Mars - what should we do when we get there?

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2003-01-30 09:16pm

Terraforming would probably be pointless as the atmosphere is so low pressure and the grav is so much less that any atmosphere we try to add would likely fly off. Really I think construction of large underground cities would be best. You could have agriculture and power supplied from above ground and a well structured city below.

I don't see why environmentalists would complain, there really is no ecosystem evident to destroy. The reason they complain on Earth is because they perceive that the destruction of resources and environments on which our biosphere runs is a bad thing and that profit from it, no matter how lucrative, is pointless and will only end up causing further destruction.

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2003-01-31 04:08pm

Did anyone read the Star Trek book about the Virogen crisis? I'm not going off topic, this post has a purpose. Each planet has a pure eco system at the moment and if we're gonna go all fucky and contaminate completely seperate planets then we are setting our selves up for a nasty fall. Sooner or later a plague will come and we will have destroyed the cure in our ignorance and haste. So for a relatively dead planet like Mars i have no problem. Practice on the Moon 1st. But if we were to leave the Sol system and find a pristine planet we should leave it be and avoid any contamination.

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2003-01-31 04:39pm

The first thing the astronaughts should do:

Plant a flag and say "I claim this entire planet in the name of the Democratic Republic of China"

His imperialness, Bush Jr. IX of the republican dynasty, will then have to cease his internal battles with the rebel "democratz" and create a massive interplanetary strike force to lay claim to Mars.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-01-31 10:44pm

I agree with SyntaxVorlon. Isnt the gravity of Mars to low to retain an atmosphere of the type we need?

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2003-01-31 10:51pm

When the "life on Mars" rock fragment was all the news a few years ago, several political cartoons suggested we would immediately set up a sweat shop.

Andrew J. · Post by **Andrew J.** » 2003-01-31 10:52pm

Firstly: innerbrat, I have great pity for you. I barely surivived the first few pages of Red Mars.

Secondly: A list of things we should do.

1. Plant the flag.

2. Kill any and all natives.

3. Blow up Earth so we can get a good view of Venus.[/Marvin]

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-01-31 11:45pm

Play golf! Oh and avoid any large cannons ready to fire cylinders...

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-01-31 11:55pm

My list of what to do with Mars:

1. Set up base for spaceships to land and depart more easily, and perhaps a refueling station as well.

2. Send builders, engineers, scientists, etc, to get the planet "prepped" for colonization such as building the foundations for what will be a large-scale colony.

3. Start sending colonists.

4. Make sure colonists are fully established (settled in).

5. Once its proven that colonists can indeed live on Mars (shown by the test group in 3 and 4), expand colony to provide more housing and such.

6. Start mass migration, and free up some of the population burden on Earth. Setup/Expand local Mars government so that it has stable control and is able to maintain peace and order in the colony.

7. Continue colony expansion, building more spaceports, civillian buildings (schools, etc), and such.

8. After Mars is very stable, set course for Alpha Centauri

And to you non-americans:

Sorry, but if you look at it realistically, it is inevitable that we Americans WILL be the ones to claim Mars.

ONWARD WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF ALL HUMANITY!!!

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-02-01 12:01am

Shinova wrote:*SNIP*

ONWARD WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF ALL HUMANITY!!!

I hope the Martians 0wn yo sorry ass!

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-02-01 12:05am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:
Shinova wrote:*SNIP*

ONWARD WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF ALL HUMANITY!!!
I hope the Martians 0wn yo sorry ass!

What Martians?

*Tries to cover up the display, showing numerous blakcened craters on Mars' surface, from Valdemar's view*

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-02-01 12:06am

Shinova wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:
Shinova wrote:*SNIP*

ONWARD WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF ALL HUMANITY!!!
I hope the Martians 0wn yo sorry ass!

What Martians?

*Tries to cover up the display, showing numerous blakcened craters on Mars' surface, from Valdemar's view*

THAR BE DRAGONS! Uh, MARTIANS!

GrandMasterTerwynn · Post by **GrandMasterTerwynn** » 2003-02-01 12:29am

innerbrat wrote:
Alex Moon wrote:Study it while building structures to house the next colonsts. We can terraform it once we're more established there.
Don't forget we're talking an entire planet here. It would take more than a few lifetimes to be completely studied.

The process of terraforming the planet will take at least several lifetimes. And Earth will be expecting Mars to shoulder some of the burden of it's own terraformation. (As getting materials from Earth to Mars is an expensive proposition.) Any serious colonization of Mars will eventually be a corporate venture. (Sort of like how much of the settling the New World was something that was undertaken by businesses who furnished the ships and supplies for a tidy little sum.)

And exploring Mars will be an enormously expensive undertaking. The common person on Earth won't settle for a few boxes of rocks and some photographs. So, chances are, manned exploration of a virgin Mars will only be carried out in the short amount of time between the first landings and the first terraforming venture.

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2003-02-01 12:36am

I'd say land, fly the American flag, say some memorable words for the camera, collect rocks, take some pictures, do some research, see if some sort of structures can be built for an extended stay of a couple of months, take off, return to Earth, try to convince others it wasn't a hoax. Further research can take place with missions in the next decade or two, colonization several decades after, and a possible terraforming project centuries after the first landing.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-02-01 12:50am

what we shoudl fucking do is step onto mars and, rather then giving a One Giant Leap type of shit speech, say "I CLAIM THIS WORLD IN THE NAME OF <insert country here>".

It would be really great if it was claimed by the Mars Republic LOL

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-02-01 01:08am

6. Start mass migration, and free up some of the population burden on Earth. Setup/Expand local Mars government so that it has stable control and is able to maintain peace and order in the colony.

We will never be able to ship the amount of people off world to relieve population pressures. Right now about 90 million or so people are added to the population every year. Even at zero population growth, how many people are gonna leave the Earth for a possible death sentence on a dry desert world far from home? I doubt it would be more than a few hundred thousand a year.

Im not saying we should not go, just that population relief is not a reason to do so.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-02-01 01:10am

TrailerParkJawa wrote:
6. Start mass migration, and free up some of the population burden on Earth. Setup/Expand local Mars government so that it has stable control and is able to maintain peace and order in the colony.
We will never be able to ship the amount of people off world to relieve population pressures. Right now about 90 million or so people are added to the population every year. Even at zero population growth, how many people are gonna leave the Earth for a possible death sentence on a dry desert world far from home? I doubt it would be more than a few hundred thousand a year.

Im not saying we should not go, just that population relief is not a reason to do so.

Which is why there are #s 1-5. To make living in Mars pleasant.

(A vastly lowered tax rate would be one incentive).

beyond hope · Post by **beyond hope** » 2003-02-02 03:32pm

First thing I'd do? Wild "we made it to Mars!" party.

Second thing, make membership in the Cult of Connie punishable by summary execution.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-02-02 03:41pm

What to do when we get there? Withdraw from whatever treaty barred claiming parts of space and other planets and claim the thing of course. There's been work for a UAV that could fly on Mars, fitting a very small missile with which to dominate the planet should be easy enough.

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2003-02-02 04:13pm

Honestly, colonization and teraforming will need to be put off for a while. Adaquate infrastructure will have to be made first. A some what regular transit system to Mars must be developed first. Then proper facilities on Mars needs to be constructed. Start small and continue to add until you get to the point of a sustained presence on Mars. This will continue to grow until larger and more complex facilities are needed and made.

With exploration giving way to industrial needs, more people and facilities will be needed until, wa-la, you have a small comunity if not a small city. Teraforming will take place sometime after that to slowly make the planet more habitable. I don't know about having Mars all nice and Earth like, but perhaps a little less hazardous than it is now. Say maybe gasmasks instead of full blown space suits.

The Janitor · Post by **The Janitor** » 2003-02-06 08:53am

You should all read Kim Stanley Robinsons Mars Trilogy, its long & a little slow to start with but it absolutely rocks!

There is so much stuff in those books the state of Earth & Mars, population crisis, enviromental battles (the conservationists on mars are called 'Reds' & the progreesive terraformers 'Greens'), disasters & wars & polotics, science, megacorporations & all other kinds of shit!!

Read it's Top Dorito!

Boba Fett · Post by **Boba Fett** » 2003-02-06 09:06am

What should we do when we get there?

*crew to Boba Fett*

- Sir, we've landed on Mars. What's next?

- Start the vacuum-cleaners! I want to see that "face" in clean!!!

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2003-02-06 09:43am

"Mars needs women!!"

Serriously, I'm with Spanky in terms of ineffectiveness of terraforming. Considering it's pretty much untested, it could easilly go triple-over-buget, take twice as long as expected, need several major ecological overhauls and end up as just some funky arid grassland or some shit that we didn't want or cant use in the first place.

I'll put my $.03 on Island III colonies.

"Island III colonies need women!!"

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2003-02-06 02:37pm

What about Bio Domes like the ones in Total Recall? They'd sustain life while we see if there is much with exploiting. What is the composite of Mars anyway? Does it have exploitable resources?

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2003-02-06 03:46pm

Hey, if we do the Total Recall bio-dome thing, we'll have to include the obligatory machinegun-toting midget hookers.

I don't think Mars is very rich in recources, other than iron, if i remember correctly.

Baron Mordo · Post by **Baron Mordo** » 2003-02-06 07:17pm

Too many jerks wrote:fly the American flag

You guys got the moon. Mars belongs to Canada.

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Mars - what should we do when we get there?

To terraform or not to terraform?

Mars Trilogy is top dorito!