SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has long dreamed of interplanetary missions, the first destination of which would be Mars and building a colony on that planet. His ambitious plan is to relocate about a million people to the Red Planet by 2050 using a giant Starship rocket. According to Musk, this would help ensure the “long-term survival of humanity.”
However, not everyone shares this optimism. “In A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through” 2023, biologist Kelly Weinersmith and artist Zach Weinersmith argue that such colonization could be a humanitarian disaster. They note that Mars is an extremely difficult and dangerous place to live.
Key risks
Kelly Weinersmith points out that without careful preparation, colonization can be disastrous. For example, it is unknown whether humans will be able to have children under Martian radiation and low gravity (only 38% of Earth’s). This poses health risks to mothers and newborns, including an increased likelihood of cancer and other complications.
According to the authors, most current research concerns short-term stays in space, while long-term experiments on survival in Martian-like conditions have been virtually ignored.
The dubious prospect of Mars colonization
Musk’s plan involves huge expenses that may be beyond the means of even the world’s wealthiest people. In addition, critics note that instead of solving global problems on Earth, such as the climate crisis, Musk spends resources on projects that so far have a dubious prospect.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama is also skeptical of the idea of colonizing Mars. During one of his speeches, he noted that even after a nuclear war, the Earth would remain more habitable than Mars.
Alternative to colonization
Despite this, the authors of the book recognize that Mars could be an excellent testing ground for scientific research. Landing humans on the Red Planet, conducting experiments, and returning to Earth is a realistic goal that could be achieved in our lifetime. However, establishing a permanent colony, they said, would have to be a gradual process that would take several generations.
Musk’s ambitions for an interplanetary future are truly exciting. But these plans come with huge risks. For now, Mars looks more like a challenge for scientists and engineers, so it seems like an uninviting place as the next home for humanity.
“Mars is definitely not for the faint of heart,” Musk notes self-critically, adding that the path to a Martian colony will be difficult but potentially glorious.
Earlier, we reported on how an astronaut thought the idea of building a colony on Mars was a terrible idea.
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