First Mars colony question.

[flux_29]

First Mars colony questions.

After we have landed on Mars, done all the Apollo stuff and want to start a permanent base/colony (scientists not civilians);

- Other than the obvious planetary differences how would life be different for the population (habitat, dad-to-day activities, work, medical/medicine, growing food, social structure, problems etc).

- If a baby was concived & born on Mars, would that child be able to return to Earth, or would the difference in gravity be to much?

- With Mars having a weaker magnetic field - to deflect solar winds, coronal mass ejections, radiation etc. How would the this alter everyday life for the colonists?

 

[sojourner]

Re: First Mars colony questions.

It really depends on when that colony is established, and what technology is available at the time.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: First Mars colony questions.

After we have landed on Mars, done all the Apollo stuff and want to start a permanent base/colony (scientists not civilians)

- With Mars having a weaker magnetic field - to deflect solar winds, coronal mass ejections, radiation etc. How would the this alter everyday life for the colonists?

check out this 'A forum for Mars enthusiasts, provided by the Mars Society'. http://www.newmars.com/forums

specifically the subforum:
Life support systems The problems of producing food, air and water on Mars

 

[scotpens]

Re: First Mars colony questions.

Life support systems The problems of producing food, air and water on Mars

This guy had all that stuff figured out 46 years ago.

 

[sevenstars]

Have you read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars books? I found their descriptions of social and planetary engineering unforgettable.

It's kind of fascinating to think about how a human society which begins in such a confined and presumably stressful condition would evolve...

 

[EyalM]

Re: First Mars colony questions.

After we have landed on Mars, done all the Apollo stuff and want to start a permanent base/colony (scientists not civilians);

- Other than the obvious planetary differences how would life be different for the population (habitat, dad-to-day activities, work, medical/medicine, growing food, social structure, problems etc).

Well, the social structure depends on the nature of the colony. If people would only go there for a limited amount of time and then head back to Earth, then it will likely be similar to current Antarctic research bases (who also spend long periods of time cut off from the rest of the world).

- If a baby was conceived & born on Mars, would that child be able to return to Earth, or would the difference in gravity be to much?

Going back to Earth will be no different for someone who was born on Mars then to someone who just happened to live there for more then a very short period of time, since muscle entropy can happen fairly quickly. Just taking the few months trip between the planets would make you unable to walk or stand up unless you exercised regularly.

- With Mars having a weaker magnetic field - to deflect solar winds, coronal mass ejections, radiation etc. How would the this alter everyday life for the colonists?

No idea, but Mars is also a lot further from the sun then Earth is, so it may not be an issue.

 

[Deckerd]

Mars isn't that much further from the sun. It gets flayed by solar winds because its magnetic field can't protect it.

 

[Lindley]

Mars isn't that much further from the sun.

Half again our orbit. Nothing to sneeze at.

 

[Deckerd]

The argument was that its distance meant it wasn't so vulnerable to the sun's output. I was merely pointing out that it very much is.

 

[flux_29]

Re: First Mars colony questions.

After we have landed on Mars, done all the Apollo stuff and want to start a permanent base/colony (scientists not civilians);

- Other than the obvious planetary differences how would life be different for the population (habitat, dad-to-day activities, work, medical/medicine, growing food, social structure, problems etc).

Well, the social structure depends on the nature of the colony. If people would only go there for a limited amount of time and then head back to Earth, then it will likely be similar to current Antarctic research bases (who also spend long periods of time cut off from the rest of the world).

What about long term - over 6-9 months to mars, a year or two on mars then 6-9 months back to earth?

 

[T'Girl]

Re: First Mars colony questions.

- If a baby was conceived & born on Mars, would that child be able to return to Earth, or would the difference in gravity be to much?

Going back to Earth will be no different for someone who was born on Mars then to someone who just happened to live there for more then a very short period of time, since muscle entropy can happen fairly quickly. Just taking the few months trip between the planets would make you unable to walk or stand up unless you exercised regularly.

Muscle entropy might not be the main problem, although it would be a secondary one. People who had a sedentary childhood have much lower bone density than if their youth was spent engaging in athletics and outdoor activities. People born on Mars, even if their lives including a fair amount of activity in that environment, might find on Earth that the rest of their lives would be filled will health problems.

It possible that their development in the womb might be abnormal too.

 

[Orcus]

I'm rather more interested in the legal/political conjecture regarding the citizenship status of a baby born on Mars: would that baby be allowed to live on Earth or would they not be regarded as a citizen of Earth? And, if so, which country would grant them residency?

 

[scotpens]

I'm rather more interested in the legal/political conjecture regarding the citizenship status of a baby born on Mars: would that baby be allowed to live on Earth or would they not be regarded as a citizen of Earth? And, if so, which country would grant them residency?

That would all depend, of course, on the political status of the Martian colony.

Article II of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 states:

Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.

So, presumably, a colony on Mars wouldn't be subject to territorial claims by any country. A child born to parents of Swedish citizenship, for example, would probably be a citizen of Sweden by default. If the mother and father were citizens of different countries or held multiple citizenships, laws would have to be worked out so that Martian-born children wouldn't become stateless persons.

If the colony was recognized as a sovereign state in its own right, people born there would have the status of foreign nationals when they visited Earth.