National

From our Expert Voices conversation on travel to Mars.

For four months in 2013, I lived and worked as if I were an astronaut on Mars, thanks to the NASA-funded HI-SEAS project. My crewmates and I produced data on the social challenges inherent in long-duration space exploration, because a breakdown in human systems can be just as catastrophic as a rocket failure.

While Elon Musk's Mars plan highlights reusable rockets and in-orbit fueling schemes, it appears thin on details of the people who would fly. We do know he intends his first crews to be wealthy: recent estimates put a ticket for a would-be Mars colonizer at $500,000.

How will these crews of high rollers divvy up the work necessary to build a city on Mars? Which of the paying customers will clean the toilets, collect the trash, or restock the food supply? Or, will a service crew be sent along, perhaps on a free ride? And if so, what might be their path into a society that presumptively belongs to those who bought their way in?

The bottom line: As we know from history, colonization isn't simply about building better ships to take bold adventurers to new and exotic shores.

Bobby Braun, aerospace engineer, University of Colorado, Boulder: Mars is within reach

Francis Cucinotta, radiation researcher, University of Nevada, Las Vegas: There are too many unknown health risks to go to Mars soon

It's not just rocket science

Expert Voices

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="From our Expert Voices conversation on travel to Mars" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/what-it-will-take-to-make-it-to-mars-1513305951-a03177d8-14d5-4df2-b7eb-9f82a507b43b.html" data-vars-content-id="1d3a57a4-48dd-47f1-9cdd-748f5a4375c7" data-vars-headline="It&#x27;s not just rocket science" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/what-it-will-take-to-make-it-to-mars-1513305951-a03177d8-14d5-4df2-b7eb-9f82a507b43b.html" target="_self">From our Expert Voices conversation on travel to Mars</a>.For four months in 2013, I lived and worked as if I were an astronaut on Mars, thanks to the NASA-funded HI-SEAS project. My crewmates and I produced data on the social challenges inherent in long-duration space exploration, because a breakdown in human systems can be just as catastrophic as a rocket failure.While Elon Musk&#x27;s Mars plan highlights reusable rockets and in-orbit fueling schemes, it appears thin on details of the people who would fly. We do know he intends his first crews to be wealthy: recent estimates put a ticket for a would-be Mars colonizer at $500,000.How will these crews of high rollers divvy up the work necessary to build a city on Mars? Which of the paying customers will clean the toilets, collect the trash, or restock the food supply? Or, will a service crew be sent along, perhaps on a free ride? And if so, what might be their path into a society that presumptively belongs to those who bought their way in?The bottom line: As we know from history, colonization isn&#x27;t simply about building better ships to take bold adventurers to new and exotic shores.Other voices in the conversation:<ul><li>Bobby Braun, aerospace engineer, University of Colorado, Boulder: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Mars is within reach" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/mars-is-within-reach-1513388270-85ac5381-6ec5-4020-9862-649af1d7f278.html" data-vars-content-id="1d3a57a4-48dd-47f1-9cdd-748f5a4375c7" data-vars-headline="It&#x27;s not just rocket science" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/mars-is-within-reach-1513388270-85ac5381-6ec5-4020-9862-649af1d7f278.html" target="_self">Mars is within reach</a></li><li>Francis Cucinotta, radiation researcher, University of Nevada, Las Vegas: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="There are too many unknown health risks to go to Mars soon" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/there-are-too-many-unknown-health-risks-to-go-to-mars-soon-1513388271-19f4a502-d624-4661-85c9-54c808edfdae.html" data-vars-content-id="1d3a57a4-48dd-47f1-9cdd-748f5a4375c7" data-vars-headline="It&#x27;s not just rocket science" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/there-are-too-many-unknown-health-risks-to-go-to-mars-soon-1513388271-19f4a502-d624-4661-85c9-54c808edfdae.html" target="_self">There are too many unknown health risks to go to Mars soon</a></li></ul>

Kate Greene

Stories

It's not just rocket science