http://www.autodidacts.io/who-will-own-mars/
Everyone's excited about rockets to Mars, and each SpaceX launch brings that dream closer to reality. Musk and others are putting a lot of money and brainpower on the technical problem of getting people to Mars. Less sensational topics, such as surviving on Mars, receive less attention — but plenty of money and serious thought, because there's no way to get around them.
But there's another important question which isn't getting much attention:
Who will own Mars, and how will it be governed?
Does Mars belong to the people who get there first? To the highest bidder? To all the people of Earth?
Does Mars belong to Earth, or does Mars belong to Mars? Does it belong to the Sun? To the Martian microbiome, if there is one? (What are the indigenous rights of microbes, I wonder?)
Who will be in charge of Mars once the colonists arrive? If Mars turns out to have valuable resources, who gets them? And if a Mars colony is to govern itself, what kind of government would it have?
The Mars colonization project is driven by the ultra rich. And those who want to stake their claim on Mars may rather the rest of us didn't think too much about the little problem of who owns the planet next door, and why.
(Score: 0, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 31 2017, @05:56PM (9 children)
Like everything else since the conquest of America, it belongs to Putin. Ask him permission before going there, and be prepared to pay a hefty fee.
(Score: 3, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday March 31 2017, @06:23PM (6 children)
Why the hell would Americans want Mars? The atmosphere won't allow guns to fire or beer to ferment.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday March 31 2017, @07:25PM
Most people ferment indoors. As for guns, Martians will conceal carry railguns.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Informative) by mhajicek on Friday March 31 2017, @08:01PM (3 children)
Common misconception. Gunpowder is a mix of both fuel and oxidizer, and requires no atmosphere. Guns work underwater and in a vacuum.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2, Funny) by khallow on Friday March 31 2017, @09:21PM (2 children)
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday March 31 2017, @10:58PM (1 child)
The Mighty Buzzard is well aware of the impossibility of these tasks!
Interesting speculation, that the TMB could be aware of something that does not exist. De gustibus non disputandum est!
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday April 01 2017, @12:32AM
Interesting speculation, that the TMB could be aware of something that does not exist.
My argument is a paragon of mathematical rigor. You will never see a better argument ever.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday April 01 2017, @12:35AM
Why would Americans want Mars, you ask?
Three-boobed women. [dailymail.co.uk]
(Score: 2) by looorg on Friday March 31 2017, @06:34PM (1 child)
Well it is the RED planet so it makes sense.
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Friday March 31 2017, @11:04PM
Well it is the RED planet so it makes sense.
It's almost a pale pinot red...
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.