Mars Colonists visit the ancestral homeworld

EarthWolf · 2004-12-02 19:35:15

Hello,

Hopefully, this is an interesting question. Could Mars colonists, especially those born and raised there, be able to visit Earth? I mean, so far, barring any advances in medical technologies, there's no way to stave off permanent damage due to low gravity. So, the long-timers and Mars-born among the colonists would suffer problems if they went to Earth.

As such, would any Mars colonist have to stay on Mars or travel in spacecraft with rotational gravity equal to Martian g?

Cordially,

EarthWolf

SpaceNut · 2004-12-02 20:03:13

As such as it is very expensive to go mars it would like wise be just as expensive to return.

Trebuchet · 2004-12-02 23:00:28

Probably... my personal gut feeling is that the calcium loss is a piezoelectric effect in the bones. Martian gravity would probably offer enough activity for the rest. They should be able to go to earth... it's just that Earth will be very, very tiring for a while.

Omer Joel · 2005-01-12 05:31:09

It all boils down, IMHO, to the level of technology at the time of return; with current-day technology, chances are that a return visit would be nearly impossible. With bioengineering, cybertechnology (we have it's beginning now), exoskeletons (the US military has a few exoskeleton prototypes) and/or nanotech, things would probably become far easier.

bdm · 2005-04-01 21:04:10

I'll assume for the sake of this discussion that regular space travel between Earth and Mars is readily available, using reasonable extrapolations of current technology.

The passenger spaceship of the future could be a large beast, comparable in size to an ocean liner, with rotation providing artificial gravity. If the rotation was Earth-normal gravity, those acclimatised to Martian gravity would find it tough going at first. The journey from Mars to Earth would take maybe nine months, which would be plenty of time to become acclimatised.

Not all would be able to make the journey. The elderly residents of Mars would find the journey too risky to make. Their old bones may be too brittle, and bone fractures in the elderly can be fatal. Thus, such journeys are only for the young.

If the ships had Mars-normal gravity, then more people would be able to make the journey to the Earth system, but a visit to Earth itself would be restricted to those with medical clearance. On the other hand, most if not all who are fit enough to make the journey would be able to visit the Moon. Such visits run the risk of the visitor becoming acclimatised to the Moon's gravity. Some may be unable to return to Mars if they remained too long on the Moon.

showtime17 · 2006-02-12 12:46:05

Maybe by the time widespread colonization on Mars begins, they will discover some sort of artificial gravity (not the rotational type, but some sort of artificial way of manufacturing gravitons, right now sci fi stuff) and install it under every biodome Mars colony, so people on Mars would have Earth gravity for most of their lives on Mars. Don't know just an idea.

Terraformer · 2007-11-11 07:52:14

Maybe the Mars-Earth ship could start off at 0.5g and slowly spin up to 0.9g. The 0.1g at either end would be provided when the passengers boarded and left the craft on Mars or at Earth.

Ancalagon · 2007-12-05 20:00:48

I recently saw an Anime show called "Planet ES." I highly suggest any space nut to watch it (even if you don't normally watch anime.) The level of research and detail is nothing short of incredible.

Anyway, it's 2075 and we've got colonies on the Moon and Mars. They don't much talk about Mars but they do visit the moon quite often where they meet a Lunarian, one of only 4 people to have been born and rased on the Moon. Because it's only 1/6g, this twelve-year-old girl is already 6ft tall and still growing. She would never be able to live on Earth because her body is just too big for the gravity.

A similar thing would happen on Mars. People would be unusually tall and skinny (but not extremely so.) I don’t know if returning to earth would be as damaging to a Martian as it would for a Lunarian, but my guess is that they would have to go through some sort of physical therapy before they could go through such a dramatic change in environment.

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#1 2004-12-02 19:35:15

Re: Mars Colonists visit the ancestral homeworld

#2 2004-12-02 20:03:13

Re: Mars Colonists visit the ancestral homeworld

#3 2004-12-02 23:00:28

Re: Mars Colonists visit the ancestral homeworld

#4 2005-01-12 05:31:09

Re: Mars Colonists visit the ancestral homeworld

#5 2005-04-01 21:04:10

Re: Mars Colonists visit the ancestral homeworld

#6 2006-02-12 12:46:05

Re: Mars Colonists visit the ancestral homeworld

#7 2007-11-11 07:52:14

Re: Mars Colonists visit the ancestral homeworld

#8 2007-12-05 20:00:48

Re: Mars Colonists visit the ancestral homeworld

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