Uploaded August 2019 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
From how we would get there, to how we would make life sustainable, join me as we explore the plans out there right now to colonize Mars.
9. The Desire
If humanity has taught us anything over the years, it's that if they don't have the desire to do anything...they won't do it. Yet for whatever reason, good or bad, when it comes to the idea of colonizing Mars, humanity has had an itch for it for some time.
You could argue that this started all the way back in 1969 when man first landed on the moon. An accolade of which that we just celebrated its 50th anniversary for. So to many, if we could surmount the "impossible" mission to go to the moon, why was Mars such an "impossible" task?
. People like Elon Musk are making their own plans to colonize Mars, thus putting us ahead of places like NASA who don't have the funding that they used to.
8. How Would We Get There?
That is the question, isn't it? After all, if traveling to Mars was easy...we would've done it by now. When in fact, traveling to Mars is rather difficult on its best days. Think about it like this...
However, that is changing, and changing quickly. The SpaceX program is preparing their own colonization of Mars, and to start this off, they're sending cargo ships to the red planet via their Big Falcon Rocket. They're truly preparing this right now, and aim to launch the first of these "cargo ships" in 2022. And once those touchdown, they'll send out the first wave of colonists in 2024.
.
7. Where To Land On Mars
Once you get over the question of, "How do we land on Mars?", the next question that needs to be asked is, "Where do we land on Mars?" After all, landing at a key position, one that can help sustain the life of the colonists, is vital.
Think of it in this context, if you were human, and you tried to colonize Earth, would you land in a desert?
6. Where Would We Live On Mars?
There's a lot of differences between Mars and Earth. But without a doubt the biggest difference is the atmosphere. Mainly...Mars doesn't have one. So because of that, the planet isn't shielded from the suns radiation or just the regular radiation of space that our Earth shields us from most times. Also, since there is no atmosphere to keep things out, that also means there's no oxygen to keep the gasses in. Meaning, no Oxygen, no Carbon Dioxide, nothing.
5. Powering the Colony
One thing that might have slipped your mind when you thought about how we would colonize Mars is the power needed to power everything. While it's true that the first colonists would likely be outfitted with something to last them a lot of days, and maybe years, and supply ships could bring in more things like batteries, you must also prepare for the worst. What if the main generator is struck by something in a freak accident? What happens is something from space causes the batteries to fail? What would be done then?
The answer is in the plan. Space X intends to launch the colony with a series of reactors and generators. Some of them will be meant to specifically power the station itself. While others will be used to test making power based on the elements that are naturally and readily available on Mars. Thorium for example is one element they believe they can harness a great amount of power from.
4. Multiple Trips
Confused? It may seem odd to try and colonize Mars and then to leave it not long after landing down, right? But remember, colonization is a long term goal. And the LAST thing you want to do is go to a plan and grow too fast and then have something terrible happen to you in the process.
3. Round 2
After they return to Earth, a bunch of research and tests will begin. After all, the now official colonists from Mars are the only real proof and evidence of life on Mars, so they'll need to be tested to see how they react to the return to Earth, how healthy they are, see if anything got on them sickness wise, etc.
All of this data will be vital to the SECOND trip to Mars. Where Elon Musk is planning to go even bigger this go around.
2. Adjusting To Life On Mars
Another thing that gets lost in the planning of going to a place like Mars is the issue of actually adjusting to life on Mars itself. Going from a rather open world like Earth where you can move around rather quickly to a place where you're going to be confined more times than not is quite a change. For the people who live on the International Space Station above Earth, they have to do rigorous exercise in order to ensure that their bones don't wither from the lack of gravity. .
So basically...it's Martian College without the dorm food.
The psychological aspects of living life on Mars can't be discounted. In fact, they're a key part that many will analyze upon preparing for the second mission to Mars.
1. Expansion
But, if all goes as planned, and we're able to truly make multiple trips to Mars and start to colonize it, that changes everything..
From how we would get there, to how we would make life sustainable, join me as we explore the plans out there right now to colonize Mars.
9. The Desire
If humanity has taught us anything over the years, it's that if they don't have the desire to do anything...they won't do it. Yet for whatever reason, good or bad, when it comes to the idea of colonizing Mars, humanity has had an itch for it for some time.
You could argue that this started all the way back in 1969 when man first landed on the moon. An accolade of which that we just celebrated its 50th anniversary for. So to many, if we could surmount the "impossible" mission to go to the moon, why was Mars such an "impossible" task?
. People like Elon Musk are making their own plans to colonize Mars, thus putting us ahead of places like NASA who don't have the funding that they used to.
8. How Would We Get There?
That is the question, isn't it? After all, if traveling to Mars was easy...we would've done it by now. When in fact, traveling to Mars is rather difficult on its best days. Think about it like this...
However, that is changing, and changing quickly. The SpaceX program is preparing their own colonization of Mars, and to start this off, they're sending cargo ships to the red planet via their Big Falcon Rocket. They're truly preparing this right now, and aim to launch the first of these "cargo ships" in 2022. And once those touchdown, they'll send out the first wave of colonists in 2024.
.
7. Where To Land On Mars
Once you get over the question of, "How do we land on Mars?", the next question that needs to be asked is, "Where do we land on Mars?" After all, landing at a key position, one that can help sustain the life of the colonists, is vital.
Think of it in this context, if you were human, and you tried to colonize Earth, would you land in a desert?
6. Where Would We Live On Mars?
There's a lot of differences between Mars and Earth. But without a doubt the biggest difference is the atmosphere. Mainly...Mars doesn't have one. So because of that, the planet isn't shielded from the suns radiation or just the regular radiation of space that our Earth shields us from most times. Also, since there is no atmosphere to keep things out, that also means there's no oxygen to keep the gasses in. Meaning, no Oxygen, no Carbon Dioxide, nothing.
5. Powering the Colony
One thing that might have slipped your mind when you thought about how we would colonize Mars is the power needed to power everything. While it's true that the first colonists would likely be outfitted with something to last them a lot of days, and maybe years, and supply ships could bring in more things like batteries, you must also prepare for the worst. What if the main generator is struck by something in a freak accident? What happens is something from space causes the batteries to fail? What would be done then?
The answer is in the plan. Space X intends to launch the colony with a series of reactors and generators. Some of them will be meant to specifically power the station itself. While others will be used to test making power based on the elements that are naturally and readily available on Mars. Thorium for example is one element they believe they can harness a great amount of power from.
4. Multiple Trips
Confused? It may seem odd to try and colonize Mars and then to leave it not long after landing down, right? But remember, colonization is a long term goal. And the LAST thing you want to do is go to a plan and grow too fast and then have something terrible happen to you in the process.
3. Round 2
After they return to Earth, a bunch of research and tests will begin. After all, the now official colonists from Mars are the only real proof and evidence of life on Mars, so they'll need to be tested to see how they react to the return to Earth, how healthy they are, see if anything got on them sickness wise, etc.
All of this data will be vital to the SECOND trip to Mars. Where Elon Musk is planning to go even bigger this go around.
2. Adjusting To Life On Mars
Another thing that gets lost in the planning of going to a place like Mars is the issue of actually adjusting to life on Mars itself. Going from a rather open world like Earth where you can move around rather quickly to a place where you're going to be confined more times than not is quite a change. For the people who live on the International Space Station above Earth, they have to do rigorous exercise in order to ensure that their bones don't wither from the lack of gravity. .
So basically...it's Martian College without the dorm food.
The psychological aspects of living life on Mars can't be discounted. In fact, they're a key part that many will analyze upon preparing for the second mission to Mars.
1. Expansion
But, if all goes as planned, and we're able to truly make multiple trips to Mars and start to colonize it, that changes everything..
