(SNN) - Sci-fi fans will appreciate the news that Mars will soon be permanently colonized. In fact, for most sci-fi fans it's probably old news. For the rest of you here is a brief recap: Mars One is a not-for-profit Dutch foundation that has planned a project to colonize Mars. Here is their project schedule, and applicant requirements. The first part of the astronaut selection process has been accomplished. Here is one of the select few who will vie to be one of the 40-50 candidates to make the final cut. If you find yourself vaguely recalling another historic Dutch colonizing project, here's why.
It is expected that one of the earliest endeavors of the astronauts will be to extract water from the planet. Cutting edge technology is already giving us the ability to replicate products, including food, and Mars dirt has the elements needed to sustain plant growth. Some think one of humankind's ultimate goals will be to terraform Mars, creating a habitable environment. But how long will that take? In the meantime, Earth will have to sustain the Mars settlement until they become self-sustaining.
The Mars One project is expected to cost six billion dollars. Mars One plans to fund the project using crowdfunding to create a Reality Show around the project. I'm guessing it will take more than crowd funding and Reality TV to accomplish this project and especially to keep it going. I'm guessing that, ultimately, it will require investor funding. Investors expect a return on their investments.
The only thing Mars currently has to market is dirt and minerals. Eventually, it will have astronauts using products from Earth that can be advertised via Reality TV. But will it be enough? Mars has the basic elements needed for a variety of industries to create many of the products we use today. Many Earth industries are contributing to global warming by the pollution they create on Earth. What if Earth could send its polluting industries to Mars? What if it would be a beneficial thing for Mars to have industries polluting the environment and creating jobs making the new settlement self-sustaining? Some theorize that greenhouse gasses may be used to terraform Mars.
Whether or not terraforming is a viable goal and pollution a workable method for achieving this goal, I'm guessing corporate investors will eventually outsource industries to Mars where there are no regulations to impede them, at least for the first hundred years or so.
Whatever the long-term implications of this, I can't wait to get my first product labeled "Made on Mars."
In addition to writing for The Sage, Maye Ralston writes stories, essays, and books and blogs at Writing Heartland. She also volunteers as a board member of Midwest Writers Workshop.
Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, Courtesy Nasa. "Layered Martian Outcrop 'Shaler' in 'Glenelg' Area" Original Image can be found here.
More Opinion News
-
Cork and the Geez Talk Oscars
Monday, February 27, 2017
The Old Coot & the Geezer analyze what went wrong and what went right at the Academy Awards this year, review the show, and recommend who should host next year. The duo are America's most respected fuddy-duddy film ...
-
Cork and the Geez Dish on the Golden Globes
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
(SNN) The Old Coot and the Geezer, affected no doubt by the rainy weather in Southern California turn grumpy as they analyze the Golden Globes and show what they mean--mostly good food for the media. Will Hollywood ...
-
Revisiting "Two-a-Days" with One Small Difference
Thursday, October 06, 2016
(SNN) For four years of high school and one in college, I would spend a couple of weeks during the dog days of August involved in what was known as "Two-a-days." Those, as any current or former football player ...
-
Coping with the Wobblies
Sunday, September 18, 2016
(SNN) Belonging to an elite group is only fun if it was one you aspired to, like giving a hundred speeches and becoming a Distinguished Toastmaster. During that time I would get the “wobblies” almost weekly. “What’s ...
-
Experimental Turkeys & Murphy's Law
Friday, September 16, 2016
(SNN) It is a paradox of science that before any breakthrough there is often a f’ed-up earlier stage. Out of this f’ed-stage have come some turkeys – turkeys that crossed the road to find something of value on the ...
-
Adventures in Eating
Sunday, August 21, 2016
(SNN) Some food combinations reside in the collective unconscious – and then there are those that shouldn’t exist at all. That special is a lottery. Visible from my apartment is a restaurant that has been struggling ...
-
No More Miscarriage Taboo
Friday, June 24, 2016
(SNN) I got a tattoo recently to honor the life and death of my daughter. The potential of her. The possibility of her. The scarred grief of her that tore up my heart. The fact that she was not born alive did not ...
-
Since the Pulse Stopped
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Since 'the Pulse stopped,' I've been thinking a few things. (SNN) The other day 49 human beings were murdered, and 53 more were injured in an attempt to murder them, simply for being in a "Gay" nightclub called ...
-
Fall Down, Go Boom
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
(SNN) My doctor has asked me to not fall down. I’ve attempted to honor his request, but it's easier said than done. Staying upright cannot be taken for granted if, like me, you own a fused ankle, Silly Putty knee ...
-
Character Actors: Not Just In It to Win It
Friday, January 29, 2016
(SNN) The death this week of actor Abe Vigoda at 94 reminds us that there are degrees of success of Hollywood, that fame can come after thirty years of toiling in obscurity, and that a great actor is a great actor ...