What to Expect When You're Living on Mars in 2026
The concept of human settlements on Mars has been a staple of science fiction for generations. Humankind has always been fascinated by space travel and the possibility that other worlds might contain living organisms. Mars One and Space X are two missions that aim to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars by 2026. It’s humankind’s first attempt to become a multi-planetary species.
Several discoveries have been made about Earth's smaller, colder, more distant cousin with the information obtained from the various orbiters and rovers that have landed on Mars.
From dried-up riverbeds to an atmosphere incredibly friendly to plants, Mars has many raw ingredients necessary for life almost mirroring the resources once abundant on Earth. And with a few tweaks, i.e., major infrastructural investment, it’s possible to survive the Martian landscape and build thriving human settlements.
Can Humans Actually Survive on Mars?
The red planet can feasibly support life, but there are a variety of ways in which it can kill you. For instance, Mars doesn't have an atmosphere. It was lost to space eons ago, meaning humans would have to live underground to avoid zapping radiation from space and the sun. Not to mention, the constant threat of suffocation considering what's left of the Martian atmosphere is essentially toxic to humans.
Lack of an atmosphere means low atmospheric pressure, which would cause your blood to boil - literally. And temperatures drop below Antarctica’s levels at night. So yeah, life on Mars will require more than pitching a tent and wandering the surface in space suits.
Then again, Earth isn't necessarily safe for human life either with its destructive hurricanes, heat waves, and terrifying tsunamis. Sometimes these events are gargantuan in scale, claiming thousands of lives and destroying entire cities.
Yes, life on Mars is dangerous. But so is life on Earth.
On the good side, Mars has plenty of water, from buried lakes to frozen glaciers.
Life on Mars – Building from Scratch
How can human life survive on Mars? Fortunately for aspiring Martians, scientists have spent plenty of time ideating human survival on the hostile planet. Ideas about Martian living include big bubble cities, underground bases, greenhouse-like domes to safely enclose life on the surface, underground bases, and Martian homes built from fungi.
Sending humans to Mars comes with huge costs, risks, and technological challenges. First, since Mars doesn't have much of an atmosphere, we'll need to build infrastructure to solve this problem – something we've never had to do on Earth. The good news is: companies are already designing possible habitat prototypes that could be replicated or transported to Mars aboard spaceships.
However, it's unreasonable to expect the next few Martian expeditions to create flourishing cities on the red planet. In fact, the first few missions will just stay on the ship. The first Mars colonists will likely live and work out of the landed spacecraft.
These are the humans that will set the foundation for life on Earth. Among their first tasks will be building radiation shielding. Luckily, this doesn't need to be high-tech. Old lava tubes and underground caves already exist on Mars; the task will be to enhance them into ideal places of shelter. In fact, such structures can shield humans from dust storms and solar storms that sometimes cover the entire planet.
Also, 3D printing technology will be incredibly useful in building a Martian society. It's a great way to create custom structures and 3D printed habitats. These are habitats built by robots that require little to no human intervention. And they can be constructed from materials that are easily accessible on the planet, such as ground-up Martian rocks.
NASA’s 3D printed habitat challenge resulted in various ideas and also advanced the construction technology needed to create sustainable housing on Mars. Whereas structures on Earth are designed to withstand gravity and wind, Martian architecture must be built to replicate an Earth-like atmosphere. Unlike the glass, dome-shaped structures rife in sci-fi movies, Al SpaceFactory’s egg-like structure MARSHA can handle Mars’ extreme temperature swings and create an environment habitable to human life.
Time to Terraform
There are plenty of reasons why humans want to settle on Mars, ranging from curiosity to creating a backup plan in case things on Earth don't quite work out. Creating and maintaining all the life support systems required to support life is going to take quite some time.
You'll have to live in a pressure-equalized vessel with radiation shielding. Expeditions outside this vessel will be limited since temperatures are below freezing, and you're going to need oxygen. Martian atmosphere is pretty rich in carbon dioxide, which supports plant growth that can produce oxygen and food. Luckily, water won't be a problem. Establishing thriving human settlements on Mars will be a daunting, expensive task.
Life on Mars: It won’t be quite like the movies. At least, not at first.