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A new study states that humanity would need to send a minimum of 110 people to Mars to build a self-sustaining civilization there.
The document, written by Jean-Marc Salotti of the French National Polytechnic Institute of Bordeaux Published in Scientific Reports, he took a big turn in trying to solve this seemingly simple question through mathematical modeling.
“To survive on Mars, some assumptions are made for the organization of the settlers and the question of engineering.” Salotti wrote in the study.
“The minimum number of settlers was calculated and the result is 110 individuals.”
The figure is a “relatively low number,” Salotti acknowledges, but would help ensure that supplies and resources are not depleted quickly. He imagines these people living in an oxygen-filled dome and growing plants in glass-built greenhouses with reflectors that provide “enough light.”
To have a “suitable soil” for plants, Salotti believes that a variety of rocks, salts, water and “organic and decomposing wastes (insects and microorganisms) are needed.”
“The water will be extracted from the frozen ground and recycled with natural filters, “he added.
Salotti noted that the overall success of those people in the Red Planet will likely depend on a variety of factors, including how well they cooperate with each other and share their time and resources.
Problems arising from armed conflict and government control here on Earth, however, they could be major obstacles to the future colonization of Mars.
“In the event of war on Earth, important infrastructure in the space sector can be destroyed, causing a long-term disruption to space travel,” said Salotti.
“It could also happen that there is a conflict between the land governments and the settlers and, later, a group declares its independence and tries to survive on its own. Another reason could be the willingness of a new government to stop the liquidation process due to the endless increase in costs. ”
Although the question the study addressed is largely theoretical at the moment, Salotti is aware that life on Earth might one day be threatened by “some cataclysmic event”, and the only way humanity could survive would be to go to Mars or another suitable planet.
Earlier this month, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk urged his employees to speed up work on the next-generation Starship rocket, which will one day transport humans to Mars and eventually build a colony there.
Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Technology editor who has published on Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow him or contact him at LinkedIn
Image: Reuters
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