Colonizing Mars

[dogechode]

I think the real "cost" of anything they do on Mars is hard to judge. Some of what they need in terms of materials may end up coming from Mars itself. Once we get people up there, are they going to be "paid" for the time they spend performing useful tasks on Mars? This is a really interesting question. Would they be paid on Earth or on Mars? Keep in mind that at least for Mars One, the current plan is for them to stay on Mars indefinitely - there isn't really a return trip planned.

If they aren't going to be paid other than having their living needs accommodated, they would be more or less working for free once they are up there, with the motivation being that the 'work' they do is improving the environment they now live in. I'd say that's a pretty powerful motivator. Although I suspect an economy would spring up and they'd begin bartering with each other, especially as more colonists are added. But in the beginning, with like 4 or 8 people? Doubtful.

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[counter]

I personally think Mars is already colonized but I don't have any proof just speaking my mind.  The more I've learned about the world the more something like that would surprise me.

[Dogtanian]

I personally think Mars is already colonized but I don't have any proof just speaking my mind.  The more I've learned about the world the more something like that would surprise me.

lolwat? There was or is a rover on mars - I'm sure it would've seen this colonisation.

[counter]

There was also evidence of microbial life on Mars and structures that looked man made.  So many things that should be talked about and widely known aren't and when someone brings them up they are laughed at...  True or not the topics are not a laughing matter IMO.  I mean what does that say about our society as a whole?

Edit:  And my comments aren't met directed at you personally Dogtanian.  Really just making an observation.

[Dogtanian]

There was also evidence of microbial life on Mars and structures that looked man made.  So many things that should be talked about and widely known aren't and when someone brings them up they are laughed at...  True or not the topics are not a laughing matter IMO.  I mean what does that say about our society as a whole?

Edit:  And my comments aren't met directed at you personally Dogtanian.  Really just making an observation.

I haven't seen any pictures on objects looking man made but there are some intersting rock formations or whatever.

What is your avatar from btw?

[counter]

It is a pic of Wilfred the dog.  A character on the tv show "Wilfred".  He's holding a cannabis plant and smelling it.

[dogechode]

I personally think Mars is already colonized but I don't have any proof just speaking my mind.  The more I've learned about the world the more something like that would surprise me.

lolwat? There was or is a rover on mars - I'm sure it would've seen this colonisation.

I believe there are two rovers and it seems like they keep finding more and more evidence that's leaning towards the possibility of prior life having existed on Mars (though of course nothing concrete yet.) Let's not forget it wasn't that long ago that we didn't even know they was water on Mars.

As far as man-made structures, I have not heard of this but I am totally open to the idea that there may be or may have been intelligent life on Mars and elsewhere. Any basic mathematician can tell you that the probability of there being more than 1 planet with intelligent life in the entire universe, is much greater than the probability of Earth being the only planet with intelligent life.

I think it's mainly narcissism that leads many people to be so resistant to the idea that yes, there probably are other intelligent species out there in the universe and the idea that we are "alone" is quite naive and silly at this point.

[Dogtanian]

I personally think Mars is already colonized but I don't have any proof just speaking my mind.  The more I've learned about the world the more something like that would surprise me.

lolwat? There was or is a rover on mars - I'm sure it would've seen this colonisation.

I believe there are two rovers and it seems like they keep finding more and more evidence that's leaning towards the possibility of prior life having existed on Mars (though of course nothing concrete yet.) Let's not forget it wasn't that long ago that we didn't even know they was water on Mars.

As far as man-made structures, I have not heard of this but I am totally open to the idea that there may be or may have been intelligent life on Mars and elsewhere. Any basic mathematician can tell you that the probability of there being more than 1 planet with intelligent life in the entire universe, is much greater than the probability of Earth being the only planet with intelligent life.

There probably is life elsewhere in the universe but not any where close to earth.

[MisterDD]

I heard something about that. I think there was already some selection of potential candidates for a flight to Mars. I am not sure, but that is one way ticket, and those people will stay there. I am not sure if those plans will be realized, but that is what I read about that. Time will tell.

[Gervais]

I dont think they'll find any evidence of prior life on mars.

[Lauda]

I don't think terraforming has to be prohibitively expensive. The bigger issue is we just need to get people up there. If you try to predict every future expense and plan it all out like 100 years in advance it will just never begin. One piece at a time, then keep growing and adding things and others will jump on the bandwagon and send up their own colonists... really we just need to get the ball rolling.

It'd be the most expensive thing ever conducted. I imagine colonizing a planet and building infrastructure would be too.

Terraforming Mars wouldn't be expensive. I can't really remember the details, but I did see a video once on how it could be done. It didn't seem like an expensive thing to do (when you're already up there).

[Dogtanian]

I don't think terraforming has to be prohibitively expensive. The bigger issue is we just need to get people up there. If you try to predict every future expense and plan it all out like 100 years in advance it will just never begin. One piece at a time, then keep growing and adding things and others will jump on the bandwagon and send up their own colonists... really we just need to get the ball rolling.

It'd be the most expensive thing ever conducted. I imagine colonizing a planet and building infrastructure would be too.

Terraforming Mars wouldn't be expensive. I can't really remember the details, but I did see a video once on how it could be done. It didn't seem like an expensive thing to do (when you're already up there).

Anything to back this up? Is true terraforming actually even possible? Just actually getting the stuff you needed there would probably the costliest thing ever.

[Lauda]

Terraforming Mars wouldn't be expensive. I can't really remember the details, but I did see a video once on how it could be done. It didn't seem like an expensive thing to do (when you're already up there).

Anything to back this up? Is true terraforming actually even possible? Just actually getting the stuff you needed there would probably the costliest thing ever.

I don't have time to do too much research but here is this :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars
There are many proposed methods of doing this.

[Dogtanian]

Terraforming Mars wouldn't be expensive. I can't really remember the details, but I did see a video once on how it could be done. It didn't seem like an expensive thing to do (when you're already up there).

Anything to back this up? Is true terraforming actually even possible? Just actually getting the stuff you needed there would probably the costliest thing ever.

I don't have time to do too much research but here is this :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars
There are many proposed methods of doing this.

The terraforming of Mars is the hypothetical process

It seems to be pretty much science fiction as this point

[Lauda]

I don't have time to do too much research but here is this :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars
There are many proposed methods of doing this.

The terraforming of Mars is the hypothetical process

It seems to be pretty much science fiction as this point

No. Hypothetical because we haven't even been able to send a single person to Mars, not to mention trying to terraform it. Even something fast as a warp drive isn't science fiction anymore, because the proper research is being done (the main issue is the amount of energy that we need).

[Dogtanian]

I don't have time to do too much research but here is this :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars
There are many proposed methods of doing this.

The terraforming of Mars is the hypothetical process

It seems to be pretty much science fiction as this point

No. Hypothetical because we haven't even been able to send a single person to Mars, not to mention trying to terraform it. Even something fast as a warp drive isn't science fiction anymore, because the proper research is being done (the main issue is the amount of energy that we need).

That's not it at all. It's hypothetical because it's just fantasy based on what's theoretically possible. None of what they suggested has been tested and unlikely ever will.

[dogechode]

Remember that many modern devices and technologies we now take for granted were once hailed as science fiction. There are concept sketches of primitive tanks and airplanes from I believe the medieval time period. Cell phones and lasers were once thought of as wild science fiction ideas, now they are widely used. Space ships were thought of as outrageously absurd until the early to mid-1900s.

[sdp]

Americas were colonized thanks to furs, and gold.  But the price to get something into orbit is on the order of the price of gold itself.  Why not colonize Antarctica or the depths, instead?   

Antarctica : Very cold, but air and even some animals.
Mars        : Makes Antarctica look like Hawaii:  There is air but too thin to breathe maybe deep underground the air might be think enough

It's not like another temperate continent just farther away.  The species will not spread (i.e. people will not move) to Mars on an altruistic notion of protecting the species.  There needs to be an economic incentive for it.

Shawn Pringle

[dogechode]

Americas were colonized thanks to furs, and gold.  But the price to get something into orbit is on the order of the price of gold itself.  Why not colonize Antarctica or the depths, instead?   

Antarctica : Very cold, but air and even some animals.
Mars        : Makes Antarctica look like Hawaii:  There is air but too thin to breathe maybe deep underground the air might be think enough

It's not like another temperate continent just farther away.  The species will not spread (i.e. people will not move) to Mars on an altruistic notion of protecting the species.  There needs to be an economic incentive for it.

Shawn Pringle

When the United States was still a new country, they faced a problem. They had acquired a massive piece of land in the west but it was wild and dangerous, and they needed to populate it in order to solidify their ownership and control of said land. So what did they do? They basically told people that if they went west, they could claim a chunk of land for free just by settling on it. And people went in fucking droves. They heard stories about other settlers not surviving the journey, being attacked by hostile native tribes, dying of disease, etc. And yet they still went.

Mars is a new frontier. People will want to go just to get a fresh start and have a chance to be in on something new from the ground floor.

[blacksails]

Americas were colonized thanks to furs, and gold.  But the price to get something into orbit is on the order of the price of gold itself.  Why not colonize Antarctica or the depths, instead?   

Antarctica : Very cold, but air and even some animals.
Mars        : Makes Antarctica look like Hawaii:  There is air but too thin to breathe maybe deep underground the air might be think enough

It's not like another temperate continent just farther away.  The species will not spread (i.e. people will not move) to Mars on an altruistic notion of protecting the species.  There needs to be an economic incentive for it.

Shawn Pringle

I totally agree with you. That would be easier and cheaper.
But, just to warn you, kuroman will not agree, and he'll start telling you how wrong you are, and how much better his plans of colonizing Mars are. You have been warned.

When the United States was still a new country, they faced a problem. They had acquired a massive piece of land in the west but it was wild and dangerous, and they needed to populate it in order to solidify their ownership and control of said land. So what did they do? They basically told people that if they went west, they could claim a chunk of land for free just by settling on it. And people went in fucking droves. They heard stories about other settlers not surviving the journey, being attacked by hostile native tribes, dying of disease, etc. And yet they still went.

Mars is a new frontier. People will want to go just to get a fresh start and have a chance to be in on something new from the ground floor.

Yes, but people went to America because they wanted a better life, political and religious freedom and such things. It didn't cost that much to cross the ocean either. They were aware that they would probably never return, and accepted it since they were desperate.
The problem with Mars is that it would require extremely much money, and that would require government funding or from some really rich person. But non of them are interested in wasting enormous amounts of money to let refugees from 3rd world country move to Mars (on the same terms and reasons as people moved to America).