Building a Marsbase is a Horrible Idea: Let’s do it!
Why Hacker News recommends it
Recommended as a sobering, accessible overview of the practical challenges of living on Mars.
What it is
A Kurzgesagt animation walking through how a Mars base could be built and why it would be punishing, covering radiation, temperature extremes, toxic dust and the need for shielding.
Recommended by 4 HN commenters across 4 different months, 2019 to 2024.
What Hacker News said
Recommends gtsteve · 2019-03 · on “Ask HN: I am 33 yrs young, will we form a colony in Mars within my lifetime?”
Perhaps watch this video for a nice overview of what that might look like: [this video] I think you'll probably see baby steps towards it but there are a lot of problems to overcome.
Recommends abledon · 2019-06 · on “Four Mars missions are launching next year”
sobering run down of the realities when living on mars: [this video] The layers of soil we'd have to cover our buildings in really got me!
Recommends Etheryte · 2021-04 · on “Elon Musk on Mars efforts: “A bunch of people will probably die.””
There is no sugarcoating it, Mars is a hostile environment and to claim otherwise would simply be lying. Between the radiation, temperature, microdust and more, inhabiting Mars will be very hard. Kurzgesagt has a great video outlining many of the challenges [0]. Regardless of how meticulously you prepare, mistakes on Mars will lead to death and it's good to be honest and upfront about it. [0] [this video]
Recommends notTooFarGone · 2024-06 · on “Why Nothing Can Grow on Mars”
I think you vastly underestimate the amount of radiation and how hard it would be to build a colony that is protected enough and is "self sustaining". Nice kurzgesagt video: [this video] If we manage to terraform mostly using robots and bacteria that would be so much easier.
Cites chriskanan · 2019-02 · on “Mars One, which offered 1-way trips to Mars, declared bankrupt”
So many comments here are really depressing and lack a sense of adventure and romance. Yes, Mars One did not have a sound plan, but it inspired a certain kind of person who wants a grand adventure with impact. Mars to Stay is a legitimate idea and makes a lot of sense for colonization: [LINK] The Mars One idea of turning the colonists life into a reality TV show would be the first reality TV show I'd ever want to watch and would make a fantastic documentary. So, while Mars One was severely flawed, I think the Mars to Stay philosophy makes a lot of sense if we want to colonize Mars. [this video]