Tag: Rumination

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Existential risk

I’ve been reading about existential risk lately. This article is not immediately relevant to Mars or our future there. But it also kinda is.

The Tanis fossil site, in North Dakota, appears to be showing us creatures directly killed by the Chicxulub asteroid impact. The picture of that leg is reminder that “geologic time” includes now, just as it did for these organisms on a day that changed the world, 66 million years ago.

From the article:
“We’ve got so many details with this site that tell us what happened moment by moment, it’s almost like watching it play out in the movies. You look at the rock column, you look at the fossils there, and it brings you back to that day,” says Robert DePalma, the University of Manchester, UK, graduate student who leads the Tanis dig.

Tanis: Fossil found of dinosaur killed in asteroid strike, scientists claim
Tanis: Fossil found of dinosaur killed in asteroid strike, scientists claim

Remains are unearthed of a dinosaur that may have died on the very day a space rock hit Earth.
BBC News BBC News
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Mars optimism

A succinct and optimistic piece from Chris Carberry and Rick Zucker at Explore Mars on why a commitment to putting humans on Mars is a good idea right now.
“After over 18 months of worldwide upheaval and social isolation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, people crave optimistic, ambitious, affordable and achievable programs that can help us overcome the negativity and division that hinders us.”

When will we finally set foot on Mars?
When will we finally set foot on Mars?

There are few topics of public discourse with such broad-based support as our space program and the efforts of all humanity to reach the Red Planet.
The Hill The Hill
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William Shatner visits space

I love this reaction (at 2:45:50). I don’t think I’d want a champagne shower and party as I stepped out of that capsule either. Life-changing events require time to process. Thanks, William Shatner, for giving voice to that wonder.
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Perseverance on Mars

I took a few minutes last night to stand out in the cold and look up at Mars. That bright orange dot, right there next to the Moon: we built a robot, and we threw it at that dot, and that robot used its own wits to find the perfect landing spot, and now it sits there, ready to look for past life. On that bright orange dot, right there next to the Moon.

image: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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There will come a time

“There will come a time,” said Sally, “when things will go wrong.” Her face was serious but kind. “Comms might go down. Your suit might get damaged. Your nose might itch.” Everybody smiled. And then everybody’s nose itched. “Things will go wrong,” Sally repeated, “often many things at once. It’s very easy to lose your cool when they do, and that’s guaranteed to make things worse. But if you keep calm and deal with each problem as it comes, there is always a way to make things better.”

Air: Generation Mars, Book One

Coming in October

 

image: NASA/JPL/MSSS; processing and mosaic: Olivier de Goursac (fr), 2014

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How many people?

This is an interesting paper estimating the minimum number of people required for a self-sufficient colony on Mars. Using a mathematical model to estimate work time requirements vs. work time capacity, the researchers come up with a surprisingly low number: 110.

In the forthcoming second book of the Generation Mars series, I peg the colony population at around 5000, so I think I’m good there.

Minimum Number of Settlers for Survival on Another Planet - Scientific Reports
Minimum Number of Settlers for Survival on Another Planet - Scientific Reports

What is the feasibility of survival on another planet and being self-sustaining? This question is of particular importance for the future of the space conquest and perhaps also for the future of humanity in general [1,2]. The use of in situ resources and different social organizations have been proposed [3–6,12–19] but there is still a…
Nature Nature
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Interview with Neal Stephenson

Neal Stephenson, commenting on a bunch of stuff.

Neal Stephenson Wants To Tell Big Stories 
Neal Stephenson Wants To Tell Big Stories 

An economist and a science fiction author discuss cryogenics, mythology, philanthropy, fragmentation, and simulation.
Reason.com Reason.com

His comments regarding personal freedom in a Martian colony don’t gel with mine. The social system that I imagine in Generation Mars has a great respect for personal freedom.

However, that is tempered by a level of social responsibility that we would likely find unrecognizable here on Earth.