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If you were offered the chance to be one of the first people to settle on the planet Mars, would you go?  Keep in mind that you would most likely never return to Earth if you did.

Nah, I’m good.

Seems like something like that would be similar to when a new Windows update is offered. You wait a couple years for everyone else to get fucked up by it while the company works out the kinks so it’s actually safe.

Yeah, it probably would be a lot easier to make it there if things are already set up and the dangers understood better.

As my life is now?  No way in hell.

Maybe if I needed a new start and had nothing to live for on earth, but even then I probably wouldn't.

Being on some desert planet, far away from my family, where I cannot even go outside without special equipment doesn't appeal to me.

(Even if you can breath with the rocks.)

Sure, if you have a good life here, why would you go away from it all.

 

I don't think any of us would do as well as this guy.

https://youtu.be/JQBYa0xv_bc

That would depend entirely on who was going with me.

I imagine having the right people along would make all the difference.

What kind of internet speed would be available?

If you're talking about connecting to the Earth, you would have quite a lag, depending on how close the planets were at the time.

Well that is simply unacceptable. If we have the technology to get a person TO Mars, and then the technology to create oxygen out of nothing (or maybe we're shipping a LOT in, I don't know), then certainly we can develop some light-speed technology to transfer tiny bits from Mars to earth.

From what I understand, there's a way to mine water from the Martian soil and to create breathable oxygen from the air in the atmosphere. I believe the initial dwellings will be underground bunkers and over the course of time the surface would be terraformed. Robots are supposed to do the initial setup before they land.

I think the one company wanted to send four people on a way way ticket in 2026, but I wouldn't be surprised if it gets delayed into the 2030's.

Building a new, Mars only internet would be easy enough. So many lessons to be learned from the failures of the Earth one too.

No children?

Absolutely not. The thought of having to live in the same hellscape for the rest of my life with only the same few people for company sounds...awful. There's no traveling on Mars, and even if you want to travel around the planet, there's nothing new to do, nobody new to see, and no new landscape to look at because everything is just shades of red. Also, imagine eating nothing but astronaut food for the rest of your life. I'd probably kill myself on day three.

Considering how tired I get of being stuck on an airplane after a couple of hours, I can understand.  And, while I've never had astronaut food, I imagine it's even worse than airline food.

An entire planet we know almost nothing about beyond very, very long distance pictures taken of its surface and a few soil samples. A settlement to build and expand, still the same access to more digital entertainment than it would be possible to consume in a lifetime as as well as the tools to create more. Traditional art made with local materials would probably be huge, too.
'Nothing to do, nothing to look at', sure.

No one new to meet... except for the people who fly space ships and bring in new groups of settlers, and the new people actually being born. Although it would probably be polite to at least TRY to show interest in the lives of people you've already met as well.

Everyone will be growing their own food and laughing at the weirdo sitting off alone every day eating paste from a tube.

I agree with Leora though that a lot would depend on who else was colonizing the place with you. Most of the people in this thread so far would be insufferable complainers.

Oh, fuck that on every possible level. I'm not giving up shit to go live a shitty life on Mars and to die forgotten. I have no possible idea why anyone would ever want that.

I suppose it's the challenge.

Pffh, fuck that, not a chance I'm losing my life to go live a shitty life there for the challenge. It's not even that hard, it's just stupid.

I'd rather be a moon pioneer to be honest.

It's a much shorter journey at least.

Hell yes. This isn't even the first time this has come up and my answer has always been the same. I used to read/watch/play everything I could get my hands on about colonizing Mars. The first colonists would be doing something no one has ever done before and remembered by history forever and anything they build or learn would directly benefit future colonists.

Plus there's that whole preserving art and knowledge and culture and carrying on the human race thing once things inevitably go to shit on Earth.

No one remembers the first "people" to do something. It's the first person, everyone else is forgotten.

It seems to me that that is the best argument for going, that humanity will need more planets, eventually.

Oh yeah, SOMEONE should definitely go and get a Mars colony going. No dispute there, let's get that shit done. I'm just disappointed the only people willing to go will be retards who want to go colonize a shithole.

Additional questions for the thread:

1.) Have any of you ever done, or expect to do, anything billions of other unoriginal retards haven't already done before you, before they also died and were forgotten?

2.) Those of you who would cite how cool and fun and comfortable your life is now as a reason to pass up a unique one chance only opportunity, what's your realistic expectation on how long things will remain that way for you to keep it 'worth it'?

Anyway I'm off to write, you guys enjoy your existential crisis.

1. Sure, I've done unique things. In fact, pretty much everything about my life is pretty unique. I'm only one of five kids born to one of my parents, one of three to the other. I've talked to and affected many people in my life, for better and worse, and that in and of itself will have a ripple through time that will be felt ad infinitum. Plus, I think I downed the most alcohol of any man, woman or Russian in history.

2. About eight years.

Question for Mizal: Do you know the names of the crew of the Victoria? Fuck it, do you even know what they did without Googling it? How about the first colonists in America? Do you remember them? The first colonists... anywhere? No? Yeah, the dudes on Mars will die unremembered and buried in the red sands, except for like one guy everyone remembers as the face of the moment. 

I've never done anything especially noteworthy, but I don't have a big desire to.

I just want to live a quiet life and leave my future children well off; I would like to make someone's life better, but often those who do the most fade into obscurity.  In short, I want the white picket fence American Dream.

There is no guarantee that I will have that, but going to Mars would make such a life impossible.

It's great to be adventurous and all, but someone else-- somebody with knowledge and ambition-- can have my seat.

It seems to me that the reason for going wouldn't be to become famous  If you go, it's because either you wish the experience, or you wish to do something worthwhile for the people who follow after you.

Yeah honestly I was responding more to specific comments like 'who wants to be a retard dying on Mars' made elsewhere by retards that are going to die on Earth. Living on Mars would cool af though.

Sure, why not? That offer has to be for some reason, and as long as this sender is a safe agency, then I don't see why I wouldn't say yes.
Plus, I can help establish the first church/religious institution on another planet. That'd have to be in history books.

Yeah I like your plan.

If you introduce religion, people will eventually disagree with each other on which passage is right or wrong and get in wars over it. Along with all the lovely inquisitions, oppression and such. Mars will become just like Earth.

Granted something like that will probably happen anyway even without religion, but it'll go much faster with it and you'll get all the credit.

Sure, some might curse your name, but you'll probably be revered as well so you take the good with the bad. Also you'll probably already be dead by the time the really bad shit happens so you'll be sitting at God's table or something.

Or just rotting in the red soil, but either way you won't have to deal with the fallout.

I mean you can't really 'introduce religion', presumably everyone will have their own beliefs already or at least be aware of the concept.

I'd settle just for making Mars Pride a big deal and writing inspirational literature about how much better we are than the decadent, decaying Earthians.

I'd use the term Terran. Earthian sounds silly.

Also whenever they call humans "Terrans" in science fiction we're usually portrayed as more authoritarian and violent.

Never did understand how Terran became the default for sci fi. Nobody actually calls the planet Terra, and every other species is named after their planet. Let's not be the special snowflakes of the galaxy.

Just be a good Earthling.

probably gonna fucking kms so might as well do it on mars lol 

Well, if I kms on the way there, I'll be the first to do it in space.

This thread reminds me I one filled up two notebooks with most of an epic about two generations of Mars colonists and a psychic plant cult.

This thread is really interesting to me. We watched The Martian on Monday and we're supposed to do projects about living on Mars. I was going to write a story, does anyone have any ideas for me?

I'll PM you. (If that's okay with your mom!)

But you must solemnly swear never to speak of this site to your teachers or classmates.

E: are you in the US? I thought schools were closed Monday.

In today's day and age, I'd be afraid someone would shoot me in the back of the head and upload it to YouTube to become infamous as the first person to commit murder in space or on Mars.

For the sake of this scenario I'm assuming everyone would be screened and psychologically profiled to ensure no sociopaths and/or people who might annoy me enough to eventually murder them get through.

Probably not. There are far more opportunities here on Earth - I can't chase my dreams from another planet.

There's certainly no reason to go searching for what you want on another planet if you're already happy here on Earth.