We shall require a substantially new way of thinking if mankind is to survive. — Albert Einstein
Why Mars One Has Already Succeeded
Originally, a CheatSheet reporter asked me, “What’s your response to those who have spoken out against or are skeptical of Mars One’s plans?”
Here’s my response (apparently I turned it in two hours after the article published, so I’ll state it on Medium):
Those who have spoken out or are skeptical of Mars One’s plans are invited to explore solutions for what they criticize. Mars One’s ambitions require teamwork from all sectors and plans will certainly have to be adjusted as we continue to discover new information. If landing a man on Mars was easy, we would have done it already. We understand there are challenges to overcome. These challenges are no more significant than what we faced when we landed the first humans on the moon.
The difference is the advent of new aerospace technology from our private industries. This happened relatively recently and its effects are palpable with the success of SpaceX, and to a different degree, Virgin Galactic. Both Elon Musk and Richard Branson have made statements in the public announcing their desires to colonize Mars. SpaceX even has plans to reveal a prototype carrier named the “Mars Colonial Transporter” by the end of this year. Beginning in spring of next year, they will begin testing their Falcon Heavy rocket which has the capability of landing a manned crew on Mars. This timeline is completely aligned for a mid-2020s launch.
As for life support systems, Mars One has contracted Paragon for a preliminary design. Paragon currently have systems operating on the ISS. They are also working on a “Constellation Space Suit” for NASA. Although some criticized the Biosphere 2 experiment as a failure, the founders of Paragon would have never gone on to accomplish their successes if they simply quit. In fact, one might assume the challenges of Biosphere 2 motivated the founders of Paragon to become even more innovative in their search for a solution for the inhabitability of space and beyond.
With the development of these technologies occurring side-by-side with Mars One’s crew training program, it does not take a grand leap of imagination to understand the possibilities are very real for a Mars One crew to be chosen as the first test pilots to Mars when companies such as SpaceX are ready for their virgin launch. Where else would you find a team of four who has trained extensively for over ten years to travel to and survive the hostility of the red planet? Mars One candidates are remarkable human resources no less important than the technology that will take us there.
That is why our Chief Medical Officer is Dr. Norbert Kraft, who has won the “NASA Group Achievement Award” and “Outstanding Accomplishments in the Psychological and Psychiatric Aspects of Aerospace Medicine”. He is also responsible for our decade-long training curriculum while handpicking the Mars One crews. Dr. Kraft brings his formidable experience working with the ESA, Japanese Space Agency, Russian cosmonauts, and NASA to this role.
For die-hards who still believe NASA will be the first, it’s important to understand the history of the organization. NASA’s interests were driven by a different era backed by our government’s desire to defeat the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Many years ago, Dr. Robert Zubrin, who may be called the “Grandfather of Mars”, presented a well-thought out plan called The Mars Direct which made the rounds enthusiastically in NASA. It even spoke to in-situ resources on the planet that can grow food, make rocket fuel, and eventually be crafted into useful material for resupplying the colony — especially if we bring industrial 3D printers. These are very different resources from the moon or the ISS. We’ll get to see a bit of that in the upcoming film ‘The Martian’.
Unfortunately, politics tend to color big bureaucracies and NASA is no exception. A lean, attainable plan for our government to put the first humans on Mars became an impossible behemoth with a new budget that didn’t stand a chance in Congress after different factions within NASA changed The Mars Direct plan to ensure their own technologies and teams would become an integral part of the mission. At that time, the Space Race had ended and there was no real incentive for the U.S. to propel further.
Today, if a government truly desired to land a manned crew on Mars that rivals Mars One’s timeline, we should look towards India and China. India’s track record is one-for-one, or 100%, for successfully launching a satellite to orbit Mars. They’re already working with international teams on the next biggest telescope project, and they have the resources and manpower to achieve this mission if they choose. Especially if China teams up with them. Maybe this will be the stimulus needed to spark a new space race from our governments.
So, whether or not Mars One can find the right partnerships to become successful or raise enough money in this short timeline, it has already planted a seed in our collective conscious that will grow into the first rocket carrying human beings to Mars — in my lifetime. The chances of me being one of the first humans on Mars is much higher as a Mars One candidate than if I’m not. That’s a good enough probability for me to continue onwards.
Sue Ann Pien (U.S.) and four other Mars One Candidates — Shradha (India), Pietro (Italy), Mido (Egypt), and Adriana (South Africa) are featured in the Aol and Engadget documentary ‘Citizen Mars’.
