110 people — this is the minimum number of people to colonize Mars, discovered by the French scientist. They will need to develop agriculture and industry, and half of their time will be spent on social activity, including the rearing of children.
To create a civilization on Mars must be at least 110 people found out Professor Jean-Marc Salotti from the National Polytechnic Institute of Bordeaux in France. He also highlighted a number of priorities for the colonists of the areas that they need to spend their time and energy to make this settlement could develop. “Газета.Ru” acquainted with the findings published in an article in the journal Scientific Reports.
Any disaster can bring humanity to the threat of extinction, and the only chance in this case to avoid it — to colonize another planet, says Salotti. However, it is necessary to know the minimum number of people required for the preservation of civilization. Earlier work showed that it would take about a hundred people, but they did not take into account the long-term prospects and the conditions in which the colonists will have to survive.
With the help of mathematical modeling Salotti calculated the required number of people and conditions that will provide them with better prospects.
“What is the way to survive on another planet and establish self-sufficiency? — says Salotti. — This issue is of particular importance for the future of space exploration and possibly to the future of humanity as a whole. I showed that it is possible to use a mathematical model to determine the minimum number of settlers and lifestyle for survival on another planet, using the example of Mars.”
So, the colony must consist of not less than 110 people. On Mars they will need oxygen dome. You will also need to develop agriculture to provide food, and to devote time to raising children.
A lot depends on the access of the colonists to natural resources, says Salotti. So, support from the Ground may be interrupted because of war or lack of resources, or the colonists themselves decide to declare themselves independent of the Martian Republic. In this case, they will have to rely only on their strength and, at least, the intensive development of agriculture in order not to die from hunger. It is therefore important to have access to local water, gas, and minerals. To survive on the planet, you will be able to provide people with oxygen.
Another important factor is the ability to provide themselves with equipment. The lifespan of computers, vehicles and other equipment that you can bring your own from the Ground is about ten years. In terms of creating a new civilization is very small, so at first it will be necessary to adjust the supply from the Ground — otherwise number ofone will face serious challenges that will threaten its existence.
The growth of the population will continue to grow and needs, reminds Salotti.
However, some objects — such as housing or transport, may simultaneously be used by multiple people.
Therefore, the capacity of the colony will increase faster than demand for certain resources. However, when calculating performance, it is important to note that children and the elderly are unable to work as effectively as healthy adults. In addition, people can’t work all the time don’t sleep — they need time to raising children and social activities that will allow them to maintain mental health.
So the colony could grow, it is necessary to find a compromise between its performance and the number of industries that it will develop. So, for the construction of any building may require mining specific ores and the use of metal tools, which implies the presence of iron miners of the industry. Given the limited number of people, it is important, especially at first, to minimize production and maximize the productivity.
Salotti identifies the following types of activities, which should be given attention in the key sectors:
— management of ecosystems of the colony — the design and maintenance of the systems for the production of relevant gases, control of air composition, pressure and temperature in residential modules, collection, trade and recycling of water, control the life cycles of all living organisms, recycling of organic waste, the cultivation of plants for agriculture and also production and storage of food;
— energy production — if in the colony, use photovoltaic cells to produce electricity, and methane for vehicle’s main activity is production and processing of silicates, the production of photovoltaic cells, wires and extracting the methane. Heating also falls into this category;
— industry, especially the metallurgical and chemical — production, collection and processing of relevant ores, manufacture of building materials manufacture tools for other activities (e.g., agriculture), manufacture of glass, ceramics and plastics, clothing and medicines necessary for survival;
— construction — even in the presence of base will often have to reorganize in accordance with the growth and changes of the settlement (number of settlers, new industries, changing the organization of labour and way of life, etc.). In addition, the lifespan of any construction project is limited. New residential area with new ecosystems and new�� plants will have to be built near the places of extraction of resources;
— social activities for survival and development of the settlement it is important to educate children and teach them. Other important types of social activities related to health, cooking, cleaning, Laundry, organization of work and decision-making. For survival, the time spent on sport, culture and entertainment can be kept to a minimum, but completely to refuse it is impossible.
In the case of a colony on Mars of 110 people in the last category will account for about half of their working time, said Salotti.
Now such studies are as relevant as ever — in 2019, the founder of the company SpaceX Elon Musk presented the prototype of the rocket Starship with which he intends to fly to Mars. A space ship carrying more than 100 tons will be able to carry up to a hundred of the colonists and the necessary equipment. Even if in the near future the mankind will face serious disasters in the future, the Earth is still in danger of death, so sooner or later they will have to resolve the issue with the creation of sustainable settlements on other planets, and Musk hopes to make a contribution.
