could end up flying right past Mars. You could bring some big thrusters to slow you down. Oh wait, that is more weight. Or you could use some superconducting magnets to deflect the charged particles. But then you'll have figure out how to get the spaceship to run without computers. Computers and huge magnetic fields don't mix. And superconducting magnets are extremely heavy. Don't worry. We'll just do it the way they do it in Star Wars.

Are they going to land on the surface? I doubt it. The atmosphere makes it very hard to land anything larger than the rover without making a new crater. If you landed, you would have supplies for a few hours before death. You can't do it with parachutes. You need a big rocket to slow you done. Oops. A lot more weight.

It goes on and on. Mars is distraction. Money and energy should be spent on more practical projects. We'll all be dead from a antibiotic resistant super-bug before we have any hope of putting someone on Mars.

Re:DOA

[jkflying]

I heard one idea of using the water supply as shielding. If we could get the water from the moon it would save a lot of energy lugging it out of the gravity well.

They could do a 'reverse-slingshot' maneuver to bleed off speed using one of Mars's moons.

As to landing, yeah, thruster-based is really the only option. Maybe some way of using some of that shielding as a propellant would work to cut down weight. If they land in the right spot they can dig for more water once they are down.

If a comet comes along at the wrong angle, the human race is toast. I really think our best bet is to get some people off this planet, and self sustaining, ASAP. Maybe if we stopped killing each other for a while we might have the resources to do so.

Re:DOA

[drinkypoo]

One solar flare pointed in the wrong direction and they will fry before they get there. Without science fiction, there is no practical shielding tech that offers a solution (a room with 6 inch think lead walls is heavier than you think).

sigh, and also sigh. It's called water. You need it anyway. It's good for everything.

Are they going to land on the surface? I doubt it. The atmosphere makes it very hard to land anything larger than the rover without making a new crater. If you landed, you would have supplies for a few hours before death. You can't do it with parachutes. You need a big rocket to slow you done

You missed some punctuation there: "You need a big rocket to slow you. Done."

It goes on and on. Mars is distraction. Money and energy should be spent on more practical projects.

Yes. Like asteroid mining. Which would give us the mass in orbit necessary to build meaningful interplanetary missions.

We'll all be dead from a antibiotic resistant super-bug before we have any hope of putting someone on Mars.

Unfortunately, aerospace engineers aren't very useful in solving that problem. Probably we should still let them work on getting us off this mudball before the impactor arrives.

Re:DOA

[AchilleTalon]

They will need radiation shielding on Mars too. Not only for the trip to Mars. So, you have to figure out how to land this mass safely.

Re:DOA

[drinkypoo]

Can you define a value of "us"? How many people is that?

I mean the species. But if we had space elevators, and we stopped breeding, and we built sufficiently large ships, we could probably get a significant portion of the population out of here.

Do you realize how little difference there is between you and a regular doomsday cult?

Yes. The only difference is that most of them are worried about something that will probably never happen, whereas I am concerned about something that will probably happen eventually.

Re:DOA

[interval1066]

One solar flare pointed in the wrong direction...science fiction...blah blah...

And then you go on to paint a very bleak portrait of space travel. We have sent men to the moon, have functioning sattellites, and sent man-made probes to Mars. Also, "one Solar flare" will be a factor with diminishing consequences the further from the sun you are. Clearly your "Space Travel == Instant Annihilation" scenario is not exactly (not even remotely) true. Are you writing a Science Fiction novel?

Re:DOA

[DamonHD]

The "we must not do anything speculative until all more mundane problems are totally solved" view is broken on many fronts, not least of which is ignoring the potential parallelism in progressing our culture and expertise, and the actual practical intractability of many of the "simple" problems especially if they are even defined in relative terms.

Life is neither binary nor single-threaded.

Rgds

Damon

Re:DOA

[tchuladdiass]

There is no need to slow down once you get to Mars (due to the Sun's gravity and orbital mechanics). It's called a transfer orbit. Think of it like throwing an object up on the roof of a building. If you toss it just right, it will land softly. This is also why it takes so long to get to Mars -- if you go any faster, then you would have to "put on the breaks" when you get there.

Re:DOA

[Applehu Akbar]

Power the ship with a fission reactor, and you can use the fuel load, in combination with your water supply, as emergency shielding. The reactor will also come in handy when you get there.

Re:DOA

[couchslug]

"I mean the species. But if we had space elevators, and we stopped breeding, and we built sufficiently large ships, we could probably get a significant portion of the population out of here."

We don't need to evacuate anyone. Making a colony doesn't require moving a bunch of Terrans with short lifespans to Mars, it requires moving a cadre who whose progeny will become Martians.

Ants don't make new anthills by moving the group.

Re:DOA

[jkflying]

Machinery only needs to be lugged up once. In fact, it could even be manufactured up there.

Re:DOA

[FatLittleMonkey]

a room with 6 inch think lead walls is heavier than you think

Minor point, but lead (or any metal) is not the appropriate shield in space. It produces secondary radiation showers that are worse than the incoming radiation. The shielding of choice is hydrogen. That means high-H plastics or water, the latter is preferred for long duration missions for reasons that should be obvious.

Re:DOA

[FatLittleMonkey]

They could do a 'reverse-slingshot' maneuver to bleed off speed using one of Mars's moons.

Mars' moons are way too small to do any kind of gravitational slingshot manoeuvre. You'd probably use an inflatable heatshield and aerobrake into orbit.

Re:DOA

[ShooterNeo]

Not true. At the end of the trip using a transfer orbit, you're still going about 6 kps. That's what the MSL mission control video mentioned on reentry.

The expensive (and completely impractical way) to slow down from 6 kps to under 1 is to bring enough rocket fuel and an engine to make that kind of velocity change. However, you'd need to have a lander almost as big as the rocket that launched the mission.

Or you can try to skim the atmosphere and use a really great heat-shield. That's what MSL did. I understand there's problems with bigger spacecraft doing this, however. That's why landing methods are in doubt.

Re:DOA

[jkflying]

The awesome thing about humans is that we have these people called Scientists and Engineers who make things which haven't been done before. No really, true story. /snark

Stop being such a downer. If you had your way we'd be sending these messages to each other on papyrus scrolls.

Re:DOA

[terrycarlino]

We sent men to the moon as a cover for developing intercontinental ballistic missiles. And as a nationalistic fueled PR stunt. Note how once the U.S. succeeded in sending men to the moon the Soviets gave up? Note how once the Soviets gave up the U.S quickly close down the Apollo program? Of course we sent man-made probes to Mars. We've sent them throughout the solar system. It makes much more sense to send unmanned probes out to collect information than it does to send people. As a matter of fact ask any genuine planetary scientist which makes more sense to send and unmanned probe will be answer every time. Most believe manned space flight is a distraction that prevents money being put into programs which are actually useful for scientific purposes, like more unmanned probes. Sending Satellites into orbit does not require sending people into orbit (unless you're a dysfunctional government agency.) It does make it easier to repair faulty satellites (which have been built by your dysfunctional government agency.) Your solar flare analysis is actually pretty valid. It is much more likely that another Carrington Event will hit Earth than some tine spec of a spacecraft. We should definitely be more worried about it.

Re:DOA

[kermidge]

"We sent men to the moon as a cover for developing intercontinental ballistic missiles."

Of all the bits of revisionist or mis-stated partial histories so far in this thread I can't let that one go.

We needed no cover for developing ICBMs. We, the Sovs, and others did quite nicely developing them openly. We already had ICBMs and were developing others and continued to do so well into the '80s. See:

http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/nudb/datab3.asp for land-based, historical and current, and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trident_missile for submarine-based ICBMs in current inventory;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICBM gives an overview and history.

You will note that Saturn was entirely separate from ICBM development, started by Eisenhower who favored solid fuels for ICBMs as in Minuteman, Polaris, and on.

Name me one ICBM derived from the Saturn stack.

Re:DOA

[tchuladdiass]

The 6kps speed is due to the gravity of Mars pulling the spacecraft into it. From a pure orbital mechanics standpoint though, once the object gets to Mars's orbit, if the planet isn't there to catch it then it will fall into an elliptical orbit about the Sun, with the high point at Mars's orbit and the low point at Earth's. So the trick is to to have it meet Mars at the right time, so that it captures the spacecraft in it's planetary orbit. At that point, the only energy needed is to break orbit and land (which as you pointed out is about 6kps). (I was wrong to use the analogy of "landing softly", I should have been more clear that it was referring to getting to Mars's orbit without breaking).

Re:DOA

[ShooterNeo]

6 kps is faster than escape velocity for Mars. So if you don't have a way to slow down, won't the spacecraft just hurtle past Mars (or slam into it at high speed)

I understand sorta what you're talking about regarding an elliptical orbit, it makes sense via conservation of energy, and it works that way in KSP. :)

In any case, from an engineering prospective, to land on Mars with a big heavy lander full of people and supplies is a difficult problem. I *think* that a similar approach to that used by the MSL may work, that a capsule the size of SpaceX dragon can slow down using it's heat shield, then deploy parachutes, then use rocket engines for a soft touchdown.

But it's by no means guaranteed and is extremely dangerous. Also, there doesn't seem like there is any room at all for aborts or error. When the spacecraft comes screaming in at 6kps towards Mars, they gotta either land or die, right? No way to go into orbit around Mars without it costing a lot of fuel.

Re: Look to the 1700s, my friend.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh please not another right-wing overly-religious gun-crazy shithole devoid of common sense, humanity and decency. One 'murica is already too much. If it wouldn't be for California and the East coast, 'Murica should be nuked for good.

Re: So, wait...

[drinkypoo]

The religious idiots had an advantage : they could slaughter the inhabitants and just seize already cultivated land and resources and eat all the animals they could find. Settling 'Murica was probably the easiest in the history of mankind.

The advantage they actually had was that the native Americans had already been decimated (in the modern sense; actually, they were reduced to the tenth man, not by him) by contact with the diseases of the Spanish.

Re:Look to the 1700s, my friend.

[Anonymous Coward]

What happened when European men and women landed upon the shores of the glorious New World? Why, they had children.

They also had breathable air, food and the possibly of a resupply within 1-2 months. They also had the benefit of visit a land that was already occupied by humans.

Who did these children grow up to become? THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

Early visitors mostly died or went home. You seem to be under the impression that these volunteers will be starting families and chowing down on turkey dinners with the natives. A manned trip to mars is very ambitious, and with no way back these volunteers will probably die. Even if they had a return ship, it'd still be over six months of travel time. Just to remind you: No air, no native food, no Squanto, no raising kids and colonising Mars - at least not at this stage.

What would happen to the first children on Mars? They would become THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE UNITED STATES OF MARTIAN AMERICA!

They'd probably become founding members of the Mars Base graveyard.

Not that bad

[SuperKendall]

They will need radiation shielding on Mars too.

In a talk on current measurements for radiation levels on Mars I attended, the scientists responsible for the radiation measurement instrumentation said the rough dose you would get per year is around 100 x-rays worth. That's quite a lot, but not going to kill you anytime soon.

That was with little solar activity, but you could provide a shielded area to retreat to if something happened to hit while the sun was up.

Nope

[DerekLyons]

"The application process is ongoing; have you signed up?"

Nope. I'm not a fool.

And I suspect all but a tiny number of those signed up would turn tail and run if and when they were actually selected and it came time to board. The number of people chasing a 'net fad is pretty much meaningless.

This is a publicity stunt for a low-budget TV show

[Anonymous Coward]

The whole thing is a hoax, they're never going to send any people to Mars.

Re:Old Barsoomian Proverb

[interval1066]

Seriously? You must be new to American Geek Culture.

Hollywood title to come in a near future.

[TheP4st]

Cabin Fever 2.0, based on a true story.

Will not survive!

[Anonymous Coward]

Even if they survive the trip, then won't survive the stay.
All it takes is one broken bone, and they're done.

And Mars One will be like a TV reality show, everyone will be pleading for money and food,
because the Dutch company won't have enough money to send them care packages every 7 months.

So, the people of Earth will be expected to pay a million-dollar bill, or watch them die.
Help! Send us Money! Sens us Food! Or we will die on Mars!

Stop giving this scam free press!

[notanalien_justgreen]

I really wish people would stop posting MarsOne propaganda. It's a scam, pure and simple. It's been pointed out time and time again that their team is primarily artists and PR people. Just look here for yourself:

http://www.mars-one.com/en/about-mars-one/team

Of the 7 people listed there's: an artist, an editor, a communication specialist, a communications director, and an MD. There's only 2 people who could conceivably have any expertise on getting to Mars.

They did an interview (AMA) on reddit and were torn apart:

http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/ufb42/ama_i_am_founder_of_mars_one_sending_four_people/

STOP FEEDING THESE PEOPLE FREE PRESS!

Re:Stop giving this scam free press!

[tibman]

That AMA is pretty hard to read. All the Mars-one posts are buried. Looks like a bunch of people shouting at someone who isn't in the room.

Not in this body

[TuringCheck]

Considering my age and health - I'll pass.
However, if a cyborg or fully synthetic body becomes possible meanwhile...

Life imitates art

[jtownatpunk.net]

"I don't want to live on this planet any more."

    -- Hubert J. Farnsworth

(Made you read that in his voice.)

Re:Registration Fee

[Zero__Kelvin]

" They're going to spend millions-to-billions to send people to Mars... and they want a registration fee. What, to filter out the random "oh, I wanna go!" morons?"

Yes. They clearly want the predictable "oh, I wanna go" morons.

100,000?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ok, how many of you submitted timothy's name?

Re:Mars Needs Women!

[PPH]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybSzoLCCX-Y#t=1m30s

Re:Hoax - The project of stupiity

[Applehu Akbar]

150 years ago, large numbers of people decided to go one-way to California. An easy decision, you say? There was no Silicon Valley and no Hollywood. The northern part of bear-infested wilderness, and the southern half was uninhabitable because it had no water supply.

Re: So, wait...

[nukenerd]

The religious idiots had an advantage : they could slaughter the inhabitants and just seize already cultivated land

The Pilgrim fathers were idiots, but were idealists, and I don't think you can accuse them of that behaviour. That was by later waves of settlers who only came when they heard exagerated stories of free land and gold. It was always so with vested interests trying to encourage migration (that is why Greenland was called "Green" land or even "Vine" land - as if it were warm enough to grow vines). We see similar today, with immigrants wanting to get to the UK and USA in the mistaken belief that the streets are paved with gold, the only difference being that the paving belief is now a figurative one.

In fact the Pilgrim Fathers nearly starved to death and the native Indians took pity and gave them food, so some survived. I would not have blamed the Indians if they had left the Pilgrim Fathers to rot, as many other early American colonists did, but are less well known because they did not live to tell the tale.

forget the humans

[ebno-10db]

Never send a man to do a robot's job.

Re:more than 100,000 volunteers have announced the

[ebno-10db]

Listen, these numbers include wives/girlfriends signing their SO up without their knowledge

So that explains my name on the list.

Re:Look to the 1700s, my friend.

[Shadowmist]

What happened when European men and women landed upon the shores of the glorious New World? Why, they had children.

Who did these children grow up to become? THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

What would happen to the first children on Mars? They would become THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE UNITED STATES OF MARTIAN AMERICA!

It's not an equivalent situation. Conditions in the early American colonies were harsh because the colonists weren't prepared for the transition and unused to the climate which led to a 50 percent mortality rate in the first year. However as settlements stabilised, the environment soon became as habitable as the one they left. Mars isn't like that. It hasn't got an atmosphere worth a dam, and you're going to have the option of striking out and staking your acre of land as you're not going to be able to grow anything just by relying on what "nature" provides. It will remain just as hostile an environment 200 years from now as it is today. Given the living conditions that are going to be available, you pretty much have to be willing to consign yourself to an effective prison for the rest of your life. Granted that there are people who are so disfunctional with their present lives that they will sign up. But are those the kind of people you want to start a colony around?

Potential PR Nightmare

[MBGMorden]

I understand this - I really do, but the potential for negative publicity is high here.

Everybody's imagining brave souls doing this for exploration and such, but when death is closer the chance of one person buckling is much higher. Can you imagine the videos circulating of one or more of these people sending back messages when they got there saying that they made a mistake and begging for help? Help that we couldn't really provide even if we wanted to? It could really taint the public perception of space travel.

Call me a cynic, but if we are going to send something there is should at a minimum provide enough soil, solar generators, etc to keep the crew alive for the foreseeable future once they get there.

One way trip is fine - I just don't think the "You get the and then starve to death or commit suicide." route is productive.

As phony as could be

[braindrainbahrain]

If this project is real, where are the rocket designs? Where are the hundreds of engineers and scientists working on the project? In fact there is NOT A SINGLE ONE! Not one person with scientific, engineering or technical knowledge has been identified as working on this. There are no want ads to hire those hundreds of engineers either.

Re:Look to the 1700s, my friend.

[mysidia]

Early visitors mostly died or went home. You seem to be under the impression that these volunteers will be starting families and chowing down on turkey dinners with the natives. A manned trip to mars is very ambitious, and with no way back these volunteers will probably die. Even if they had a return ship

Or not... assuming the plans are suitably laid out ahead of time, and they receive appropriate training.

To be successful they do not a reasonable plan that results in a sustainable settlement, where the inhabitants can be expected to live out the rest of their natural lives without starving, getting suffocated, irradiated, or freezing to death, etc.

Does anybody remember the Curiosity landing?

[Anonymous Coward]

People may want to check out the 7 Minutes of Terror video. They needed a heat shield, a supersonic parachute (opening it created 9 Gs), rockets, and a sky crane to get an SUV sized rover onto the surface of Mars.

Human astronauts will require even more equipment to survive on the surface of Mars. How are they going to get the crew and all their stuff onto the surface of Mars safely?

Why should i leave earth?

[drolli]

Putting a human on mars without the possibility to return or build something meaningful there is a pointless exercise. We know the effects of zero gravity and radiation on the body, and the amount of drugs they would have to take regularly to reduce the probability of a psychological breakdown would be huge. What happen is somebody actually only realizes on the way to Mars that he actually does *not* want to die but live another 50 years on earth. Selecting a mission crew from people who volunteer for death is the most reliable way to have a strongly increased percentage of people with a psychological problem. It would cost as much as 100 curiosity missions to put even 5 humans on mars, for an experiment less useful than putting poor Leika into space, with an increased probability of failure.

If you want to conquer mars, then build robots who build a station there first. Wait until we have some transport which allows us to assemble decent (radiation shielded) ships in orbit. If you have th erechnology ready, the send humans.

I might..

[SuperDre]

I might even consider signing up, but the biggest problem I have with this so called endevour is the fact they want to do it as a 'big brother' tv-show, having yourself videotaped 24-7.. That's the reason I wouldn't sign up.. I don't mind camera's being on (except in the bedroom/bathroom) so command-center can keep an eye out, but I object to it being broadcast to the dumbwhitted tv-watchers..
Also it being done by a company that has no track-record of even sending a satellite into space is another big problem.. even though they say some space-heavyweights are onboard.. And people telling, 'oh but it's not NASA, how can they even think about space-travel', NASA isn't the only space-institude, also ESA (european space agency) is a big one.
But asking money for signing up also seems a lot like a big scam to me..

Another problem with all those 100K people who already signed up, is the fact that they have no idea what they are getting themselves into, I'll bet a lot of them just want to be on TV (the reality-show part of the trip)..

Golgafrincham Arc B

[romons]

Telephone sanitizers welcome!