Would you spend the rest of your life in six little pods?

[Digit]

Would you sign up to live in about six pods each the size of a small room, on the surface of Mars, for the rest of your life?
Organization that wants to send four people to do just that in 2023.

[NerdGirl]

Oh, man, that is a really hard question to answer. I really want to go to Mars. But I don't think I would go it if it was for the rest of my life.

[Fredjikrang]

A friend of mine asked a similar question not too long ago. And I really don't know. If I was going with family (specifically a spouse), maybe. But I don't think I would want to go alone.

[krebscout]

This looks like the premise to a sci fi show.

[Digit]

Actually, you're not too far from the truth. Their intent is to fund it by making a reality show of it. Of course it will never happen (my opinion).

[Laser Jock]

I think this would be kind of a no-brainer, actually, if I weren't married. Who wouldn't want to go to Mars?

Then again, Eirene can't fathom why anyone would ever do this, which baffles me as much as my position baffles her.

[Marduk]

Absolutely not. I value people far more than I value planets.

[Genuine Article]

Who wouldn't want to go to Mars?

I would never ever want to go into space, because as cool as it might be there are still too many risks involved. Columbia happened less than ten years ago.

[Digit]

I don't think I could take the seven-month journey in a capsule, let alone the rest of my life in a room-sized few surrounded by red desert.

Slightly related to people on Mars, this pretty entertaining web series drama. If anyone else wants to watch, I'd be glad to have someone to talk about it with. I've watched the first two episodes so far.

[Katya]

I think this would be kind of a no-brainer, actually, if I weren't married. Who wouldn't want to go to Mars?

I think most people wouldn't . . . but they only need four who would.

[Marduk]

Actually, I'd say a lot of people would want to go to Mars. It is the not coming back part that I think most people would have issue with.

[Fredjikrang]

Agreed. I would love to go to Mars, and see the stars in the day, explore, learn. But, there are some pretty cool people here on Earth that I wouldn't want to be away from for the rest of my life.

[mic0]

How can anyone even imagine what most people would want to do? Are you basing it on what you would want to do? Just curious. I personally wouldn't want to go to Mars simply because I'd be too scared out of my mind - I don't even like plane rides.

[Laser Jock]

Actually, I'd say a lot of people would want to go to Mars. It is the not coming back part that I think most people would have issue with.

I wouldn't have a problem with this (again, if I weren't married). Of course, I'd carefully make sure that they'd done their due diligence to reduce the risk that I'd die in a month or something, but I'd be okay with the idea of not coming back.

[TheAnswerIs42]

I'm not an actual chlostrophobic, but I do go stir crazy if I don't leave the house for a couple of days. And riding in a spaceship alone would freak me out- I would not cope well with the feeling that I couldn't leave my cell because everything out there is toxic. So, big fat NO from me.

[Yarjka]

It looks like a fun adventure and I'd totally be up for it if I didn't have a family to worry about. However, I doubt I'd actually do it, because it looks like too much could go wrong.

I'd have to be extremely confident in the success of the mission and the longevity of the project to sign on. I wouldn't go if I felt there was any chance of being stranded on Mars with just a handful of others and no contact with the outside world. But if I truly believed they could set up a legitimate long-term colony and I could be one of the people to help make that happen, I'd be interested. It would take quite a bit of faith in the leaders of the mission, the other participants, and the overall funding of the project, though, which I didn't get from a quick perusal of the website.

[Fredjikrang]

You know what they should do first? Lunar colony. Seriously.

[Digit]

They claim they can get their water (and consequently through electrolysis, their oxygen) from the Martian soil. I wonder if the possibility of that in quantities enough to sustain four humans indefinitely is a reality.