How Humanity Will Actually Colonize Mars (Year by Year)

from locally synthesized compounds. Huge 3D printers reduce the time it takes to create large building components and much of the hard work at the station is now automated. The station's population is approaching two hundred people and SpaceX continues to bring in heavy construction equipment for ongoing projects. Things are stable. Things are good. And things are about to take a big step forward. Year thirty-five: Five

year

s later, Mars looks very different than it did when the project began. It looks less like a desolate way station and more like a prosperous society. The small organic garden now looks more like a huge greenhouse, capable of supplying large quantities of produce to a growing population.

For those astronauts who really don't want to go vegan, there's good news: a fish farm has been established to provide much-needed protein, and multiple species of seafood are raised on site in environmentally protected tanks. As for meat, they won't be raising chickens, pigs or cows on Mars (they would consume too many resources and risk contamination), but a cultured meat farm has been set up to create small amounts of animal tissue for those who really want to. their burgers. And the need for burgers

will

only grow from here. Settlement on Mars began with astronauts and scientists leading a difficult existence trying to build a colony on the red planet.

Then came the settlers, who committed to living there long-term and helping to cultivate the environment. But now Mars is looking good and the waiting list is longer than ever. Not only are there several hundred human settlers living there, along with well-paid short-term workers, but the planet is increasingly hosting wealthy tourists who want a taste of the ultimate adventure. So where does the planet keep all these people? The Mars base has expanded with huge underground areas housing a large population. But as for the high rollers, Mars likely also has luxury housing right now: possibly a high-end hotel created by one of the many investors in Elon Musk's grand experiment.

But there is a type of residents who pose a much thornier question. When

will

Mars receive its first children? She may have already done it; After all, many people who have families have committed to an extended stay on Mars. After extensive testing on the effect of space travel on children, NASA and SpaceX will decide whether to allow pregnant colonists to travel to Mars. If given the go-ahead, some adaptations will need to be made, including the first school on Mars. As for children born on Mars, it is a much more complicated question. The gravity and environment on Mars is very different from that on Earth, and while adults with fully formed bodies can adapt to it and thrive in the long term, it is unclear if the same would be true for a baby born there.

Even if they could thrive on Mars, the journey back to Earth and adapting to life on it could be very dangerous. So the authorities are most likely doing everything they can to discourage babies from being born on Mars. And new frontiers are discovered all the time. With a solid base on Mars, a new journey awaits. Humanity's landing on the moon in 1969 was a momentous event, but what about landing on a moon... from another planet? It's a short hop to Phobos and Deimos, which are still largely unexplored and may serve as possible future sites for space bases and way stations for jumps beyond Mars.

Until now, trips beyond Mars were impossible due to the length of the journey, but now it is possible to start on Earth, head to Mars and from there head to the afterlife. At the same time, production on Mars is increasing so intensely that resources produced on the planet could soon be exported back to Earth. That's a solution to reduce resource consumption on Earth! And thrill-seeking visitors to Mars will conquer their own borders. While the focus on Mars has been on developing it and investigating its resources and history, there is one feature that is likely to attract the attention of more visitors.

It's called Olympus Mons and it's the final frontier for mountaineers: even higher than Everest, it's the tallest mountain ever found in this solar system. It's a long and treacherous journey, but that just means someone will want to be the first to conquer it. And for that rich, lucky tourist from Earth who conquers the mountain and lives to tell about it, you can bet he'll be famous all over the world, in more than one world. And things will continue to move forward. Year 40: Mars looks more and more like a human city with each passing day. The entire surface has already been explored and mapped by humans, and the area around Mars Base Alpha is now a small spaceport capable of handling the heavy traffic coming and going.

Larger spacecraft have been developed, carrying hundreds of passengers at a time. These are not only bringing more humans to Mars, but also heavier and more specialized equipment. This includes parts for the first nuclear reactor on Mars, something that will greatly increase the base's energy production and help meet demand. And this isn't a one-man job: Once it became clear that SpaceX's investment in the planet was a success, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic would most likely have invested heavily in the planet as well. planet. They may be working on their own bases and luxury hotels for tourists, which means Mars is on the brink of its first publicity war.

And that's not the only way the Red Planet is starting to look like Earth. The planet is now dotted with bases, mining deposits, and research facilities along its rocky surfaces, and SpaceX and NASA are expanding to multiple points of interest. Between the official sites and the many tourist sites being developed, people will need ways to get from one place to another. A road system, as well as a public transportation system, is likely to have been established on Mars. Elon Musk's interest in underground train systems like the Hyperloop means that mining droids have been busy excavating a vast network of Martian tunnels, complemented by short-haul buses and cars on the surface.

The population of Mars is now approaching two thousand full-time colonists, with more and more arriving from multiple companies and countries. In just a few

year

s, the nuclear reactor will be up and running, and as the year 2050 approaches on Mars, the future looks brighter than ever. But Mars' growing population will mean some difficult questions lie ahead. Year Forty-Five: With the growing population of civilians on Mars, the planet is starting to look less like a base and more like a city. Many of the colonists work in factories on the planet, helping to build assets like solar panels and helping to do precise practical work that robots cannot.

And with a mix of locals and tourists roaming the planet, some people are bound to do things they shouldn't, which is why Mars Base Alpha soon establishes its own police force, replacing SpaceX's security team. The surface of Mars is likely now dotted with small bases from other countries, which use them for research and production, but no other country has spent decades creating what is essentially a colony. And now, SpaceX is looking further. The company has been working on creating newer, better, faster spacecraft all this time, and many are now produced and based on Mars. One of them will be used in the first mission from Mars, heading to the treacherous realm of the asteroid belt with the goal of landing on the dwarf planet Ceres.

Composed of frozen water and rich in minerals, it is considered a possible resource center for Mars and, although the first crewed mission is likely to be brief, it is considered a vital way station for longer journeys to the solar system. But at home, trouble may be brewing. Life on Mars is becoming less of a sacrifice for the future of

humanity

and more of a desirable adventure. Many of Earth's amenities are available on the red planet, and it is attracting more and more people. By 2053, the population will approach four thousand inhabitants and Mars Alpha Base will be saturated.

New bases are being built, more countries are establishing their own bases and soon begin to develop their own subcultures. It becomes increasingly important to protect the surface of Mars: with more and more human life on it, the impact of a stray meteorite from the asteroid belt could spell disaster. Defense systems are equipped with the ability to track and shoot down flying objects if necessary. But the biggest problem will be the growing population of Mars. Fifties: and beyond! Population growth is unlikely to slow, and that means it will likely be more difficult to make decisions for a large group.

Until now, policies were most likely largely determined by SpaceX managers and Earth governments. But with a population of thousands of people, you will have countless small problems every day. This means that eventually Alpha Base on Mars (and other bases as they grow) will have to establish their own governments. They are likely to resemble small city governments at first, with a legislative council, an executive and a court system to handle both criminal and civil disputes. It will look a lot like Earth (only Mars) and will answer to higher government authorities if necessary. And as Mars grows, so do big companies.

The first companies to establish themselves on Mars will, as expected, be those that already have investments. But with a permanent audience of thousands waiting for them, won't you be surprised if the Mars bases soon receive some familiar occupants? Anyone up for a McMars burger? How about a Red Planet Frappucino? Tourism will still be primarily for the rich, but as the process becomes increasingly simpler, it will become cheaper and cheaper, just as air travel did decades ago. And soon, the planet may not look so red anymore. One of the next big forays into Martian exploration will be the terraforming process, which will begin by artificially releasing greenhouse gases into the Martian atmosphere and seeding the air.

It will work? A big obstacle is the lack of an electromagnetic field. This would make any attempt to terraform Mars vulnerable to solar radiation, so colonists will likely stick to what works: large domed environments suitable for growth. New outposts will be established on the moons, spaceships will become faster and Mars will soon be covered in enormous domes housing cities full of people. Its food and fertilizer production increases so much that it becomes the main supplier to other outposts of the solar system, since it is located much closer to them compared to Earth. And now something else is growing too.

Despite many concerns about children's health, the first children have most likely already been born on Mars, either as a planned experiment or, more likely, through a happy accident. Hey, those Martian nights are getting cold. But, planned or not, this will be the largest experiment yet carried out on the Martian colony, because these children will be the first Martian natives and will grow up in the gravity and atmosphere of the red planet. They may live their entire lives on Mars, but if they plan to return to Earth it will be a difficult process, and scientists are hard at work designing exoskeletons that can help them adapt to Earth's gravity.

Over time, the questions on Mars will begin to look much more like those on Earth. Who will be the first country to build the first prison on Mars? A prison will most likely be built fairly quickly for petty criminals, but there is a long history of countries sending their criminals to distant colonies like Australia. Could Mars be next? As the population of Mars grows from thousands to tens of thousands and more, and becomes increasingly self-sufficient, many of the human residents on Mars may begin to chafe under the leadership of the countries on Earth. Some may even say it's time to take destiny into your own hands.

Will governments be willing to give them more autonomy? Will the companies that founded Mars Base Alpha and beyond support his call for independence? Does anyone know if there is a river on Mars to dump some tea in? If you're looking for more unexpected looks into the future, check out "What If the Earth Stopped Spinning, Minute by Minute?" or watch "The Real Problem with Living on Mars" to see what could hold us back.