With the 2016 elections, as Trump is confirmed to be the next president of the USA, more and more people are talking about moving out of the USA, with some of them mentioning Mars as an option. Check out our complete Mars moving guide:
Outer space can be an astonishingly beautiful and mercilessly cruel place at the same time. Its largely unexplained wonders, irresistible attraction, and cold charm still make us heave a sigh of defeat every time we look at the pretty night sky. Truth be told, the collective desire of all of humanity to explore space in order to unravel its dark energy mysteries has never been stronger.
But maybe it’s too early to dream this big. Deep in our hearts, we understand that one tiny mistake is all it takes for the human race to take a long heartbreaking plunge into the void of dark matter. And yet, there’s still a shimmering light of hope roughly 140 million miles (225 million km) away.
E*A*R*T*H > M*A*R*S
Besides our home planet, the Red Planet is thought by many scientists to be the most hospitable place in the entire Solar System. Its striking similarities to Earth make it the perfect focus for future Mars colonization missions. And while it’s true that Mars colonization can be a dangerous dream to dream, simply ask yourself this very question, “When has danger ever stopped us before?”.
Yes, there’s still hope to turn defeat into victory. Just remember that every colonization begins with relocation. Which also means that the colonization of Mars should definitely begin with relocation to Mars.
Why are we moving to Mars?
“Are we moving to Mars?” Yes.
“When are we moving to Mars?” Soon.
“Why are we moving to Mars?” We wish we didn’t know the answer to this question.
Let’s be honest – right now our own planet is not the wondrous habitat it used to be. With strong indicators of a global catastrophe approaching faster than a speeding bullet, we might need an alternative home much sooner than we are ready to admit.
That’s right, with the population saturation point for our planet just around the corner, it appears that we’re already in a desperate need of seriously exploring the possibility of settling on another hospitable planet. According to the United States Census Bureau, the current world population is around 7.3 billion people, and the predictions are that by the year 2100, it will have increased up to 11.2 billion earthlings.
Sadly, the overwhelming overpopulation growth is far from being the only tragic problem we’re facing as of today. Here are the major reasons for moving to Mars.
- Large-scale unfavorable climate changes,
- alarming levels of global pollution,
- near-depletion of natural resources,
- menacing international conflicts,
- inexcusable acts of terror,
- and uncharacteristic hospitality and cruelty among ourselves
add to the bleak picture that we’re painting for ourselves.
Nevertheless, as long as there’s hope for all of us, we’re not ready to throw in the towel yet. Since times immemorial, it’s been our unwavering spirit of true explorers and our innate sense of adventure that made us set on perilous journeys into unknown lands.
And hopefully, it will be that same exploration drive that will help us explore space, and maybe even reach out for one last time and colonize Mars as a long-term solution to our own chaotic existence here on Earth.
How to move to Mars
Regardless of how much you love science fiction and adore the realms of anything fantastic, extraordinary and clearly impossible, the only way to move to Mars is through a real-life interplanetary spaceflight. Recently Elon Musk has revealed his plan for moving to Mars.
His aim is to make the colonization affordable to the average family with prices about the cost of an average American house. His idea is to achieve overlap between people who want to go, and people who can afford to go, by reducing the cost of moving to Mars roughly the equivalent to the median house price in the U.S., (which is around $200,000) or even at a lower cost, extending to as low as $100,000 over time depending on the amount of cargo taken by a passenger.
According to Musk, each ship is designed to fit around 100 people or thereabouts in the pressured cabin, plus cargo, including luggage and materials to build foundries, factories, pizza joints, and “you name it”.
You can watch the full video below.
The very first thing to understand here is that such an unbelievable trip through space will take a bit longer than a standard cross country residential move. Even the longest of long-distance house moves can’t really match an average move distance of 140 million miles (225 million km) between the two planets. So, if you’re lucky to have a “smooth” interstellar move, a ride inside the fastest spacecraft ever built would take you to your destination in approximately 3,888 hours (162 days).
Of course, you could also get “really lucky” and book your move to Mars when both the Red and Blue planets are at their farthest points from the sun (250 million miles (401 million km)). In which case, you should get ready for a monster of a space trip with a total of 6,944 hours (289 days) under ideal space traveling conditions.
What to pack when moving to Mars
Don’t forget that before humans can initiate the bold colonization of the Red Planet, we’re going to need to move to Mars first. And before we can even think about moving to Mars permanently, we must be ready for the long distance (!) relocation adventure of our lives.
Proper and extensive preparation prior to the interplanetary move – that’s how things work even if we resort to the alien principles of Martian logic. In reality, what we take with us on our once-in-a-lifetime trip to the fourth planet from the Sun will make all the difference in the Solar System.
So, take a newly sharpened pencil and a piece of paper, and make a detailed list of the things to pack when moving to Mars.
Water
It’s vital to have water on board the spacecraft but large supplies of the life-saving liquid are not necessary. After all, last year NASA confirmed that according to their Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), there’s strong evidence that liquid water flows on the Red Planet as we speak.
With signatures of hydrated minerals detected by world-class scientists, you won’t have to worry about how to get your daily ration of H2O. Or won’t you?
Food
If you’ve seen the award-winning film The Martian, you should be well familiar with the amazing power of Solanum tuberosuma, or in plain English – a basket full of potatoes. Even without an honorary degree in botany, you will probably be able to survive for more than 500 sols on a uniquely tailored diet of ultra-delicious Mars-grown potatoes.
Just don’t forget to take an extra stash of salt and ketchup – trust us, the taste is just not the same without them.
Clothes
With surface temperatures going as low as −124.6 °F /−87 °C/ and a thin atmosphere consisting of 95% carbon dioxide and incapable of filtering out ultraviolet light, Mars won’t be too welcoming towards its first settlers.
Mars colonizers won’t be able to simply open the hatch of the Mars Lander and breathe the air of colonization freedom. Rather, they will need special pressure suits just to stay protected from the highly unfavorable atmospheric conditions on the surface of the Red Planet.
So, while you’re getting ready to move to Mars forever, go to the nearest shopping center and buy appropriate clothes with red circular labels that say “Approved for Mars Colonization”. It goes without saying that an extra supply of orange colored garments is a brilliant idea as they won’t be easily stained by the Martian soil, and so will require less frequent washing as a result.
Books
The 6-7 months (give or take) in space until you reach your final destination don’t have to be the most boring spacecraft trip you’ve ever had in your life. With little foresight, you can plan your time well and even have some genuine fun while flying among the stars. And what better entertainment than having a personal library of topical books on board the Mars-bound spaceship?
Fascinating reads that chronicle the colonization of Mars can be your excellent companions during the long hours of the interstellar trip. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, The Martian by Andy Weir and The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury are must-have books to kill the boredom that will surely hit you sooner or later.
Films and music
There will be neither radio nor television on Mars, at least not for the first 20 years or so, so it’s a great idea to bring your favorite collections of films and music to keep you company during the deafeningly quiet Martian evenings.
Mission to Mars (2000), The Last Days on Mars (2013) and The Martian (2015) are superb choices as they are all highly entertaining and educational movies at the same time. After all, Mars survival skills will be one of the most important assets of the first settlers on the Red Planet. Still, regardless of the film genres you prefer, it will definitely be a huge moving mistake to watch how vigorously trained Space Marines “find themselves at the mercy of genetically enhanced killing machines” (Doom (2005)).
To drown out the monotonous hum of the spacecraft engines, playing soft and relaxing music over the headphones can do wonders for your nervous system. When it comes to music genres on an intragalactic relocation trip, the sky’s the limit (what!?!). Nevertheless, you may soon catch yourself singing softly to yourself, “Past the satellites and stars, they’re moving us to Mars…” (Moving to Mars by Coldplay).
What not to pack when moving to Mars
If you end up being one of the chosen ones to be a part of the moving to Mars mission, you will be forced to leave most of your belongings behind. In addition to the severely limited space on board the spaceship that will take you to your destination, the overall weight of the crew and their possessions will play a major role to how the entire Mars colonization project plays out.
The Red Planet requires considerably less energy per unit mass (delta V) to be reached from Earth but that fact doesn’t mean that you are welcome to increase the amounts of energy and fuel needed for the trip through space by taking things that will prove to be utterly useless there, like a standard two-wheel bicycle, for example.
Here are a few more examples of what you should not take when moving to Mars permanently:
- Pets and plants. Generally speaking, the Martian air is highly toxic to both animals and plants, so start planning in advance how to say goodbye to your favorite pet and take one last long look at your lovely plants. Even if you choose to keep your pet indoors, your cat won’t be too thrilled about going to a world with no mice, while your dog will truly miss the habitual walks in the park. Oh, and they won’t enjoy the potato diet either!
- Fishing tackle. You must have skipped your Mars colonization classes because if you didn’t, you would know that there are no streams, rivers, lakes or any other bodies of water on Mars where fish can actually live in. In reality, Mars has no life forms of any kind, so don’t bother packing up your fishing gear.
- Your surfboard. You’d better give your favorite surfboard to your best surf buddy as you’re getting mentally ready for the endless beaches of fine red dust with no seas or oceans in sight. California and Hawaii, you will be dearly missed!
- A compass. Although a compass won’t take much space in your Mars-labeled survival kit, the instrument used for navigation and orientation will be utterly useless there. Why? The Red Planet has no magnetic field so your compass needle will keep changing its mind about the planet’s true north every 5 seconds or so.
- Mars chocolate bars. Although it may seem like a cool idea to have a box of themed chocolate bars in your backpack (“Look at me, I’m having a Mars on my way to Mars!”), just remember that it will be kind of hard to book an appointment with a dentist in your destination planet. And trust us one more time that you’d prefer to pass through a black hole than to endure an excruciating toothache on Mars.
- Rubik’s Cube. Do yourself a favor and don’t take a Rubik’s Cube. Trust us, (again?), this crazy 3-D combination puzzle just can’t be solved. Period. Not on Earth, not on Mars, not anywhere else.
Mars colonization is a fantastic dream
While the debates of the advantages and disadvantages of moving to Mars are surely going to intensify in the future, it’s fair to know upfront that a Mars colonization trip can hide a score of dangers for us humans as well. The dual hazards of vacuum and radiation during the spaceflight, combined with the negative effects of microgravity on our bodies and psychology could prove to be an insurmountable obstacle on our way to greatness.
For now, the colonization of Mars remains only a distant dream. However, that beautiful dream may not be as distant as you might think. Most of us need to believe that it’s only a matter of time before the terraforming of Mars becomes a reality. In fact, the process of creating vast areas where the hostile Martian environment will be made safe for humans has already begun, be it only on paper.
There’s no turning back now! NASA is preparing for the Mars 2020 mission whose main objective will be to answer essential questions about the habitability of the Red Planet. As part of the long-term robotic exploration of Mars, the scheduled mission to the second smallest planet in the Solar System will be unmanned.
Moreover, Mars One is still searching to find the best candidates for the first human missions to Mars. If you think you’ve got what it takes to become one of the very first settlers on the Red Planet, visit this page to learn more about the requirements, or why not even submit your moving to Mars application to become the Martian you’ve always wanted.
In the meantime, if you happen to be in need of high-quality relocation services here on Earth while dreaming about moving to Mars, just remember that a successful house move on this planet always begins with accurate moving price calculation.
We’d love to hear what you think about the idea of Mars Colonization.
Are humans ready to move to Mars?
What would you take with you if you were moving to Mars in a few weeks’ time?
On the other hand, which items would you definitely not pack in your Martian backpack?
Feel free to share your thoughts below.
Here is the full video where Elon Musk unveils his plan for Colonizing Mars:
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WOW – what an entertaining article!
Very well written with a fun side.
If I ever go – I will be taking this with me.