This is the final post in the Mars Colony Administrator’s Handbook series. For part one, please see here.

A brief word about science: I’ve avoided discussing planetary science in this series, because it has been covered so well, in so many other places. The traditional vision of a trip to Mars, in the guise of a 1980’s US/USSR joint mission, revolved heavily around the idea of sending a small group of people, for a relatively short period of time, with largely scientific objectives. This is completely different from the various colonization concepts that have circulated in recent years. Regardless of why people go to Mars though, a lot of serious scientific work will be done. The advantages of having a large number of people present, along with a well-equipped laboratory, are immense. We cannot conceive yet of the discoveries that will result. Continue reading →

What happens when things go horribly wrong on Mars? Help from Earth would take months to arrive, and would have a transportation bottleneck.

The colony will need to have a contingency plan for all possibilities, as well as a full range of emergency services. Continue reading →

Turnstiles for directing people in a single direction are a useful but klunky invention. I always approach them with great caution, especially when carrying a laptop bag over my shoulder.

It occurs to me that we could get the same effect with greater ease of use (and less tangled straps).

Picture the kind of hanging flaps used to keep cold in a walk-in refrigerator.

Now make them out of some kind of smart material.

When touched or pushed from one side, they become flexible, allowing people to pass through. Otherwise they would be set to be hard, preventing passage in the other direction.

The material could be transparent, or could have a no-entry sign imprinted on one side of it.

The material cost would likely be significantly lower than traditional turnstiles.

If computing is ubiquitous, then why do I need a cellphone?

This isn’t a new idea, really. I’ve come across it before in SF novels. Its worth gaming out what the world will look like though. I say “will”, because this scenario looks inevitable. Continue reading →

The Mars colony will be planned in great detail, years in advance. It is impossible for the colony administrators to anticipate everything though. Vast stockpiles of spare parts, and a regular supply chain will help, but certain items will need to be manufactured locally. It is important to remember that issues that are trivial irritants on Earth – a blocked toilet, for example – can become life threatening emergencies in space, or on Mars.

In the previous post, we discussed how legal, jurisdictional and economic issues can effect the future health of the colony. You can also begin at the first post here. Continue reading →

Some bonus material for people who actually got through the rest of it without falling asleep!

Let’s say you’re an average family man in an average Western country, and you decide to pack up your kid’s rooms, sell the house, make the huge leap – and buy tickets to Mars.

Chances are, you ain’t coming back. Unless you win the Martian lottery, you can’t afford to come back.

So what do you do with your terrestrial investments? You know: bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds, government pension?

Will there be a First Martian Bank where you can deposit your money? If you still have investments on Earth, how will you manage them? Will First Martian be part of the SWIFT network? How will you buy or sell stocks from your account, when it takes twenty-five minutes to load a browser page? How will you collect your dividends? How will you pay for your National Geographic subscription (extra-terrestrial postage zone!)?

And, if you’re a citizen of one of those countries with effective irritating tax enforcement, how do you file your annual tax return?

Personal finance is another of those things that short-term NASA missions don’t need to plan for. Martian colony, whole different story.

I’d love to hear what people think.

Mars Colony Administrator’s Handbook – Navigation:

• Part 1 – Introduction
• Part 2 – Resources, Water
• Part 3 – Air, Food
• Part 4 – Energy, Raw Materials, People
• Part 5 – Supply Chain Management, Urban Planning
• Brief Intermission
• Part 6 – Jurisdiction and Law, Economics
• Bonus Post
• Part 7 – Manufacturing, Communications
• Part 8 – Emergency Services, Failure Modes
• Conclusion

The administrators of the first Mars Colony will need to be expert in more than just science. Legal and economic factors will have a huge bearing on the success of the colony. Without a firm legal basis, the colony will have difficulty attracting investment, and private individuals may think twice about participating. Without a vibrant economy, the colony could turn into a ghost town. Continue reading →

The Mars Colony Administrator’s Handbook will continue shortly! I’m currently estimating that there will be another 5 – 6 posts, covering topics from manufacturing to emergency services. Much of this is already written, and I’m editing it as quickly as I can. I apologize for any delay.

If anyone from Discovery reads this – wouldn’t these posts make a nice documentary miniseries? For one thing, it would be a great excuse to visit McMurdo Station, as well as other cool and out of the way places. 🙂

One of the nice benefits of blogging is the people that you meet. I especially want to mention the enthusiastic space community at moonmars.com (go sign up!) and the wise folks at the Lifeboat Foundation’s Facebook group.

Some readers of the series from these two groups posed a couple of questions that I had anticipated answering in the conclusion. I think now that they’re too important to leave until then. Continue reading →

Ensuring that a Mars Colony has a solid supply chain will be a difficult task. The average distance between Earth and Mars is around 225 million kilometers, and transit times – even with greatly improved rockets – are several months. Light itself can take nearly half an hour to travel the distance, depending on how far apart the two planets are. And there is little margin for error, as tens of thousands of lives will be at stake.

In part 4, we discussed how the colony will generate energy, obtain raw materials, and ensure that the right mix of colonists are picked. Or you can start from the beginning, here. Continue reading →

Administering a future Mars colony is going to be a tough job by any measure – not least because some of the decisions required are going to be controversial. Some of the toughest decisions will revolve around resources such as energy, mining raw materials – and picking the right people to join the colony.

In part 3 of this post, we discussed how the colony will keep supplied with air and food. You can also read the introduction here.

Continue reading →