Building a Marsbase is a Horrible Idea: Let’s do it!

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell4 HN recommenders · 2019–2024
21.9M views · explainer · evergreen · Uploaded 2019-02-03

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 as a sobering, accessible overview of the practical challenges of living on Mars.

Watch on YouTube

5 comments from Hacker News

@chriskanan2019 · in “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. [VIDEO]

@gtsteve2019 · in “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: [VIDEO] I think you'll probably see baby steps towards it but there are a lot of problems to overcome.

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@abledon2019 · in “Four Mars missions are launching next year”

sobering run down of the realities when living on mars: [VIDEO] The layers of soil we'd have to cover our buildings in really got me!

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@Etheryte2021 · in “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] [VIDEO]

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@notTooFarGone2024 · in “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: [VIDEO] If we manage to terraform mostly using robots and bacteria that would be so much easier.

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