Re: Why Elon Musk Sees 1 Million People on Mars by the 2040s

On 7/12/24 09:34, Jim Wilkins wrote:
> "a425couple"  wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> 
> from
> https://www.inc.com/chloe-aiello/why-elon-musk-sees-1-million-people-on-mars-by-2040s.html
> 
> Why Elon Musk Sees 1 Million People on Mars by the 2040s
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Are these the million people trying to colonize the Sahara?


I do not know.

I think somewhere was a quote, I can not remember well enough.
But Google gave me this that is on the general topic:

r/IsaacArthur icon
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r/IsaacArthur
•
3 yr. ago
D3cepti0ns

To all the people that would choose to live on Mars but not in 
Antarctica, why?
I just don't understand why anybody would actually want to live on Mars. 
I don't think people quite understand how desolate it is. Antarctica is 
a thousand times more hospitable, but you don't see people volunteering 
to move there. You want oxygen, higher temps, abundant water, agreeable 
gravity, radiation protection, fast communication? Mars isn't probably 
for you.

If you'd volunteer to live on Mars but not in the middle of Antarctica 
you seriously misunderstand the situation you are so excited to 
volunteer for. I don't think anyone will be living on Mars before anyone 
is living in Antarctica.



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u/Flaxinator avatar
Flaxinator
•
3y ago
People don't want to go there for the comfort and amenities, they want 
to go because it is a different planet. They want to be part of the next 
great leap for humankind, even if it means discomfort and hardship.



u/Harbingerx81 avatar
Harbingerx81
•
3y ago
It saddens me how many people find this so hard to understand.


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u/MandatoryFunEscapee avatar
MandatoryFunEscapee
•
3y ago
Humans haven't had to pioneer a new frontier in a while now. I would not 
go on one of the first missions, but I would go on one of the first 20 
or so, if given the chance.

The opportunities, the discoveries, the adventure sounds incredible. 
I've deployed with the military a few times. I can sleep anywhere, carry 
all my stuff in a ruck, I'm used to uncomfortable rides and wearing 
equipment to counter rough environments. Going to Mars is orders of 
magnitude more difficult and intense than anything I've ever done, but I 
bet I would truly feel alive again in a way I haven't in years, and may 
never feel again.

That alone is worth the risk.

theistdoge
•
3y ago
•
Edited 3y ago
I'm not going to volunteer to live on Mars, but I can point out at least 
a few things:

The Antarctic Treaty System makes it really, really difficult to legally 
settle Antarctica.

Antarctica actually do have residents all year round. Amundsen-Scott 
base on the south pole for example. There are even a few people born on 
the continent.

Mars doesn't have a 6 month long night, so you can have solar all year 
round.

Mars doesn't have the kinds of storms that can make you unable to walk 
outside and will blow you away if you're caught unawares.

Mars doesn't have the kind of ice that literally bury your station over 
the winter. It has dust that would cover it in a layer, but that's a lot 
easier to handle.

Temperatures are similar, but conduction/convection through the Mars 
atmosphere is much, much slower. So staying warm is lots easier. In some 
cases, you may have a problem cooling down.

What it does have in common is radiation - Mars is a harsher, but the 
poles are also significant.

Mars is harsh, but it's not all the same things and in some ways the 
Martian harshness is easier to handle. Curiosity wouldn't have survived 
a week on Antarctica, let alone 8 years - and I don't know if we could 
even build a rover that survives 8 years there.

Despite all this, I think there would be some people who would have 
tried to set up shop on Antarctica if it weren't for the ATS. We are > 6 
billion people and you're going to find some percentage (however small) 
that would like that kind of thing. Same is going to apply to Mars.

You want oxygen, higher temps, abundant water, agreeable gravity, 
radiation protection, fast communication?

What you're saying is you can't go outside with only a t-shirt and jeans 
on and you can't talk with your old mum in real time or google cat 
memes. Everyone that wants to go already knows that and still wants to. 
What you're doing is pointing out your own preferences and assuming it 
applies to literally everyone.

agreeable gravity

Question is how would partial gravity affect reproduction? Muscle/bone 
atrophy is not a huge issue since any martians will be doing lots of 
hard physical labor, especially in the beginning.



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u/Ilyushenka avatar
Ilyushenka
•
3y ago
People who want to go to Mars are not doing it for the comfort, they are 
doing it because they want to be part of something important. Astronauts 
who travel to the ISS face discomfort and danger for up to a year, yet 
most of them would say it’s one of the most rewarding and fulfilling 
experiences in life.

Colonizing Antarctica won’t provide much tangible benefit to humanity 
(aside from the research we’re already doing), but Mars will help us in 
lots of ways. Learning to terraform Mars and turn barren regolith into 
soil will help us learn to use earth’s resources more efficiently. Mars 
will also act as a helpful launchpad for exploring the rest of the solar 
system, since we can potentially launch rockets from there more cheaply 
because of the lower gravity. Finally, a self sustaining civilization on 
Mars would help safeguard humanity against catastrophe.



[deleted]
Titanosaurus
•
3y ago
Whoa whoa whoa. Let’s not get too pretentious with our thoughts. 
Antarctica is the last part of earth to colonize. There’s untapped 
resources that can last humanity 100s if not thousands of years. It’s a 
continent, not some deserted island in the middle of the pacific.

There is a lot of benefit to humanity in Antarctica.