Ok, if I’m gonna make my colony, I need a list of things needed. I’m also going to need a list of qualifiers for folks to adhere to to emmigrate.
So,
What do we need (assuming space flight is there for it) to put a colony on Mars, materially speaking?
What should be on the application to be a colonist? What should we look for?
I think this is sufficiently far off into the future as to defy a General Questions answer. I’ll send this thread to IMHO to see what they have to say there.
Depends on just how self-sufficient you intend your colony to be. A permanent human presence on Mars would probably go in four stages:
(1) A “base” consisting of habitat modules sent from Earth, totally dependent upon regular shipments of supplies. Similar to what we currently have at the South Pole.
(2) Self-sufficiency in consumptables like air, water, food, fuel and energy; the ability to construct living space and other structures with Earth-supplied materials and tools
(3) Mining of local materials for basics like metals and ceramics. Local manufacture of common items like clothing. Nearly self-sufficient except for specialized equipment.
(4) Total self-sufficiency, which would mean duplicating Earth’s entire technological infrastructure. This would mean cities full of factories, mines, tens of thousands of engineers and technical specialists, and enough people to enable the economy of scale necessary to maintain it all. I think a total population of tens of millions would be needed.
WANTED: MARTIAN COLONISTS. Must have academic/technical degree in needed specialities. Will have to permanently endure close confinement and limited material comforts. Compatable personality traits indispensable. Must be prepared to leave past life behind irrevocably.
Well, this is a first… first time I’ve had one of my threads moved… I feel so giddy… heheheh
Well, yeah I was thinking of the 4th option, but I believe you’re right, we would need a massive fleet of ships and thousands of colonists…
I was thinking something like a mix of 2 and 3… a large scale colony that could probably do without Earth, but it would not be comfy to do so.
I’ve ran this scenario through my head lots… I’m curious to see what you learned folks say.
And where would the line be drawn, people wise, if this is a private venture? The idea being to create a colony that is self sustaining (mostly) we would want the best colonists possible… what sort of physical characteristics? What intellectual? Is a high IQ enough, or is proven academia necessary?
Hmmm… I feel a short story coming on…
Dunno about using either IQ or academic credentials as a qualifier. I’ve seen some geniuses/academics that are damn dangerous in almost any Real Life situation you care to name. And some people that you would swear were dumber than a bagful of rocks that turned out to be able to do all sorts of interesting and useful things “that Granda taught me”.
Anyways . . .
Maybe picking people who already have a frontier mentality, and can demonstrate required skills, through career review and lifestyle choice. I also found people’s home libraries to be VERY enlightening about their personalities. Odds are good if they have a large collection of fantasy,sci-fi, and reference books, they would be a good prospect regardless of IQ or academic qualification.
F’r instance, ahem my usually-less-than-humble self. I live in the Arctic, therefore demonstrating the ability to deal with both isolation and close confinement with others. (Family of five in a two-room cabin for a month at -50C. There is some debate over whether we survived with sanity intact.) I survived at a technical Helpdesk for seven years, demonstrating an inhumanly high tolerance for stress (or stupidity and complacency, take yer pick). And through the incredible book collection my husband and I have amassed, I have some idea what we’d be getting into.
Question - couples or singles? Children or not? Family units? (ie, extended families - grandparents, aunts,uncles, etc…etc…)
Tisiphone