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Sex on Mars is going to be risky, but it could create a new human subspecies
In a new research paper published in Futures, an international team of scientists examines the challenges of reproduction on the Martian surface. It's a risky proposition, but if humans succeed in conceiving, carrying, and birthing offspring on another world it might actually be the start of a new species.
In the paper, the researchers tackle a huge number of potential problems that could crop up when humans are finally ready to rear young on Mars. The first and most obvious hurdle is the low gravity environment, which could pose a serious threat to the conception and pregnancy processes that seem so simple here on Earth.
[...] The paper also examines the inherent challenges of bolstering the numbers of a small colony of settlers on the planet. The concept of "love" might have to take a back seat to pure survival, with men and women being paired up by their biology rather than emotion. Additionally, some individuals may never be allowed to have children due to undesirable traits that are a risk to the colony as a whole.
In a somewhat scary aside, the researchers also note that editing the genes of future Mars babies might be an easy way to increase the prospects of survival.
Also at Live Science.
Biological and social challenges of human reproduction in a long-term Mars base (DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2018.04.006) (DX)
Related: Space colonization and suffering risks: Reassessing the "maxipok rule" (DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2018.04.008) (DX)
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday May 31 2018, @01:45PM (7 children)
It's completely unregulated real estate and resources. If you can bear the large initial costs of getting to and setting up facilities on Mars, you can live off the land and conduct whatever kind of industrial or research activity you want to.
The investment required will drop dramatically with BFR, and a lot more if you can wait a couple more decades, when reusable BFR or other spacecraft are routinely flying to Mars and back.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:54PM (6 children)
People can't even live off the land on Earth with warm air, blue skies, water and fertile soil. If they could, why aren't they? There are millions of unoccupied ha on Earth for sale next to nothing and people say they can't live without a living wage.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @03:47PM (5 children)
Are you talking about Antarctica by chance? I'm definitely interested in homesteading there. After you, of course.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @04:02PM (3 children)
Australia and the US that I've seen.
https://www.aol.com/2010/10/19/click-here-for-free-land-five-places-where-land-is-free/ [aol.com]
http://www.cheaplandinamerica.com/sd.php [cheaplandinamerica.com]
https://morningchores.com/free-land/ [morningchores.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:21PM (2 children)
There's no free land in the US. Homesteading was mostly finished by the early 20th century, although it was possible in Alaska until the 1980s. People with an agenda like to complain that mining claims are "free," but you don't really own those as it's no longer possible to obtain "patented" claims.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01 2018, @06:41AM
It wasn't free, but my land was purchased with the equivalent of 1.5 weeks of work at minimum wage ($7.5/h) labor/ha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rgGEkI510Q [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01 2018, @06:43AM
(PS, that's not me)
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01 2018, @02:51AM
Antarctica is more hospitable than Mars in many ways. Enough so that penguins and moss can live on some parts unaided.
There's hardly any atmosphere on Mars, water will boil away in most parts:
https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast29jun_1m [nasa.gov]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armstrong_limit [wikipedia.org]
So those vast tracts of land on Mars can't be used for growing crops and raising livestock without pressurized shelters.
You'd need to build similar stuff to what you'd need for space station colonies. Thus Mars has very few advantages compared to a space station or one of the "nicer" asteroids. Especially since Mars is a bigger gravity well that's far more expensive to go down and up from.