News Elon Musk wants to put millions of people on Mars.

[APDAF]

An artificial womb if they exist.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

1: Grazing isn't strictly required, no reason that they can't be fed from a trough using kitchen scraps and roughage from your green house. Goats in particular are very good a growing fat on human trash and an intelligent farmer will leverage that to his benefit.

And there's also the problem that goats will eat anything they think is edible... including your inflatable dome! :lol:
What about chickens? On mars, with a 1 atmosphere environment, they'll be flightless no more!

 

[N_Molson]

An artificial womb if they exist.

...then you lose contact with the colony, then you have to send colonial marines, first they find nothing and then they are torn in pieces by aliens, a few manage to escape and bring back the monsters on Earth in their body. :lol:

 

[BruceJohnJennerLawso]

What about chickens? On mars, with a 1 atmosphere environment, they'll be flightless no more!

I sense another add-on in the making...

 

[Urwumpe]

An artificial womb if they exist.

Not before Clan Cloud Cobra invents it in about 2820...

 

[Thunder Chicken]

The logical conclusion to the problem - PIGS IN SPACE!!!!:lol:

 

[Mader Levap]

An artificial womb if they exist.

They don't.

 

[RGClark]

A long profile on Elon Musk from last year I hadn't seen before:

TRIUMPH OF HIS WILL.
By Tom Junod on November 15, 2012

For his entire life, Elon Musk has bent people to his insatiable will. Most recently, he's co-opted NASA. And now we'll see whether he's a) the visionary who forces americans to become explorers again, or b) a man so distracted by vision that his life's work is a series of brilliant disappointments.
http://www.esquire.com/features/americans-2012/elon-musk-interview-1212?src=soc_fcbks

Bob Clark

 

[MattBaker]

The title alone made me as a German throw up, some journalists...

 

[Andy44]

TRIUMPH OF HIS WILL.

A rather unfortunate choice of words...

 

[Matias Saibene]

My personal opinion (may be wrong, I'm not perfect)

ATTENTION:facts:: the views I will post here and their comments may reflect my ignorance or Google translation errors. Ideas or statements that I present can be quite false or misleading, products of my imagination or my common sense, or little knowledge. Sorry for my bad English.

My view is that Elon Musk's statements were created to increase the value of the shares of their companies (like Apple and Mavericks, describing it as "the best operating system in the world"), not for reflect a real goal. Remember that is a trading company that seeks commercial gain. I honestly do not think I have as a goal to improve or enrich (in any aspect) humanity.
Regarding the trip to Mars (and subsequent colonization) I think is very soon (not saying it's impossible within 100-150 years). I think things that are done in a hurry are not good results.

I think about the first manned mission (space agency, private company, etc.), I think it could be done if you have the goal of reaching, not only for economic benefit (in the case of a company), that if be performed (I mean take astronauts to Mars and bring them safe return), it would benefit (economic and otherwise) from really biggest form.
I think the first manned mission to Mars should also be raised in order to bring them back home (I dislike wake up in the morning and see a dry, monotonous and bleak atmosphere, instead of the varied landscapes of the Earth, among other many things; besides knowing that long for the rest of my days I will see a desolate landscape), without doubt the latter would cause psychological, and moral problems very bad, which in turn would bring disrepute to the public of Earth, which the case of a state agency that will send astronauts to stay up to Mars, they would not do anything other than waste the tax money that could be used for other purposes more available and more relevant to society.

I think a colony on Mars should be considered once you have solved problems on Earth that are evils of mankind (disease, poverty, etc.). So once stabilized (in a way, or so that it generates the least amount of problems in the future with the habitants of Mars), if you could consider extending humanity to other destinations (Mars, etc..) Although I think the first should install a permanent base on the moon, and then another on Mars. We should go step by step and not fast, because it is a very sensitive issue (talking about life, not of money that is an object with symbolic value). We should think in the humans life's, not so much in material losses.
Furthermore, with respect to space exploration by private enterprises, I think is an excellent idea. For example aviation and aerospace exploration could create new jobs, scientific studies, discoveries, etc.
While not used as told in the book Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, and the example of the fictitious companies Subarashi and Praxis.

Nearing the end of my extensive (and perhaps useless comment) this theme of Elon and its future projections, remind me the history of 2001 A Space Odyssey, saying that in 2001 would come to be able to travel to Jupiter, and actually today day can only get astronauts to the ISS every three or six months (or even more).
He finished my comment.

Greetings to all who made this thread is very interesting to read, full of information and enriching exchange of ideas:thumbup:.

 

[Andy44]

I think a colony on Mars should be considered once you have solved problems on Earth that are evils of mankind

That's an old argument, that if accepted would result in zero exploration.

Many Europeans colonized the Americas to get away from man-made evils. Waiting to solve them first is a fool's errand.

If Elon Musk wants to colonize Mars with private money, by all means he should go for it. As bleak as Mars is, and given the fact you'd never again be able to stand outside in just jeans and a t-shirt and feel the wind and sun on your skin, I'm not sure I'd want to sentence myself to it for the rest of my life, but depending on how you build the colony that might be overcome.

 

[Urwumpe]

That's an old argument, that if accepted would result in zero exploration.

And once we have solved all current problems here on Earth, we will have new problems to worry about.

(Just look at this little country called Germany: Which other country does not want to have our problems?)

 

[RGClark]

The title alone made me as a German throw up, some journalists...

Didn't get that on first reading of the title. Get your reference now.

Bob Clark

 

[Mader Levap]

I think a colony on Mars should be considered once you have solved problems on Earth that are evils of mankind (disease, poverty, etc.).

http://www.xkcd.org/1232/

 

[orb]

I think a colony on Mars should be considered once you have solved problems on Earth that are evils of mankind (disease, poverty, etc.).

After extinction of people, aliens could finally establish their first colony on Mars.

 

[Matias Saibene]

I think I did not express correctly, I meant the [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Development_Goals"]Millennium Development Goals[/ame]. Although reconsidering what I said, perhaps a colony on Mars could open new doors to the mankind development (spatial mining, and other interesting things). I did not mean only resolve all the problems on Earth:rofl: (there will always be problems in varying degrees).

History will tell what happens.

Meanwhile can colonize Mars in Orbiter as stated in http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/
"but you can even design and test-fly the spacecraft of the future, without budget constraints and political pressure.Show NASA how it's done!".

 

[RGClark]

That's an old argument, that if accepted would result in zero exploration.
Many Europeans colonized the Americas to get away from man-made evils.

Very good point that I hadn't considered before. The first English immigrants to America were Puritans and wanted to escape persecution because of their religious faith. Later when the colonies gained independence the concept of religious freedom was written into the Constitution.
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this concept of religious tolerance is now followed by all the European countries, if not actually written into law.
Could a colony on another world make a choice for their culture to end some man-made ills that would eventually come back to Earth to be accepted?


Bob Clark

 

[Loru]

...
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this concept of religious tolerance is now followed by all the European countries, if not actually written into law....

That's bit more complicated than that but this is not the place to discuss it.

Could a colony on another world make a choice for their culture to end some man-made ills that would eventually come back to Earth to be accepted?

Bob Clark

That's interesting question. I'm sure such colony would develop some new social models. Eventually, if they're proved beneficial, Earth could adopt some of them (if they apply to Earth of course)

 

[PhantomCruiser]

The tobacco plantations in Virginia and the sugar plantations in the Caribbean both pre-date the Plymouth colony. Also, both were established as economic/commercial ventures. By the time the Puritans arrived in Plymouth (lost BTW (sort of) they were also headed for Virginia) the population of the Americas by "immigrants" exceeded 1 million.

Most all of those who chose to move to the "New World" did so for the sole purpose of striking it rich. I forsee the same mindset in migration to Mars. The environment is too harsh and unforgiving, and the risk is too great to believe that it will be colonized for any sort social engineering/hippie cults.