Kyla Laquian
Courier Staff Writer
Starting from the year 2024 a number of brave volunteers will make history and embark on an arduous journey to reside in humankind’s first ever human settlement on Mars. However, it is a one way ticket. There is no going back. It may seem unlikely, that people would be willing to spend the rest of their lives on a foreign planet with extremely harsh conditions, separated from loved ones for the rest of their lives. However, the human spirit still thrives, and the yearn for exploration and discovery drives these volunteers to want to spend the rest of their lives on Mars, as the first members of our species to live on another planet.
Over 78,000 individuals applied for the journey to Mars, and out of those selected from the pool of applicants, four will be chosen as the final group to be sent to Mars. In order to be chosen the applicants will go through a process similar to the Hunger Games; they will go through a series of simulations in “Martian-like” conditions, located at the harshest conditions of our planet from desert terrains to excessively cold conditions, and will have a variety of obstacles thrown at them, and their ability to mentally and physically cope with them will be observed by scientists on the outside. Those that are able to mentally and physically cope with the challenges the best will be chosen for the mission.
The potential astronauts will be taken away to these simulations for a few months every few years. It involves living in pods, each in groups of four, and they will have to learn to take care of the water supply, cultivate their own food, and keep life support systems running. The individuals will receive training in three areas, firstly medical training, which involves treating injuries and medicinal knowledge; group training, which involves how well each person can carry out their duty in carrying out scientific research such as collecting and analyzing data, and working with the other members; and personal training, which is the most critical part of the training because it shows how the individuals are able to mentally cope with the obstacles, living in the claustrophobic conditions of their pods, with the same four people, and isolated from loved ones other than the occasional means of virtual communication. Furthermore, all of the individuals will be designated as specific experts of a certain scientific topic, and will also share extensive knowledge in common topics from exobiology, Martian geology etc. The simulations give the astronauts an accurate feel for how life will be on Mars.
Once chosen, those that proved the most successful in training, will now have to withstand, the long, tough journey to Mars. The astronauts will have to undergo a journey that will take about seven to eight months, in tight knit spaces of the shuttle even smaller than the pods on the Martian settlement. Showers will be difficult and not recommendable, so wet wipes will be used instead. Food will be freeze dried and canned; and a 3 hour work-out routine a day to maintain muscles mass. If solar winds hit, the astronauts will have to take shelter in even smaller quarters of the ship. On the journey, the astronauts’ former training will kick in, and their limits will be tested.
Finally on Mars, the astronauts will experience life similar to the simulations. The pods will have inflatable components, which contain bedrooms, work areas, living rooms, and plant production units. Passage- ways were constructed in the pods to get from one end to the other Finally, they will also be able to lead a typical day to day life, showering, and preparing their own food by carrying out their farming. On Mars, remnants in the ground contain water- ice components, and they will be extracted in order to farm. If the astronauts wish to leave the farm, to conduct research or just to spend time outside, they must wear space suits.
Research will include observations will include how the human body responds to the gravitational change on Mars and to the crops grown in the hydroponic plant production units. They will also conduct geology research on the current and ancient terrain of Mars. Meanwhile, the astronauts will also be building new units for the incoming astronauts with tools left for them on Mars, in hopes that the Martian settlement will eventually grow into a full civilization.
The prospect of creating mankind’s first colony on Mars is an exciting, yet nerve racking one. After all, the conditions will be very harsh, and there is little oxygen. But, just like the great explorers before us that discovered new territories from Columbus to Magellan, four common individuals will partake in the greatest adventure of our species.
