Mars-One: People living on Mars in 2023

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SUMMARY

The Mars-One initiative, led by Bas Lansdorp, aims to send four individuals to Mars in 2023 for an indefinite stay, backed by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Gerard 't Hooft. The project has garnered skepticism due to its ambitious timeline and estimated budget of $6 billion for six human-capable landers, which critics argue is insufficient and unrealistic given current technology. Concerns include the lack of proven methods for food production, psychological stability of volunteers, and the feasibility of precision landings on Mars. The consensus among forum participants is that the mission is unlikely to succeed as planned, labeling it a "suicide mission."

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of space mission planning and execution
  • Knowledge of Mars exploration technologies and challenges
  • Familiarity with psychological assessments for astronauts
  • Awareness of agricultural practices in extraterrestrial environments
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the current state of Mars landing technologies and precision landing challenges
  • Explore advancements in space agriculture and food production in hostile environments
  • Investigate psychological evaluations and support systems for long-duration space missions
  • Examine the financial models and funding strategies for space exploration initiatives
USEFUL FOR

Aerospace engineers, space mission planners, psychologists specializing in astronaut training, and anyone interested in the feasibility of human colonization of Mars.

  • #61
Drakkith said:
What do they do if something happens and Earth can't send the supply ships? Perhaps a major accident in launch or upon return to Earth or the supply ship crashes on Mars. Anything less than a fully self sufficient colony (or as close to it as we can get) would be extremely dangerous.
You overdesign. In this case that means you send so many supply ships that the loss of one is no disaster. Besides, the supply ships themselves don't need to carry life support. They can carry a very large payload. And the first ones can be sent ahead of the humans.
 
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  • #62
D H said:
Turn to the public? There would be no SpaceX without NASA. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX#Funding
Funding
As of May 2012, SpaceX has operated on total funding of approximately one billion dollars in its first ten years of operation. Of this, private equity has provided about $200M, with Musk investing approximately $100M and other investors having put in about $100M. The remainder has come from progress payments on long-term launch contracts and development contracts. NASA has put in about $400-500M of this amount, with most of that as progress payments on launch contracts.​
About half of the total funding to SpaceX came from NASA, and a good chunk of the rest came from the DoD. Musk would have had a very hard time finding investors had it not been for those government contracts. The development of that Dragon to the ISS was funded almost entirely by NASA. This is something that NASA has very much wanted to happen for a long time, and has been working with industry to make that happen. (Well, some parts of NASA. Other parts of NASA are stuck in the stone age.)
Maybe this is a topic for another thread, but I'm not completely clear on how that makes SpaceX different from, say, Lockheed or North American/Rockwell/Boeing. Is it simply that NASA has less control over the design/construction and mostly just pays for it as opposed to directing (contracting) the design/construction and staffing the launch and control facilities?
 
  • #63
lvlastermind said:
to live there indefinitely.

Sure, I don't know why this thread is full of such naysayers! It's VERY POSSIBLE to get them there indefinitely by 2023...you never added the caveat that we need to get them there ALIVE did you... :-)
 
  • #64
Thread locked pending moderation.