Mission to Mars: Breaking of a New Dawn or Re-Emergence of Imperial Colonization?
By Eryn Swann
Artwork by Michelle Marshall
A Brief Overview of the Mars Expedition
Mars — the “Red Planet,” Earth’s closest neighbor (furthest from the Sun) and our potential future home. Science fiction authors have imagined and written about creatures that originate from here while futurists and scientists alike have dreamt to step foot on it and achieve interplanetary travel. Humanity’s goal of setting foot on Mars is edging closer and closer everyday and now seems a certainty, but one which would take time. SpaceX has been developing prototypes of the rockets that will carry future Mars-bound astronauts, in the hopes of safely and assuredly building a vessel that is worthy of such a long and difficult journey. The journey to Mars will take on average around 7 months and the treacherousness of this journey has been likened by Elon Musk as “Shackleton going to the Antarctic'' in which Musk truthfully reminded the public that “a bunch of people will probably die in the beginning.” This is often the fate of many crews and explorers across history that have braved dangerous territory in search of a new world. But as often in history humankind does not often consider what comes after the first arrival. So once these 7 months are over and the mission crew reaches Mars, what will be the next steps in colonizing the red planet and prolonging humanity’s future?
The New Martian Society
Eventually when the expeditionary missions to Mars are successful and a new society has been built, what might this society look like? More than likely, the initial crews will be made up of traditional NASA astronauts; typically engineers, scientists, pilots, and defense and medical personnel. This society will be shaped by intellectuals who will collectively work to build the important infrastructure and life supporting frameworks integral to the colony’s foundation. Given that the early explorers may be contracted to NASA via SpaceX, the astronauts themselves, may in most cases, be U.S. citizens whilst potentially also representing other U.S. allied nations such as the Five Eyes Alliance. Thus, the colony itself may initially parallel a defense/scientific base, rather than a free society. Probably similar in nature to current Antarctic bases. The initial crews may be integral to the development of life supporting systems that establish prolonged oxygen supply, water collection and storage, vegetation and crop growth, as well as efficient communication systems for correspondence with Mission Control. There will also need to be day to day mechanical maintenance of technical infrastructure including Mars Rovers and other equipment. These early endeavors by eligible professionals and technicians will likely form the basis of the establishment of safe structures and the sophisticated technological emergence of the Martian Colony.
But what happens after the initial phase? Upon the completion of the physical build of the colony, it would be an important consideration as to who the next Martian inhabitants are.
It may be vital that for the first few decades it remains as a society of scientists, engineers and technicians so that the scarce resources of oxygen, water, and potential plant life, may be carefully cultivated before they are ready for mass consumption by future inhabitants. Therefore, it is necessary that everyone who lives in the colony, works in the colony and thus, it is crucial that their role be essential. It would also be interesting to note that these first inhabitants will undoubtedly be committing a great sacrifice as they will more than likely be leaving behind their families with only a slim or no chance of return. This leads to a further interesting consideration as how to combat the overwhelming isolation, homesickness, and distraction from family life on Earth, it may be optimal for the first Martian inhabitants and crew members to be childless or single explorers entirely.
Over time the type of inhabitants will change to more closely resemble the mix of professions found on Earth. Think for example of the emergence of chefs, corporate professionals, teachers, miners and tradespeople. In the long term we may even see artists and politicians. It is inevitable that the colony will breed its own distinct cultures. Let’s have a look at potential systems that may develop in the future.
Financial Systems
In the long-term, it would be an interesting discussion whether financial systems are necessary or wanted in the colony assuming that all mission expenditures would be funded through nation states for example, by both NASA (courtesy of the U.S. Government) and outsourced government contractors like SpaceX, not to mention other defense companies from around the world that might develop and provide useful equipment and parts. If the colony functions for a sufficiently long period without a form of currency it may breed a consideration to abandon any form of financial system altogether. This may then result in the abandonment of the finance sector on Mars. In the future, such sectors may only remain on Earth and eventually even fade over time as finance may no longer be a viable career choice for the future population of Earth, should they wish to interact with Mars or seek to work in the Martian Colony.
Political Systems
Ancient Rome and Greece are prime examples of societies that, after innovating and building modern infrastructure, brought forth sophisticated innovative systems involving philosophy and politics to retain order. The birthplace of the republic as scribed by Plato concerns justice, knowledgeable leaders, and theories of utopia. This thinking and dialogue are what led to the foundations of modern political systems from the governance of Caesars to Emperors to modern-day Presidents and Prime Ministers. Over the course of history, these political systems and leaders have taken on various forms including dictatorships, democracies or constitutional republics and monarchies. Specifically in relation to most Western and allied countries, constitutional republics and monarchies have evolved to both represent the people but also be elected by the people. Commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.K. abide by the Westminster System in which the ruling party, elected by the people, has their own authority to support or remove the party leader, who may serve as the leader of the country, without the consent or support of the people. This system is often heavily debated in such countries as individuals question the value of elections when the elected representative party may ignore the desires of the people in favor of their own political aspirations within the party. A common feature of modern democracies are countries that have a two-party system (such as Republicans and Democrats or Conservatives and Labour), resulting in divisive behavior that does not do much for the growth of society. This kind of traditional party politics may not be essential to the importance of prolonging technological and environmental innovations, and may prove unnecessary in the future colony.
Political systems have shaped most of human history and it would be an interesting consideration as to whether these systems will or should be abandoned by the Martian Colony. Order will undoubtedly occur within the first decade of the colony due to the duty of the Martian crew in discovering their surroundings, relaying information back and forth to Mission Control, and working to cultivate resources that will be integral to both their own survival, but also for the evolution of the planet in the hope that it will eventually become entirely inhabitable.
However, if and when the colony is eventually deemed to be suited for the import of additional inhabitants to grow the population, would anyone govern it? Would NASA still be an invisible, controlling entity that the colony will report to? Will there be a need for Earth politicians to further their political aspirations by governing a Martian colony?
One hypothesis may be that the people who worked hard to cultivate their society and oversaw the development of vital life support systems on such an arduous planet, compared to Earth, may not feel that it is in their best interest to report back to Earth. The Martian colonists may potentially even deem it to be unfair in the event that someone unrelated to the mission entirely suddenly seeks to govern it, with no understanding of the effort that was put in. It could also be likely that given international relations, the allied countries of the Martian crew may elect a command leader that is in charge of the entire mission crew. This leader may either be a defense force officer, potentially a Space Force Commander or a respected senior scientist or engineer that oversees both the mission and the crew. Therefore, until essential systems have been put in place by the first Martian inhabitants and potentially an entire second generation, will political systems even be considered. If the Martian Colony were to expand further into a society akin to a country with its own desire to protect itself and its citizens, then political systems may be considered but who knows what form it would take.
Impact on Earth
Upon the successful colonization of Mars, in the long-term, many technologically skilled Earth citizens may see Mars as a more viable planet to gain valuable opportunities and further their careers. However, as it will take many hundreds of years for Mars to eventually resemble a home similar to Earth, in turn, Earth may then become a planet that will begin to utilize tourism for Martian citizens. Over the course of the transformation of Mars into a more Earth-like planet, many former Earth citizens may wish to travel back home and travel the world to appease unwavering nostalgia for their past life. This may prove to be quite economically beneficial for Earth, due to the influx of former Earth citizens and first-generation Martians to see the beauty and versatility of humanity’s first home. Everything that was ever built on Earth may remain into the long-term future, however Mars may soon come to dethrone Earth as the most technologically advanced society. By becoming technically second to the Martian Colony, Earth, while potentially not making huge technological advancements, may retain its position as a cultural or spiritual home. Thus, other careers that were not initially valuable on Mars, and may still not be required, will be careers that remain and continue to thrive on Earth.
The experiment to transform the red planet into an alternative home will be one of humanity’s greatest achievements, and the impact of this on both Martian and Earth life will be one that can only currently be theorized. The importance of establishing a new home will prove to be great, but that does not mean that life on Earth will change. Some things will prove to be true. Both planets will become major destinations and continue their evolution in accordance with their respective societal plans and values. The history of Earth will always remain and will likely be continually interconnected with and be taught in the Martian colony to those that were not fortunate enough to have lived through it. While the human race seeks to build a new world, Earth will forever remain as the home of ingenuity and all the greatest innovations that have spawned from the third planet from the sun. ◆