Tired of fighting for liberty on Earth? Look elsewhere!
In an announcement that anti-statists everywhere have been waiting for, a private firm, 4Frontiers, has announced plans to colonize and mine the planet Mars.
From the Wired article:
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The new company, 4Frontiers, plans to mine Mars for building materials and energy sources, and export the planet's mineral wealth to forthcoming space stations on the moon and elsewhere.The company also wants to build the first permanent human settlement on Mars, using strictly Martian materials, as early as 2025. The idea is to make Mars a center for needs of the solar system economy, said Bruce Mackenzie, co-founder of 4Frontiers and the company's vice president and outreach director.
Comments (12)
Scott S
I give it two years after first colonization before they have a 'living, breathing' constitution and guaranteed free healthcare for all. You can't change the locale and expect human nature to change along with it.
Published: September 7, 2005 1:59 PM
Dick Clark
Scott S,
You may not be able to change people, but, given that no one has any legit claim to any Martian acreage, it would be easier to demonstrate a homesteading claim, and thus to achieve a legal system by consent of those subject to it (i.e. by requiring some sort of waiver, etc. be signed for entry).
DC
Published: September 7, 2005 2:09 PM
Jonathan Goff
Dick,
It's an interesting idea, but the economics just don't make sense yet, IMO. Since the time horizon you're looking at before you could make a profit is so long, they're going to have a hard time raising money. Unless they can come up with some interesting, nearer term markets they can serve with their technologies....We'll see.
~Jon
Published: September 7, 2005 3:25 PM
tarran
The economic center of the solar system would be the Jovian system.
Rather than distance, the ease of access to items in space is measured in the velocity change needed to reach one orbit or land on one body from another orbit or body.
The Jovian moons provide large quantities of water ice with a very low delta-v when compared to other celestial bodies. Additionally, bodies with atmospheres are harder to launch from. So Mars compares quite unfavourably to Ganymede as a location for human colonization.
Of course the Jovian system has its hazards: Jupiter's magnetic field and the charged particles it traps produce large quantities of ionizing radiation. Additionally, the huge gravity well of Jupiter (and its proximity to the asteroid belt) make impacts and collisions with debris a more significant risk. While airless bodies are easier to leave, the lack of atmosphere means that even small objects can reach the surface.
There are also political risks: it is unlikely that a colony would be self-sufficient, and if embargoed by Earth will likely die. Discovery of life on Europa and if envrionmentalists/luddites convert its legal status to that of a wild-life preserve a la the Star Trek non-intervention principle would deprive colonists of a major source of water. The hostile environment would mean that local strongmen would hold more sway (since it is harder to exit the colony).
I don't view space colonization as a reasonable way to escape government tyranny. The barriers to individual action are too high.
Although, it would be nice if I were wrong...
Published: September 7, 2005 5:16 PM
Vedran Vuk
Government seems very unnatural to me.....can't change human nature...true.....but government isn't natural
Published: September 7, 2005 10:00 PM
plowman
I think these guys are going to make a fortune...on the reality TV show of course! Imagine "Real World - Mars."
"We took 12 people on a nine month space journey, just to find out if they could get along on a different planet..."
Published: September 8, 2005 12:46 AM
Walt D.
Total Imports of Petroleum (Top 15 Countries)
(Thousand Barrels per Day)
Country
Jun-05
May-05
YTD 2005
Jun-04
Jan - June 2004
CANADA
2,155
2,188
2,128
2,240
2,141
MEXICO
1,746
1,826
1,657
1,729
1,666
SAUDI ARABIA
1,623
1,526
1,581
1,498
1,430
VENEZUELA
1,593
1,574
1,584
1,723
1,610
NIGERIA
1,089
1,214
1,127
1,260
1,182
IRAQ
608
588
548
636
659
ALGERIA
574
449
455
464
448
UNITED KINGDOM
421
345
371
427
402
ANGOLA
397
353
438
139
298
NORWAY
357
229
248
209
251
RUSSIA
350
325
429
432
246
VIRGIN ISLANDS
331
367
327
378
316
ECUADOR
312
238
297
205
212
COLOMBIA
251
176
176
202
185
BRAZIL
226
134
123
146
114
Published: September 8, 2005 2:12 AM
Bananas
Well, they really have no business plan, it looks like "vaporware". But, it is intersting... the first to get to mars, owns it.
Published: September 8, 2005 10:06 AM
Wolf DeVoon
Er .. Mars huh?
Published: September 9, 2005 2:53 AM
Reactionary
Bananas,
The frontier issue is interesting, as the devil truly is in the details.
How much of Mars does the first Martian settler own: as much as he can see? When the second Martian settler lands, how much does he own?
Published: March 17, 2006 2:14 PM
Roy W. Wright
How much of Mars does the first Martian settler own?
That is an interesting question. I think most "natural rights" theorists would say that he owns whatever he "mixes his labor" with, but that's a bunch of nonsense.
Published: March 17, 2006 6:29 PM
Roy W. Wright
I'd say he owns whatever he can control or defend. That may be all of Mars. But there would be strong incentives to sell bits off at reasonable prices.
Published: March 17, 2006 6:36 PM