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colonization

SPACE: Will We Need to Tweak Our DNA to Colonize Mars?

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Mars - NASA

If humanity is ever going to settle down on Mars, we may need to become a little less human. Crewed missions to Mars, which NASA wants to start flying in the 2030s, will be tough on astronauts, exposing them to high radiation loads, bone-wasting microgravity and other hazards for several years at a time. But these pioneers should still be able to make it back to Earth in relatively good nick, agency officials have said. It might be a different story for those who choose not to come home, however. If we want to stay safe and healthy while living … Read more

FOR WRITERS: A Paucity of Earths

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FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Jim Comer: Earthlike worlds are in a distinct minority in our galaxy. Space travel is likelier to take us to worlds where we’ll live in tunnels and caves. Who has used this in their fiction? Who’s assumed it as a norm? How is life different? Writers: This is a writer chat – you are welcome to share your own book/link, as long as it fits the chat, but please do so as part of a discussion about the topic. Join the chat: FB: http://bit.ly/1MvPABV MeWe: http://bit.ly/2mjg8lf

SPACE: The Science of Reproducing on Mars

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Mars - pixabay

In 1972, citizen scientist Sir Elton John hypothesized that Mars “ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids.” While John’s remarks were never published in a peer-reviewed journal (though they did peak at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart), he’s not wrong about the Red Planet’s inhospitality. With its freezing climate, thin atmosphere and weak gravity, Mars will be a hard place to raise the children necessary to sustain a permanent colony there. And according to a new paper published in the June issue of the journal Futures, conceiving kids on Mars will be even harder. Thinking about … Read more

Colonizing Space

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Beyond Earth

In Beyond Earth: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets, Charles Wohlforth and Amanda R. Hendrix propose colonizing Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, and the second largest moon in the solar system. They reject constructing colonies on Mars and the Moon, claiming Titan offers the most resources for creating a permanent human settlement. Even though I don’t buy their premise, Wohlforth and Hendrix have written a book that nicely sums up the current knowledge on human space travel. What’s damning and depressing is their long litany of obstacles we face living in space. Over the years I’ve … Read more