what would a sustainable human settlement be like on mars?
Everybody knows earth is going downhill with Global warming and climate change so instead of trying to save the planet people are looking for a planet B. Mars has been the best contender so far so many rovers have been sent and although moving the human population to mars is in the far future what would it be like if people made a human settlement but made it sustainable so maybe we won’t need a planet C.
First you would have to send about 50-100 people to start to build the new empire of the world. NASA and its partners have even set a goal to put people on mars except they wouldn’t just put regular people they would put leading scientists, engineers and innovators who would have already developed ideas and plans for how they were going to live up there when mars are so much different from earth. The astronauts will also have to be prepared because they will have to go through a lot just to get there. First land safely and make it with all their materials and make a base camp. Before that, scientists will need to find a method for astronauts to be able to breathe air there and find drinkable water. Not to mention they also must find a reliable power source.
It takes 8 months to get to mars so imagine having to move the entire population which is about 8 billion people. Also, it’s not just physical obstacles people have to deal with. The whole point of moving to mars would be to be sustainable and to not make the same mistakes. How can we do that if people won’t change? I know everyone has a right to their opinions but with wars and laws like the abortion law and black lives matter and people storming the capital how would those people change on mars. If everyone stays in their way and keeps fighting, then there’s no point in moving planets. If mars is going to be a fresh start, then we would have to stop fighting and making problems. Not to take in the fact that there will probably be people that don’t move and stay on earth. What would happen to them?
Lastly the whole sustainable part of living on mars that means everything has to have a sustainable answer. All things will need an exit plan for everything to be able to be repurposed and reused. Also, if you didn’t know we would die if we breathe CO2 ! But somehow scientists are wanting to find a way to live in an atmosphere that is mostly composed of CO2. The only way scientists even entertain the idea is because they predict they could utilize CO2 as a feedstock for making oxygen and fuels to survive on mars. Also, I mean what other ideas do they have? We can’t live on mars without air, and they can’t just send up enough oxygen tanks to keep the whole world alive. Also, the birth and death rate will change, and the birth rate might go up. The point is they can’t just send up oxygen.
In conclusion we would face a lot of obstacles with breathable air, being sustainable, changing the habits of the world and having to send a starter group to figure everything out. I think it would just be easier and better if we stayed on earth and changed the way we are. Stop fighting and not trying to find planet B. We should just save the one were on. I know it’s been millions of years of bad things on earth, I think we can fix it. Become sustainable and stop climate change and realize it’s easier to stay here than move to a new planet.