WEBVTT - TechStuff Classic: Get Your Podcast To Mars! 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to text Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 0:00:12.080 --> 0:00:14.280 Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host 0:00:14.360 --> 0:00:17.040 Jonathan Strickland dum an, executive producer with I Heart Radio 0:00:17.079 --> 0:00:19.720 and I love all things tech, and today it is 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:25.520 time for another tech stuff classic. Hey, today's topic it 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:29.760 comes all the way from June tenth, two thousand thirteen. Wow, 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:31.920 I was doing this all the way back then. This 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:36.360 episode is called get your Podcast to Mars, a classic 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:41.440 Arnold Schwarzenegger reference. I hope you guys enjoy this classic episode. 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:45.200 It's kind of an interesting approach to this, this question 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:47.839 of when are we going to actually set up a 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:52.120 colony somewhere other than on Earth, like like on Mars, 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:54.720 and and proposing the fact that it can be not 0:00:54.840 --> 0:01:01.520 only commercial but um but but driven specifically by public interest. Really, 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:03.560 I mean because because here's the thing is that we 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:08.200 know that the government officials that are behind things like 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:11.880 like the space industry in the United States anyway, are 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:17.840 facing increasingly difficult battles in in funding. Right. It's it's 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:23.320 getting harder and harder to get a working budget. And 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:27.160 some of that is due to problems that the various 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:30.959 space industries have had, like specifically what NASA has undergone. 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:34.039 Where NASA has had a few projects more than a few, 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:39.200 maybe that some would argue we're improperly governed so that 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:42.680 they ballooned out of control as far as budget and 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:45.720 timeline is considered. And part partially this was also due 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:50.720 to just uh, everyone at the outset and not understanding 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:53.320 exactly what kinds of issues we're going to crop up 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:55.160 along the way and what kinds of problems would need 0:01:55.200 --> 0:01:58.200 to be solved right, And sometimes it was because you know, 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:01.520 it wasn't necessarily mismanaged meant, but it might be that 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:05.120 you know, you have very limited uh people you can 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:08.480 go to when you need something like an enormous rocket, 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:12.600 and if the only company that provides the enormous rockets 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:15.160 that you need says, you know, I know that originally 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:16.440 we were going to say that this was going to 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:20.320 be you know, twenty million dollars per rocket, but in reality, 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:22.160 it looks like it's gonna be closer to sixty five. 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:25.079 You don't have a lot of options left. So it's 0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:29.440 I don't mean to suggest that NASA was really bad 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:32.720 at managing this stuff. It's just that a lot of 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:38.080 a several high profile projects uh, ended up getting bogged 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:40.760 down in lots of problems, which and when you're and 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:43.000 when you're publicly funded, it's a lot more difficult to 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:47.960 handle that This this private funding could hypothetically, you know, 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:50.240 eat around some of those problems. You can sell more 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:52.959 advertising space or something like that. Right, I mean that 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:56.680 that's the whole idea behind the privatization of space exploration, right, 0:02:56.760 --> 0:03:00.880 is that they aren't uh, they aren't tied down to 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.840 things like tax income. They don't have to go and 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:08.400 petition they have to answer to the taxpayers. That's right, 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:10.840 that's right, But they do have to raise those funds 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:13.600 some other way because it's not like they just magically 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:18.120 have access to those giant rockets. Uh. The supposed funds 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:22.119 that MARS one will require to to establish the settlement 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:26.600 is six billion dollars. That sounds so low, phenomenally low 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:29.360 to me low, but but it's it's starting with just 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:33.600 four settlers UM to to expand hypothetically by teams of 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.480 four every two years, and they're aiming for the first 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:41.240 round of settlers to to land in UM three. Uh. 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:44.680 Is the is the current proposed date, which is sen 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:49.080 years away. Yeah, I mean this isn't that. This is 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:51.600 already blowing my mind and we haven't even gotten into 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:54.600 what the actual challenges are yet. But just the challenge 0:03:54.680 --> 0:04:00.400 of getting the materials together, testing your your various acecraft, 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:03.000 because obviously you're going to have to design special spacecraft 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:05.480 for these teams to go up in. And they're they're 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:07.800 talking right now to Elon Musk and the other kids 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:12.440 are at SpaceX using their their stuff, which would be important. 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:15.520 I mean, like using the Dragon spacecraft that kind of stuff. Uh, 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:20.000 obviously that would be something they'd have to take into consideration. 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:23.320 It just seems it seems really ambitious. That's not to 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:26.040 say that it can't be done or that they shouldn't try. 0:04:26.320 --> 0:04:29.880 I think being ambitious is fantastic. It's just one of 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:33.640 those things where, having seen how difficult it is to 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:37.520 get a space project and I hate to use this 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:43.000 phrase off the ground, uh, tells me that things are 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:44.920 going to have to go really really well for them 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:47.679 to make that budget and to make that timeline. Maybe 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:50.120 it will, but let's let's talk a little bit more 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:52.160 about what this whole project is. So, yeah, the first 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:56.520 team lands, and now the thing is that in order 0:04:56.560 --> 0:05:01.000 for anyone to land on Mars and have any expectation 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.000 of being able to survive there. Other stuff is gonna 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:07.120 have to get there first, a whole bunch of other stuff. Yeah, 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:12.280 because Mars doesn't have any supermarkets, so you would need 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:15.880 some way of getting supplies there. And I mean, you know, 0:05:15.960 --> 0:05:18.960 you can't just pack everything you would need in your 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:21.880 single rocket. That would be very inefficient. That would be 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:24.080 way too much weight, right. Yeah, The more weight you 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:27.479 add to your launch vehicle, the more fuel you need. 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:29.440 And the more fuel you need, the more weight you 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:31.719 add to your launch vehicle, there does come a point 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:35.039 where your launch vehicle is too heavy for you to 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:37.240 be able to launch it using the fuel sources that 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:40.000 we typically use here on Earth. And and they are 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:43.360 they are planning a space launch rather than an Earth 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:48.120 launch of the actual crew module. Interesting, I did not 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:50.200 read that part, So you'll have to tell me more 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:53.240 about that if if you get a chance. Sure. But 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:55.120 but let's let's let's back all of this back up 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:58.240 the So, So, the Mars one project is run by 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:01.120 the Bye Bye Bye two parts. It's a there's a 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:05.160 nonprofit foundation called Mars one and there's a for profit 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:10.560 company called Interplanetary Media Group, which makes me laugh so hard. 0:06:10.839 --> 0:06:15.479 That they are interplanetary serving all your needs, whether you 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:19.960 are on Earth or somewhere else. That's why I do 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:22.480 wonder whether whether the nice people who founded it are 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:26.520 on Earth or somewhere else. There is a fair, fair request. 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:32.040 Are you from here? This? This is these but both 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.960 of these of these organizations are are are based in 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:40.360 the Netherlands, co founded by bob's Landsdorp and are no wielders. 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:44.480 And uh Landstorp says that he got the idea when 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:47.839 he saw the revenue figures for the International Olympic Committee 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:53.160 a bunch of years ago and said, hey, there's money there, 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:56.920 there's money there, There's there's money in in televising these 0:06:57.240 --> 0:07:03.119 epic human events. And you also uncovered that that Interplanetary 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:07.400 Media Group the you know, they're they're different organizations that 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:12.800 own shares in Interplanetary Media Group. Who owns the majority. 0:07:13.040 --> 0:07:17.920 The Mars One Foundation owns almost of the shares in 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:23.240 Interplanetary Media Group. The nonprofit arm of mars One owns 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:29.200 nine of the for profit arm of the project. It's 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:34.080 it's also the sole supervisor of the for profit sectors 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:39.800 operations weight. So the nonprofit organization oversees the for profit 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:43.080 arm of this. Now, now this is just it raises 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:46.080 alarm flags in my mind. However, I will say, if 0:07:46.080 --> 0:07:49.360 this works, it's a brilliant way of of funding this 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:53.640 because the nonprofit part can take them any money that's 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:57.840 generated from right, and there's no there's no processing fee 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:00.720 or whatever you want. There's not a convenience fee because 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:03.400 they have this governance and they have this ownership of 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:06.960 the the for profit arm. And if that money indeed 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:12.440 is going to fund this Mars project, that's exactly what 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:15.000 they're going to need in order to have that. That 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:18.400 a massive amount of capital they're going to need, right, 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:21.440 because because the foundation is going to be is going 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:24.040 to be the owner of the settlement on Mars and 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:26.800 uh and the employer of the mission teams. Right, and 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:30.760 then I am G. The the media group is essentially 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:34.920 in charge of of generating funds through things like the 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:39.880 televised broadcast of the process of selecting people to go 0:08:39.920 --> 0:08:42.800 to Mars even and then once they get there, their 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:48.679 ongoing experience on Mars to be live stream televised seven 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:51.280 s five days a year. Yeah, it's Big Brother Red 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:54.120 Planet edition. And then they also but they're also going 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:57.440 to be generating money through things like merchandizing, right right, 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:00.800 And I am G will in fact hold exclusive um 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:06.240 to use this project to generate revenue through broadcasting, advertising, etcetera, etcetera. Right, 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:12.320 So you've got this interesting approach to trying to UH 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:17.480 to fund space colonization. Obviously, the only way this really 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:20.840 works is if it captures the public's attention enough for 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:23.920 them to want to watch it, right, because otherwise that 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:26.120 flow of revenue isn't going to come from to dry 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:28.400 up immediately, and then they don't have any money to 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:31.160 build or buy all the stuff they need in order 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:34.199 to get things to Mars. So let's talk a little 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:37.400 bit about what they are looking for, because clearly they 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:40.840 need to have people want to go. And I would 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.880 I would argue that that part of this, this application 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:47.280 process that we're about to talk about, proves that the 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:50.200 interest is there, because within the first two weeks that 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:54.959 applications were open, they got seventy eight thousand applicants. Yeah, 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:59.560 that's that's a that's a huge number. And the application 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:02.960 process is still open as of the recording of this podcast, right, Yeah, 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:07.040 this is UH. It opened in April. We are recording 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:12.600 this in May, and it will be open until August one, right, 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:15.600 so so there's still time, still time, And they say 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:19.320 that they expect half a million applicants by the time 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:22.400 it's all over, because obviously that that first rush is 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:24.439 from all the people who hear about it at the 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:28.000 very beginning. Now, before you rush out and fill out 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:31.480 your application, maybe you should uh learn a little bit 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:34.920 more about the parameters of the mission. This is more 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:39.959 likely than not a one way ticket. You will not 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.640 be coming back from Mars. If you were to go 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:47.440 to Mars on this mission. Um, there is every possibility 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:49.160 that that is where you would have to spend the 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:52.640 rest of your life. The the expense incurred to get 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:56.640 you back here would basically not be worth you. Well, 0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:59.080 no no offense to you beyond that, I mean, just 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:06.800 the logistics of designing a spacecraft that could and back. Yeah, 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:09.440 you'd have to have even more fuel so that you 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:13.280 could escape the gravity of Mars. Remember, Mars's gravity is 0:11:13.400 --> 0:11:17.000 not that different from Earth's, so you would have the 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:20.440 same issue. Now that the atmosphere is thinner, so you'd 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:23.880 have less air resistance, but that's kind of negligible when 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:27.520 you're talking about gravity. Um, so I mean to to 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:31.320 create a spacecraft that could get there and then launch 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:34.640 from the surface and come back is beyond the scope 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:39.760 of this project. So that leaves you literally on Mars. 0:11:40.040 --> 0:11:41.360 So if you don't want to spend the rest of 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:44.839 your life there, you probably don't want to. UM to apply, 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:48.000 to apply very seriously, They're they're looking for people who 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:51.280 are at least eighteen years of age or older, keeping 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:53.800 in mind you will be ten years older if you 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:56.080 were selected to be one of the four people who 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:59.320 go up on that first launch. As of as of 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:02.280 May seven, the oldest person to apply was seventy one 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:08.199 years old, UM, which seems like probably he won't be chosen. Yeah, 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:11.640 now we don't know that for sure. And it's interesting 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:15.439 that how they're going to go about choosing the people 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.840 who go through this as right, there's there, there's there's 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:21.719 first of all, a whole bunch of of application of 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.880 selection criteria and did you want to do you want 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:27.319 to sure sure that they're looking for people who have 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:31.760 the following characteristics, And this is because they need people 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:37.280 who are going to be psychologically prepared for the challenge, 0:12:37.400 --> 0:12:39.720 for the training and for the trip and to be 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:41.920 stuck on Mars for the rest of their lives, right, 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:46.520 and they have to only be have the psychological uh foundation, 0:12:46.600 --> 0:12:50.000 but they also need to be willing and able to 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:54.040 pick up new skills because clearly you're you're talking about 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:58.280 a tiny number of people ultimately on that colony. It's just, 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:01.760 you know, not not many at all. So you everyone 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:04.839 needs to be able to do pretty much everything. Just 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:07.839 like astronauts aboard the International Space Station have to be 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:10.960 adept at working with all the different systems and be 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:13.760 able to react if anything goes wrong. The same thing 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:17.080 holds true on the colony. So you know, it's if 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:19.640 if you were to apply, you'd have to be willing 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:22.520 to go through some very rigorous training to learn how 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:26.040 to deal with any situation that they can come up 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:28.800 with that could conceivably happen while you're on the colony. 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:30.720 And the plan is for about six six to seven 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:33.480 years of training before launch, right for the first group, 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:37.560 which you know also on television. So the characteristics they're 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:41.880 looking for, they're looking for resiliency, and they they break 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:45.160 these out by practical applications. So for resiliency, they mentioned 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:49.640 that your thought processes have to be persistent. You persevere 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:54.040 and remain productive even under difficult circumstances. You see the 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:58.240 connection between your internal and external self, meaning that you're 0:13:58.320 --> 0:14:01.200 very self reflective. Is get a little metaphysical as they 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:03.920 go on. You are at your best when things are 0:14:03.960 --> 0:14:07.559 at their worst. That is not me. I'm already out. 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:12.520 I mostly turned snarky when things are at their worst. Yeah, yeah, 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:14.800 you do. Also when they're at their best. You have 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:19.920 indomitable spirit. Nope, mind's totally domitable. You understand the purpose 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:22.160 of actions may not be clear in the moment, but 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:25.120 there is good reason, and you trust those who guide you. 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:29.000 That's terrifying to me, which is essentially saying shut up 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:33.560 and do your work. And um, I understand what they're saying. 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:35.520 They're saying like, look, we may tell you to do 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:40.600 something that requires you to, uh to endure uncomfortable circumstances 0:14:40.640 --> 0:14:42.480 for an extended amount of time, but trust us, it's 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:45.240 it's all on your best interest. That always That always 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:47.320 gets me a little worried, uh, they and that you 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:52.280 have a can do attitude. The next criteria is adaptability. 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:56.360 Clearly this would be necessary on this kind of project, 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:58.800 right right, like like like Jonathan was saying, a second ago, 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:00.720 you need to be able to do freething up there, 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:03.880 so out there right, And I love that one of them. 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:05.920 One of the I won't go through all of the 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:08.840 practical applications of this one, but one of them is 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:14.200 you know your boundaries and how and when to extend them. 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:17.800 I didn't know the boundaries were that flexible, right, Like 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:19.960 I guess if you have boundaries of watch one of 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:22.920 those international boundaries. It's kind of you know, always always 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.640 in question, where it's just the dotted line instead of 0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:29.440 the solid line. I think maybe it's like you would 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:32.160 be willing to do this and no more, but you 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:36.760 in certain situations will be willing to do yeah again, 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:41.320 kind of terrifying. Um. And then next would be curiosity, 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:44.720 which again if you don't have a sense of curiosity, 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:48.560 I can't imagine tomorrow unless you're just sick of everyone here, 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:51.360 of which I mean maybe you are. Maybe you're just 0:15:51.400 --> 0:15:56.920 a Missinthrop and total misinthrop. So it would just be 0:15:56.960 --> 0:16:01.320 like the Algonquin round table, but in space, which would 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:04.400 be kind of awesome. So which would I would watch 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:07.760 that show and they talk about the desire to transfer 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:10.320 knowledge to others and not just showcasing what you know 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:13.240 or what others do not know. I think that knocks 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:17.360 me out too, because I prefer the second version of that. No, seriously, 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:19.160 that's one thing I actually do like. I like to 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:22.920 I like to share knowledge because I find knowledge exciting. 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:25.200 That's that's probably why you're on a podcast that that 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:28.840 is a couple of them. And then there's the ability 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:31.400 to trust, which would be very important since you're working 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:35.480 with people who you know your life depends upon their work, 0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:38.600 just as their lives depend upon yours. And then you 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:43.000 have to be creative and resourceful, which means that you know, 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:45.240 I kind of have a hacker mentality that if a 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:47.800 problem comes up, you find a way to solve it, 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:51.800 even if you don't have a like a a manual 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.200 that tells you what to do in that specific situation, 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:57.640 that you can adapt to the situation as necessary. You know, 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:01.000 maybe the manual tells you to react a specific way 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:06.199 if one particular situation arises, but maybe the situation is 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:10.360 more complicated than that, and you can't just do one 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:13.200 solution because that's not going to meet all the criteria 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:15.960 to fix the problem. That's why you have to be 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:20.680 both creative and resourceful. So that's that's like the basic 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:24.440 um features that they're looking for in the people who apply, 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:27.520 and then the way they choose or the way they 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:31.520 start to narrow down the candidates is also kind of interesting. 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:35.159 Like I said, the applicant pool was opened up on April, 0:17:36.920 --> 0:17:39.800 I said April. It was on April. And it costs. 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:42.199 It does cost money to apply, between five and seventy 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:46.200 five dollars, depending on the wealth of your country of origin. Gotcha, 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:48.920 So if you're from a more affluent country, then your 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:51.280 your application fee will be higher. I think the fee 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:54.879 here in the United States is thirty eight dollars. Interesting, 0:17:55.840 --> 0:17:59.760 So it's thirty eight that I'm curious to see which 0:17:59.800 --> 0:18:03.200 kind trees are on the top of the scale. I 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:05.200 did not look that up, so I have no idea. 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:08.240 But I'm just wondering out loud, because you know, it's 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:10.639 that it's that national pride coming out. What do you 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:13.199 need thirty eight dollars? Why aren't we so many five dollars? 0:18:13.840 --> 0:18:16.680 Not that I'm applying this. This this applicant pool is 0:18:16.720 --> 0:18:19.119 going to be pared down during the course of several 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:22.919 rounds um The first is by popularity, because part of 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:25.679 the application is is you know your your resume and 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:28.320 this very short psychological work up, and then part of 0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:31.560 it is a YouTube video that you are supposed to upload. 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:34.720 So how many people are watching and liking your video. 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:39.000 It's like having a cloud score for going to Mars. Yeah, 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:42.080 and again I could see someone who is just really 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:45.359 misanthropic winning just because people are like, get rid of 0:18:45.400 --> 0:18:51.280 this guy into space, um so so. So this first 0:18:51.359 --> 0:18:53.240 round is going to be by the by the popularity 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:56.520 of your of your YouTube video. It's like American Idol, 0:18:56.560 --> 0:19:00.600 but you shoot him into space ahead, um and and 0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:04.520 by by the application material the company is actually looking 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:07.760 at your resume. Rum in this I don't want to 0:19:07.800 --> 0:19:09.919 send a whole bunch of people who obviously have no 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:14.720 business working any kind of intricate system. Yeah right, there's 0:19:14.760 --> 0:19:17.400 there's no point in advancing those people to the next round. 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.280 The next round, speaking of, is going to be selected 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:24.719 down by region and based on the person's health. Various 0:19:24.720 --> 0:19:28.320 background checks and in person interviews also very important. Obviously, 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:30.199 you want to have people who have those features we 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:33.160 talked about earlier, that are well rounded, that can work 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:36.080 well with others. You don't want to send a bunch 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:39.359 of psychopaths up in Mars, people who don't care about 0:19:39.359 --> 0:19:43.520 anyone else, because that would be well counterproductive to the 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:48.280 mission at large. Sure sure, missent tropes, yes, Uh, total psychopaths, no, 0:19:48.640 --> 0:19:52.399 not so much. No. Um. After that, you're going to 0:19:52.480 --> 0:19:55.200 start seeing more of a more of a crowdsourcing process, 0:19:55.440 --> 0:20:00.399 um via via reality TV shows, um, Internet polls, stuff 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:03.000 like that. Right, even when they narrow this down to 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:06.520 their pool of potential astronauts, and I think they're they 0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:10.400 were aiming to get to around forty total when they 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:13.119 finally boil it down. I've seen a couple of different numbers. 0:20:13.160 --> 0:20:16.360 But but but yeah, the idea being that not all 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:19.560 forty of those people would necessarily end up on those colonies. 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:23.040 It's rather that this is the pool of astronauts that 0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:28.040 could go up. And uh, then throughout the television series, 0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:31.320 we might even see something where the audience decides which 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:34.879 are which four would be the first ones to go right, right, 0:20:34.920 --> 0:20:36.879 It's it's gonna be They're they're gonna start narrowing it 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:40.480 down by by TV and stuff, and uh to two people, 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:42.480 a man and a woman would be selected from each 0:20:42.640 --> 0:20:47.520 applicant country, um, and then they will them plus a 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:50.520 few judge favorites who are not crowdsourced will proceed to 0:20:50.560 --> 0:20:54.200 an international round and then be grouped into four's, um, 0:20:54.320 --> 0:20:59.080 some fifty teams of four people and uh, which which 0:20:59.119 --> 0:21:02.440 will be narrow to six teams who will train full time. 0:21:02.720 --> 0:21:04.919 Got so then you're down. Then you're down to that, 0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:09.120 right right? Um? And then yeah, in two that would 0:21:09.160 --> 0:21:12.640 be when um, they would select whatever groups are ready 0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:14.560 to go. The company would select the groups that they 0:21:14.560 --> 0:21:19.080 think are good to actually astronaut and um, and then 0:21:19.119 --> 0:21:21.120 the world gets to call in and vote on which 0:21:21.119 --> 0:21:25.880 people get shot into space. This is incredible, all right? 0:21:25.920 --> 0:21:30.760 And then um, uh you had a specific quote from 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:34.680 someone who had applied, right. Yeah. NBC News found out 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:39.960 that sci fi author David Brynn Um, who wrote for example, 0:21:40.359 --> 0:21:43.399 The Postman, I Believe and and a bunch of other stuff, 0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:46.600 he told NBC that that people can't imagine any sane 0:21:46.640 --> 0:21:50.879 person making this choice. Uh. Editors note, did the choice 0:21:50.920 --> 0:21:54.600 to go to Mars forever and never come back simply 0:21:54.640 --> 0:21:58.320 aren't envisioning the wide range of human diversity? Um? And 0:21:58.320 --> 0:22:00.320 and was just talking about, you know, the act that 0:22:00.359 --> 0:22:03.119 he's got three kids and that at the very early 0:22:03.280 --> 0:22:06.800 state that Mars one was going to launch, he would 0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:09.280 be he would be seventy five, which means his kids 0:22:09.320 --> 0:22:11.840 are grown up and on there. They're doing their own 0:22:11.880 --> 0:22:14.840 thing at that point. They're in their careers. So it's 0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:18.600 not like it's not like he's abandoning children. Sure, sure, 0:22:18.640 --> 0:22:21.400 and you know he might choose to to spend these 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:25.359 last fewyears years of his life doing something truly remarkable, interesting. 0:22:25.720 --> 0:22:28.720 And we should say that the the early stages of 0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:32.800 this would require, uh, the candidates who were selected to 0:22:32.880 --> 0:22:36.560 move on in the process to go undergo some extensive training, 0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:39.440 like we've mentioned before, but they'd probably be going someplace 0:22:39.520 --> 0:22:43.600 really remote and pretty desolate. Yeah. One one of the 0:22:43.680 --> 0:22:47.040 plans of the group is to um to create on 0:22:47.240 --> 0:22:52.080 Earth in in in some cold, desolate desert tundra kind 0:22:52.119 --> 0:22:56.520 of area, a UM a little foe Mars base for 0:22:56.640 --> 0:22:59.280 training purposes. That will become really important because you have 0:22:59.320 --> 0:23:03.960 to know, you have to understand what are what's the 0:23:04.000 --> 0:23:07.399 harsh reality of trying to live on Mars. Hey, guys, 0:23:07.440 --> 0:23:10.520 I just heard from the Spiders of Mars as a 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:13.080 band that I follow, that it's time for us to 0:23:13.080 --> 0:23:22.880 take a quick break, all right, So we've laid out 0:23:22.920 --> 0:23:26.200 what the project wants to do and kind of their 0:23:26.400 --> 0:23:30.199 general approach, the idea of sending up supplies ahead of 0:23:30.240 --> 0:23:35.240 time and then landing people hopefully by three um and 0:23:35.560 --> 0:23:39.640 uh four people and then initially and then another four 0:23:39.680 --> 0:23:43.320 every two years, and that they're having this Mars colony. 0:23:43.560 --> 0:23:48.480 So let's talk about why this would be a monumentally 0:23:48.640 --> 0:23:51.760 difficult task, like what what are what are the challenges 0:23:51.800 --> 0:23:54.399 that they face, because there are quite a few. Um, 0:23:54.440 --> 0:23:57.120 you're you're you're dealing You're dealing with not only when 0:23:57.160 --> 0:24:01.120 you get to Mars, um it not not having an atmosphere, 0:24:01.320 --> 0:24:05.920 the thin atmosphere doesn't have a breath, right correct, sorry, 0:24:06.040 --> 0:24:08.760 and not having the atmosphere that Earth does that lets 0:24:08.800 --> 0:24:11.119 you you know, go out barefoot and walk around right. 0:24:11.520 --> 0:24:14.080 Um yeah, not only that, but there's uh, well we'll 0:24:14.080 --> 0:24:16.560 get into it. Let's let's start with them. Well let's 0:24:16.560 --> 0:24:22.080 start with dirt. Yeah, because because Mars dirt is toxic. Yeah, 0:24:22.760 --> 0:24:26.639 just like Britney Spears, No way, she just did that song. 0:24:26.960 --> 0:24:29.320 That's I guess. I guess you could say either one 0:24:29.359 --> 0:24:31.359 that you wanted to. I'm not going to argue either point. 0:24:32.119 --> 0:24:35.280 So the dust that covers Mars is called regular. If 0:24:35.320 --> 0:24:40.080 I am pronouncing that correctly, are excellent win um it's 0:24:40.160 --> 0:24:43.919 it's really human unfriendly it. Um contains a bunch of things, 0:24:44.000 --> 0:24:49.320 for example, uh perchlorate per chlorate, thank you, which which 0:24:49.359 --> 0:24:52.040 is a group of chemicals that are used as oxidizers 0:24:52.040 --> 0:24:54.720 in rocket fuel. And if that doesn't give you an indication, 0:24:55.320 --> 0:24:59.920 it sucks to to breathe in. Exposure can can cause 0:25:00.040 --> 0:25:03.880 serious damage to your thyroid. UM, which is an important 0:25:03.920 --> 0:25:12.240 bit UM. Lots of silicates UM, silicate silicic uhcts, most 0:25:12.400 --> 0:25:19.040 commonly including feldspar, pyroxene, and olivine, all of which react 0:25:19.080 --> 0:25:24.520 with water to form hydrogen, peroxide, hydroxyl and superoxide UM, 0:25:24.560 --> 0:25:29.000 all of which quartz dust does and UM is blamed 0:25:29.040 --> 0:25:33.560 for things like lung cancer and uh silicosis in miners, 0:25:33.880 --> 0:25:37.840 which which basically means that you inhale this this dust 0:25:38.359 --> 0:25:41.119 and it reacts with the water in your lungs and 0:25:41.200 --> 0:25:44.320 it is not good right right, This is it starts 0:25:44.359 --> 0:25:47.960 to form chemicals that can be very harmful and lead 0:25:48.080 --> 0:25:52.200 us to a not living situation, right right. Another another 0:25:52.280 --> 0:25:54.720 thing in there is gypsum um, which is a self 0:25:54.720 --> 0:25:57.680 fate mineral that forms again in the presence of water. 0:25:58.160 --> 0:26:01.120 This one isn't actually toxic the way that the silicates are, 0:26:01.200 --> 0:26:04.640 but on the level of coal dust, it is an eye, 0:26:04.680 --> 0:26:08.760 skin and respiratory irritant. So obviously we would have to 0:26:08.880 --> 0:26:14.399 take precautions against getting dust into any habitable area in 0:26:14.440 --> 0:26:17.199 the Mars one colony, right, and again because of the 0:26:17.240 --> 0:26:19.720 atmosphere situation, you're not going to have people running around 0:26:19.720 --> 0:26:24.320 barefoot in Mars dust. However, it's a very sticky substance really, 0:26:24.359 --> 0:26:28.160 and especially due to um. Just like static electricity, it's 0:26:28.160 --> 0:26:30.960 going to wind up getting on all the equipment, and 0:26:31.400 --> 0:26:33.640 you know, even if you get it out through through 0:26:33.680 --> 0:26:36.399 air filters in some kind of airlock, it's going to 0:26:36.440 --> 0:26:38.600 get into the system. Yeah, it's it's one of those 0:26:38.600 --> 0:26:41.600 things where you really have to design like a clean 0:26:41.720 --> 0:26:44.439 room type environment, the same kind of environments that we 0:26:44.520 --> 0:26:48.200 think of for creating a microprocessor, where even a single 0:26:48.240 --> 0:26:52.240 mode of dust can ruin a sheet of silicon wafers 0:26:52.520 --> 0:26:55.320 when you're trying to design a microprocessor, because you're designing 0:26:55.320 --> 0:26:57.520 things on such a tiny scale, we would need that 0:26:57.600 --> 0:27:02.680 level of precision to to ensure the health of anyone 0:27:02.680 --> 0:27:04.880 who's living on one of these colonies. Not to say 0:27:04.880 --> 0:27:07.160 that it can't be done, but when you are doing 0:27:07.200 --> 0:27:11.200 this on another planet that's already essentially trying to kill you, 0:27:11.760 --> 0:27:15.439 it's a really really tough challenge. The way the way 0:27:15.480 --> 0:27:17.560 I've seen it described is that it's it's not so 0:27:17.680 --> 0:27:21.280 much that at a certain point you're never going to 0:27:21.320 --> 0:27:25.040 get the dirt completely separated from your living quarters, and 0:27:25.119 --> 0:27:28.040 so it's almost more of a of a what can 0:27:28.080 --> 0:27:30.680 we do to combat the issues that this dirt is 0:27:30.720 --> 0:27:33.919 going to cause some sort of chemical scrubbing process that 0:27:34.000 --> 0:27:37.479 could make this inert, or or some kind of medical 0:27:37.480 --> 0:27:39.639 process that we can act upon the poor human people 0:27:39.640 --> 0:27:42.480 that are out there, because it's gonna it's gonna affect 0:27:42.480 --> 0:27:45.520 them right right. So to to even think that we 0:27:45.520 --> 0:27:48.120 could create a system that would negate all of this 0:27:48.280 --> 0:27:52.320 is probably being a little too Yeah, you definitely can't 0:27:52.680 --> 0:27:54.720 just assume that, because as soon as you do, then 0:27:55.119 --> 0:27:58.000 tragedy can strike. Well, there are there are other challenges 0:27:58.040 --> 0:28:01.040 as well, not just the the dirt. Uh, there's also 0:28:01.440 --> 0:28:04.400 radiation before you even get to the planet. Yeah, because 0:28:04.560 --> 0:28:07.240 a journey to Mars is going to take months. Uh, 0:28:07.280 --> 0:28:11.080 And that's because the way that Mars and Earth line up, 0:28:11.119 --> 0:28:13.600 you have to figure out the right trajectory to launch 0:28:14.119 --> 0:28:17.840 to get from Earth or even Earth's orbit uh to 0:28:18.040 --> 0:28:20.479 Mars in the most efficient way possible. So when the 0:28:20.480 --> 0:28:23.399 Curiosity Rover launched, you know, if you were to look 0:28:23.440 --> 0:28:27.439 at the closest point between well, when Earth and Mars 0:28:27.440 --> 0:28:31.480 were closest together, if you were somehow able to maintain 0:28:31.600 --> 0:28:35.120 that distance and go from Earth to Mars, it might 0:28:35.160 --> 0:28:37.360 take you a few months to get there. It took 0:28:37.359 --> 0:28:40.600 Curiosity Rover more than I think, like eight months to 0:28:40.640 --> 0:28:42.520 get there. You might say, well, why is that so, Well, 0:28:42.560 --> 0:28:44.880 it's because we can't get those plants to stop moving. 0:28:44.920 --> 0:28:48.680 They keep going around the Sun, which continues moving through 0:28:48.720 --> 0:28:51.520 space itself. So what you're talking about is trying to 0:28:51.560 --> 0:28:54.920 create a trajectory that's the most efficient pathway between Earth 0:28:54.960 --> 0:28:58.320 and Mars, and it's not. It's not a straight line 0:28:58.360 --> 0:28:59.960 because you can't do that. You know, you would end 0:29:00.080 --> 0:29:03.040 up being where Mars was as opposed to where it is. 0:29:03.080 --> 0:29:05.520 So you have to actually aim for where Mars will be. 0:29:06.240 --> 0:29:09.440 So uh, that means that your journey through space is 0:29:09.480 --> 0:29:12.160 going to take some time. If if you did it 0:29:12.200 --> 0:29:14.360 at the speed of light, it would be fourteen minutes. 0:29:14.840 --> 0:29:16.600 We cannot go at the speed of flames, right, so 0:29:16.640 --> 0:29:19.400 it's going to take months to get there. And the 0:29:19.440 --> 0:29:22.880 downside of that is that space has got some nasty 0:29:23.040 --> 0:29:26.960 radiation out there that can kill you. UM. So if 0:29:26.960 --> 0:29:30.720 the vacuum is not bad enough, the radiation is worse. 0:29:30.800 --> 0:29:33.520 So on Earth we are very well protected. In fact, 0:29:33.600 --> 0:29:35.800 one of the reasons why we have life as we 0:29:35.880 --> 0:29:38.720 know it here on our planet is because our plan 0:29:38.840 --> 0:29:42.400 has two things really helping us out. One is the 0:29:42.440 --> 0:29:46.600 atmosphere we have, which helps uh reduce the energy of 0:29:46.640 --> 0:29:50.720 any incoming radiation radiation particles coming into the atmosphere slow 0:29:50.800 --> 0:29:54.760 stuff down. Um. And then also we have a magnetosphere, 0:29:54.840 --> 0:29:59.360 this magnetic field that surrounds the Earth that repels a 0:29:59.360 --> 0:30:02.320 lot of the part icles that otherwise we bombard. Our planet, 0:30:03.200 --> 0:30:07.880 Mars has a very thin atmosphere, so it's not as protective, 0:30:08.520 --> 0:30:13.080 and there is no magnetosphere around Mars, so there's not 0:30:13.200 --> 0:30:15.040 that magnetic you know, you can think of it almost 0:30:15.040 --> 0:30:16.960 like a force field. There's not that magnetic field that 0:30:16.960 --> 0:30:22.640 can repel UH charged particles as they come blasting through space. 0:30:22.960 --> 0:30:26.640 And what's blasting them, you might ask, the Sun? Yeah, yep, 0:30:26.760 --> 0:30:29.400 the same thing that allows life to happen here on 0:30:29.440 --> 0:30:31.760 Earth in almost every case. I mean, there's some some 0:30:31.880 --> 0:30:34.120 life out there that that relies on chemicals that are 0:30:34.160 --> 0:30:37.000 produced geothermically, but but most of it is through some 0:30:37.080 --> 0:30:40.000 kind of root of photosynthesis and then eating things that 0:30:40.320 --> 0:30:44.320 are synthesized exactly. So, so the Sun is responsible for 0:30:44.400 --> 0:30:48.320 most of the life on Earth. It's also blasting out 0:30:48.360 --> 0:30:50.640 stuff that would kill you. Now you might think, well, 0:30:50.640 --> 0:30:52.720 what about people who are aboard the space station. How 0:30:52.720 --> 0:30:55.960 do they managed to stay up there so long? It's 0:30:56.040 --> 0:31:00.719 a lot of shielding still inside the magnetic field of Earth, correct, 0:31:00.760 --> 0:31:02.440 And they're really only supposed to stay there for a 0:31:02.440 --> 0:31:04.200 few months at a time. One of one of the 0:31:04.240 --> 0:31:08.040 many reasons why they try to bring people back pretty right, Yeah, 0:31:08.080 --> 0:31:10.880 Another one being things like bone loss, which you can 0:31:10.960 --> 0:31:13.160 suffer if you're out in space for a very long time. 0:31:13.840 --> 0:31:17.800 So if you are going out from Earth to Mars, 0:31:18.360 --> 0:31:20.200 you will eventually get to a point where you leave 0:31:20.280 --> 0:31:23.480 Earth's magnetic field while you're in space, and once you 0:31:23.560 --> 0:31:26.880 leave that magnetic field, the only protection you have from 0:31:26.960 --> 0:31:30.920 this kind of radiation, this cosmic radiation, and and it's 0:31:31.000 --> 0:31:33.600 radiation in a different form than you know it's not 0:31:33.800 --> 0:31:36.400 energy beams coming at you like you would think in 0:31:36.200 --> 0:31:39.920 a in a nineteen fifties science fiction film, Cosmic radiation 0:31:40.320 --> 0:31:43.080 or cosmic rays are not made up of light energy. 0:31:43.120 --> 0:31:47.040 They're actually, uh, the nuclei of adams like hydrogen and 0:31:47.120 --> 0:31:51.080 helium and iron that are traveling at hundreds of thousands 0:31:51.120 --> 0:31:54.960 of kilometers per second through space that have been ejected 0:31:55.000 --> 0:31:58.320 by the Sun. And that the in fact, the University 0:31:58.320 --> 0:32:01.040 of Rochester Medical Center published study not that long ago 0:32:01.080 --> 0:32:03.800 that suggested that long exposure to this kind of radiation 0:32:03.960 --> 0:32:09.600 could increase the risk of developing diseases like Alzheimer's. So uh, 0:32:09.680 --> 0:32:13.720 you know, exposure to this stuff is dangerous. So you 0:32:13.760 --> 0:32:16.280 would have to build some form of shielding within your 0:32:16.320 --> 0:32:20.680 spacecraft so that if there were a period of cosmic radiation, 0:32:21.120 --> 0:32:23.920 the soun's not constantly blasting this stuff out. It comes 0:32:23.920 --> 0:32:26.800 in these little short bursts. But if you were to 0:32:26.880 --> 0:32:29.160 detect such a burst coming at the spacecraft, you would 0:32:29.200 --> 0:32:31.560 have to be able to go into a specially shielded 0:32:31.640 --> 0:32:36.160 compartment and waited out and it usually lasts a few hours. 0:32:36.200 --> 0:32:40.480 So actually Mars one is fairly cavalier and saying like 0:32:40.960 --> 0:32:44.360 it wouldn't be a very comfortable, uh situation. You'd be 0:32:44.400 --> 0:32:46.760 kind of in cramped quarters for about you know, three 0:32:46.840 --> 0:32:49.720 or four hours, but you know after it's over you 0:32:49.720 --> 0:32:52.200 can come out. It sounds to me like you would 0:32:52.200 --> 0:32:55.120 be essentially need to knee with the rather astronauts waiting 0:32:55.160 --> 0:32:57.600 for waiting for this to finish well, but you're clearly 0:32:57.600 --> 0:32:59.600 best friends with them, after going through six years of 0:32:59.640 --> 0:33:03.480 extensive training on a desert base on Earth, hoping no 0:33:03.560 --> 0:33:05.880 one TV cameras in your face because no one has 0:33:06.000 --> 0:33:07.840 cracks under that kind of pressure, right, and hoping that 0:33:07.880 --> 0:33:12.600 no one had the chili uh space meal just before 0:33:13.480 --> 0:33:17.560 space Chili be bad boy. Chris would have appreciated that 0:33:17.640 --> 0:33:21.080 joke like crazy. Well, anyway, that's something you would really 0:33:21.080 --> 0:33:24.240 have to deal with on that whole trip from Earth 0:33:24.280 --> 0:33:27.560 to Mars. Once you get the Mars, the thin atmosphere 0:33:27.880 --> 0:33:31.160 does provide some protection. Uh. In fact, I saw one 0:33:31.200 --> 0:33:35.280 report that suggested that, uh, information from the Curiosity Rover 0:33:35.360 --> 0:33:39.440 may show that it's non lethal levels of radiation. Now 0:33:39.520 --> 0:33:43.160 that does not mean that there, Yeah, you might it 0:33:43.240 --> 0:33:47.360 might still increase your chances of developing certain diseases, but 0:33:47.600 --> 0:33:50.520 they it wouldn't outright kill you like there there are 0:33:50.640 --> 0:33:53.800 radiation levels that are so high as to give you 0:33:53.960 --> 0:33:58.000 radiation poisoning, which can be lethal. But the point that 0:33:58.160 --> 0:34:01.760 he was making was that, Uh, they aren't that intense 0:34:02.040 --> 0:34:07.680 on Mars. Now we're recording this, uh, just a day 0:34:07.720 --> 0:34:11.160 before NASA releases more information about the radiation on Mars. 0:34:11.560 --> 0:34:13.920 So um, by the time you hear this, we'll know 0:34:14.000 --> 0:34:16.319 more about it. But Lauren and I don't because we 0:34:16.320 --> 0:34:20.000 can't see into the future. So how does Mars one 0:34:20.120 --> 0:34:23.560 expect to deal with the radiation problem on Mars? Well, 0:34:23.840 --> 0:34:26.759 even with it being non lethal, obviously, you don't want 0:34:26.800 --> 0:34:30.719 to have prolonged exposure to radiation if you can help it. 0:34:31.239 --> 0:34:34.160 So they are proposing that they will have the habitat 0:34:34.320 --> 0:34:37.279 part of Mars one, the place where the astronauts actually look, 0:34:37.400 --> 0:34:40.359 or the colonists if you prefer, where they actually live 0:34:40.400 --> 0:34:44.000 and do most of their work, will be underground, so 0:34:45.120 --> 0:34:50.600 somehow using rovers, They're gonna launch rovers up before they launch, 0:34:50.880 --> 0:34:53.399 launching the ast along with some supplies and stuff like that. 0:34:53.480 --> 0:34:57.000 In fact, I think the first the first scheduled landing 0:34:57.000 --> 0:35:00.799 would be just supplies and then the second round would 0:35:00.840 --> 0:35:03.680 have the first rover landing. The rovers are going to 0:35:03.760 --> 0:35:07.200 be these robotic rovers just kind of similar to the 0:35:07.239 --> 0:35:11.520 Curiosity rover, but with a lot of construction ability, like 0:35:11.560 --> 0:35:15.080 they'd obviously have to be able to dig out and 0:35:15.280 --> 0:35:20.399 put up structures for the incoming colonists, the idea being 0:35:20.400 --> 0:35:23.080 that the colonists would arrive in mostly everything would already 0:35:23.080 --> 0:35:27.040 be together, right right, Yeah, the I've got a little 0:35:27.040 --> 0:35:29.200 bit about the timeline. Do you want me to do? Well, yeah, sure, 0:35:29.239 --> 0:35:30.719 we can talk a little bit about that and then 0:35:30.840 --> 0:35:33.480 jump back to to this. But well, let me just 0:35:33.520 --> 0:35:36.239 say this. The whole idea about putting it underground is 0:35:36.280 --> 0:35:39.480 that by being under the soil, which we've already established 0:35:39.520 --> 0:35:42.360 is dangerous stuff all on its own, the soil would 0:35:42.360 --> 0:35:47.240 protect against radiation, and that, according to mars One's frequently 0:35:47.239 --> 0:35:50.560 asked question section five meters of soil, which is about 0:35:50.600 --> 0:35:54.360 sixteen point four feet of soil, would be equivalent to 0:35:54.360 --> 0:35:57.279 being protected by Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere. So they would 0:35:57.320 --> 0:36:01.560 dig down five meters and put the habitats that far down, 0:36:01.560 --> 0:36:04.880 so almost two stories if you're thinking of of of 0:36:04.920 --> 0:36:07.960 a building, so you would imagine that you would arrive 0:36:08.040 --> 0:36:11.120 on Mars and then go down two flights of stairs 0:36:11.160 --> 0:36:14.799 and be two flights of stairs underground and that's where 0:36:14.840 --> 0:36:18.239 you live, right. The The idea is to UM UH 0:36:18.520 --> 0:36:25.600 launch supply mission starting in UM, rover launch in UM. 0:36:25.680 --> 0:36:28.960 Also starting at that point a live video stream from 0:36:29.000 --> 0:36:33.320 from the rover which features heavily and their their stated 0:36:33.360 --> 0:36:35.799 timelines on their website, which cracks me up just a 0:36:35.800 --> 0:36:37.520 little bit. And I understand that this is how they're 0:36:37.520 --> 0:36:40.719 making money, but it's you know, they're very like scientific 0:36:40.760 --> 0:36:44.640 advancement live on video and I don't know, it's yeah, 0:36:45.239 --> 0:36:48.479 it tickles me, UM, but we're in that post real 0:36:48.520 --> 0:36:53.560 world world. I guess, yeah, it's it's it's true, UM, 0:36:53.760 --> 0:36:58.080 but so so yeah, so and then would be when 0:36:58.320 --> 0:37:01.919 UM the settlement come opponents would launch, including two living 0:37:02.000 --> 0:37:05.520 units to life support units, more supplies, and a second 0:37:05.640 --> 0:37:09.239 rover along with the second video stream UM. And then 0:37:09.280 --> 0:37:11.880 yeah and then again, like we said, two, would be 0:37:11.920 --> 0:37:15.120 when the astronauts would launch and would be when they 0:37:15.120 --> 0:37:19.839 would land along with UM five other cargo missions that year. Yeah, 0:37:19.880 --> 0:37:24.000 and the rover's job would be to actually collect those uh, 0:37:24.040 --> 0:37:27.000 those bits that landed and and to put them together 0:37:27.080 --> 0:37:31.040 and to assemble them. And that blows my mind. The 0:37:31.080 --> 0:37:36.719 idea of a rover capable of of maneuvering, lifting, carrying, 0:37:36.800 --> 0:37:41.680 and positioning these various modular components so that it can 0:37:41.760 --> 0:37:43.839 make a living space for the astronauts by the time 0:37:43.880 --> 0:37:47.120 they land. That's a really sophisticated job for a robot 0:37:47.120 --> 0:37:50.040 to do, and and robotics is advancing continually. But they're 0:37:50.040 --> 0:37:53.640 talking about launching this critter in that's five years off, right, 0:37:53.640 --> 0:37:55.600 which means that they have to start building it right now. 0:37:56.000 --> 0:37:58.200 They can't. You know, these things take a lot of 0:37:58.200 --> 0:37:59.600 time because they have to build it, they have to 0:37:59.640 --> 0:38:02.600 test it, make sure that's going to withstand the pressures 0:38:02.640 --> 0:38:06.359 that needs to that can actually fulfill the functions of 0:38:06.400 --> 0:38:09.279 the mission before they even try and launch one. And 0:38:09.320 --> 0:38:11.520 of course it's also all assumes that all these launches 0:38:11.520 --> 0:38:15.040 are successful, and I mean, we certainly hope they are, 0:38:15.080 --> 0:38:17.279 but there's never a guarantee, you know, you can never 0:38:17.320 --> 0:38:20.520 be completely certain. Hey, guys, I just gotta visit from 0:38:20.520 --> 0:38:23.719 this dude named Marvin from Mars. He tells me that 0:38:23.760 --> 0:38:33.239 it's time for us to take another quick break. Going 0:38:33.320 --> 0:38:37.600 back to the Mars. One fact about the radiation, they 0:38:37.640 --> 0:38:41.360 also had this helpful section which I found, uh again 0:38:41.520 --> 0:38:45.040 a little scary as described in an f A. A 0:38:45.239 --> 0:38:47.759 And University study from two thousand five, a journey to 0:38:47.800 --> 0:38:49.840 Mars and back. In the case of the study, toting 0:38:49.840 --> 0:38:52.800 five thirty six days in space would mean the chance 0:38:52.800 --> 0:38:56.040 of contracting cancer for twenty to thirty four year olds 0:38:56.320 --> 0:39:00.719 is around ten for men and seventeen for women. But 0:39:01.000 --> 0:39:03.040 let's compare it to people who do not go to 0:39:03.120 --> 0:39:06.839 Mars in their lifetimes. Men have a twelve percent chance 0:39:06.880 --> 0:39:10.239 of contracting prostate cancer and women have twelve point five 0:39:10.280 --> 0:39:13.880 percent chance of developing breast cancer. Or let's compare it 0:39:13.920 --> 0:39:16.759 to people who smoke. Smoking more than five cigarettes a 0:39:16.800 --> 0:39:18.839 day leads to a twenty four point six percent chance 0:39:18.840 --> 0:39:21.200 of developing lung cancer for men in their lifetimes and 0:39:21.280 --> 0:39:24.400 eighteen point five percent for women. And finally, our restaurants 0:39:24.440 --> 0:39:27.399 will spend only two d to two hundred twenty days 0:39:27.440 --> 0:39:29.400 in space compared to five dred thirty six days the 0:39:29.400 --> 0:39:32.799 study mentioned above. Staying in Mars will result in much 0:39:32.840 --> 0:39:35.600 lower doses even if astronauts stay for a long time. 0:39:36.280 --> 0:39:39.799 These these numbers, um, I didn't actually you would put 0:39:39.840 --> 0:39:41.000 them in our notes and I and I kind of 0:39:41.000 --> 0:39:43.279 glanced over them, and I was just noticing that that's 0:39:43.400 --> 0:39:47.200 not necessarily those numbers don't all align because we're talking 0:39:47.239 --> 0:39:50.560 about very specific different types of cancer caused by very 0:39:50.600 --> 0:39:55.279 specific carcinogens. Not to mention different time frames. They talk 0:39:55.320 --> 0:39:59.320 about how the lifetime versus over a lifetime, over groups, 0:39:59.480 --> 0:40:04.239 and exactly a lifetime versus a trip. This is this 0:40:04.280 --> 0:40:08.840 is a tiny bit misleading and us shockingly unscientific for 0:40:08.960 --> 0:40:12.160 a group of people who are looking to go to Mars. Right. Yeah, 0:40:12.239 --> 0:40:15.359 when you say a tiny bit misleading, you are understating 0:40:15.360 --> 0:40:17.640 it drastically. I think I think you're giving them too 0:40:17.680 --> 0:40:22.719 much credit because uh, and I mean I want us 0:40:22.760 --> 0:40:26.040 to have colonies on the Moon and on Mars. Trust me, 0:40:26.360 --> 0:40:28.600 I think that that would be amazing and a phenomenal 0:40:28.640 --> 0:40:31.239 human achievement. But I don't think we get there by 0:40:31.280 --> 0:40:35.560 downplaying some of the very real, uh challenges we face 0:40:35.680 --> 0:40:38.000 and and the way that this is worded. I agree 0:40:38.000 --> 0:40:41.879 with you, Lauren, this is not a very realistic like 0:40:42.520 --> 0:40:46.319 It's it's like smoke and mirrors, right because you're you're saying, hey, look, 0:40:46.360 --> 0:40:49.200 you might have if you were in going on the space, 0:40:49.239 --> 0:40:54.320 you might have a increase in developing cancer, but throughout 0:40:54.320 --> 0:40:56.920 your life you could have this much. Yeah, but we're 0:40:56.920 --> 0:40:58.759 not talking about throughout my life. I'm talking about like 0:40:59.000 --> 0:41:02.040 on a road trip. Especially when you're when you're recruiting 0:41:02.840 --> 0:41:06.080 essentially civilians to to get into this project. It's it's 0:41:06.080 --> 0:41:10.040 so hazardously misleading to put those kind of numbers in 0:41:10.080 --> 0:41:14.000 someone's head without without That's that's irresponsible, is what that is. 0:41:14.000 --> 0:41:16.560 When you're encouraging eighteen year olds to hop on YouTube 0:41:16.560 --> 0:41:19.520 and apply for your program, and you're and you're basically 0:41:19.600 --> 0:41:22.640 lying to them with statistics, right, if you're not lying, 0:41:23.560 --> 0:41:25.920 I just went off a little bit. You should you 0:41:25.960 --> 0:41:28.640 should know. That's why I included that. Actually what Jonathan does, 0:41:28.840 --> 0:41:30.960 That's why I included those bullets because when I read that, 0:41:31.040 --> 0:41:34.280 I had that same reaction that you did. But I also, 0:41:34.400 --> 0:41:36.440 you know, took a bed drole before I came in here, 0:41:36.480 --> 0:41:39.799 so I'm a little calmer. I wasn't doing it to 0:41:39.800 --> 0:41:41.359 calm myself down. I was doing it because you know, 0:41:41.400 --> 0:41:46.360 spring has sprung. So then let's talk about life support systems. Now. 0:41:46.840 --> 0:41:49.799 I was very curious to hear how they were going 0:41:49.920 --> 0:41:54.000 to provide life support on Mars. We've already ascertained the 0:41:54.080 --> 0:41:58.760 soil is dangerous the atmosphere is not breathable, so how 0:41:58.880 --> 0:42:02.759 do you know? And and getting supplies from Earth while 0:42:02.840 --> 0:42:05.840 that will continue to be a thing, obviously that's not 0:42:05.880 --> 0:42:08.759 going to be steady and constant. You're going to get 0:42:08.760 --> 0:42:12.359 them in in bursts of deliveries, and that you have 0:42:12.440 --> 0:42:16.120 to have some sort of self sustaining element or else. 0:42:16.800 --> 0:42:20.800 You know what happens when it's trail. Yeah, eventually everyone 0:42:20.800 --> 0:42:24.400 gets dysentery, I mean exact space dysentery. Well, what happened? Well, 0:42:24.520 --> 0:42:27.359 my my question is if let's say that, let's say 0:42:27.400 --> 0:42:30.759 that you don't have that self sustaining element there, what 0:42:30.880 --> 0:42:36.000 happens when the television show gets canceled? Right? That's that's 0:42:36.000 --> 0:42:38.960 a sobering thought. I mean, the main way that they're 0:42:39.040 --> 0:42:43.440 going to be able to to keep people alive on 0:42:43.480 --> 0:42:47.160 another planet is through television. If people stop watching television, 0:42:47.600 --> 0:42:51.640 people die, right, I mean that's that's what the story is. 0:42:51.680 --> 0:42:53.520 So you have to have some sort of self sustaining 0:42:53.640 --> 0:42:57.720 element to it or else you're you are consigning people 0:42:58.280 --> 0:43:02.680 to potential Nielsen raying actual death. Yeah, like your show died, 0:43:02.760 --> 0:43:06.240 so did your astronauts. I mean that's terrible. But anyway, 0:43:06.280 --> 0:43:08.640 so so they have addressed that, and this is how 0:43:08.680 --> 0:43:12.880 they plan on providing life support. So what are the 0:43:12.920 --> 0:43:16.120 things they're gonna need. They're gonna need water. Well, they're 0:43:16.160 --> 0:43:18.239 saying what they're going to do is they're going to 0:43:18.320 --> 0:43:22.920 extract water from the soil of Mars, this incredibly toxic stuff. 0:43:23.680 --> 0:43:25.959 What but but we know that Mars has some ice 0:43:26.000 --> 0:43:29.399 on it. So the plan is to dig up huge 0:43:29.400 --> 0:43:32.880 amounts of dirt and put them through what are called extractors, 0:43:33.239 --> 0:43:36.839 and the extractors will heat up the soil which will 0:43:37.000 --> 0:43:40.120 melt the ice and turn it into water vapor. It 0:43:40.160 --> 0:43:43.640 will then condense and filter that water vapor to turn 0:43:43.680 --> 0:43:47.760 it back into water, and then that water will become 0:43:47.880 --> 0:43:50.160 the drinking water and also the water for the food 0:43:50.200 --> 0:43:55.880 supply aboard the colony, aboard at the colony. And uh, 0:43:56.000 --> 0:43:58.479 the idea would that be the each life support unit 0:43:58.640 --> 0:44:02.320 on Mars would have about fifteen hundred liters of reserve 0:44:02.400 --> 0:44:06.120 water as well as the water that's actually providing to 0:44:06.239 --> 0:44:09.880 the colony on a daily basis. So that way, by 0:44:09.880 --> 0:44:12.080 the way, they're getting power through solar panels, that's the 0:44:12.120 --> 0:44:15.320 ideas they used. They use solar panel arrays to generate 0:44:15.320 --> 0:44:17.840 the electricity they need to run the colony. But in 0:44:17.880 --> 0:44:19.799 the case of something like a dust storm where you 0:44:19.880 --> 0:44:22.600 don't get that solar power, you have to be able 0:44:22.680 --> 0:44:25.280 to still have access to the things that keep us alive, 0:44:26.040 --> 0:44:30.080 or you've just again killed the entire colony. Um. So 0:44:30.160 --> 0:44:33.840 that that's how they're answering water. So what about oxygen, Well, oxygen, 0:44:33.840 --> 0:44:36.160 they're also looking at the water. Some of that water 0:44:36.239 --> 0:44:38.440 that they will be gathering from the soil, they expect 0:44:38.480 --> 0:44:41.920 to pour some energy into it to break those molecular bonds. 0:44:42.320 --> 0:44:45.520 And we know that the two elements that make up 0:44:45.520 --> 0:44:48.560 water are hydrogen and oxygen. So you release hydrogen and 0:44:48.560 --> 0:44:51.960 you release oxygen. The oxygen you then mixed with nitrogen, 0:44:52.000 --> 0:44:55.759 which you can get from Mars's atmosphere, and make it 0:44:55.800 --> 0:44:59.000 into an a breathable mix, because pure oxygen would not 0:44:59.040 --> 0:45:01.120 be a good idea. You want to mix that. You know, 0:45:01.239 --> 0:45:04.560 here on Earth, the most abundant element in our atmosphere 0:45:04.719 --> 0:45:07.239 is nitrogen. You know some people don't know that, but 0:45:07.320 --> 0:45:10.879 that's in fact what their oxygen will mostly get you high, yeah, 0:45:10.920 --> 0:45:13.040 and then dead, and then you can be quickly. You 0:45:13.080 --> 0:45:16.400 can't have you can have pure oxygen um for long anyway, 0:45:16.560 --> 0:45:19.680 so you would mix that together to make the habitats 0:45:19.840 --> 0:45:23.600 air supply, not the band. And then finally, where are 0:45:23.600 --> 0:45:25.359 they getting the food? And some of the foods coming 0:45:25.400 --> 0:45:27.360 from earth, they will be supplied, but that's supposed to 0:45:27.360 --> 0:45:31.640 be the kind of like emergency rations. The plan is 0:45:31.680 --> 0:45:35.400 to use hydroponic farms. Hydroponic farms don't require soil to 0:45:35.560 --> 0:45:38.279 grow plants and to use special L e d s 0:45:38.680 --> 0:45:42.920 to provide the specific wavelengths of light that those plants 0:45:42.920 --> 0:45:45.440 will need to grow. So these L e d s 0:45:45.480 --> 0:45:48.720 will because their l eds they draw a very little power, 0:45:48.840 --> 0:45:50.520 so you don't have to worry about running a whole 0:45:50.520 --> 0:45:54.160 lot of power to them. They will then give that 0:45:54.160 --> 0:45:56.840 that specific wavelength that will give the plants the best 0:45:56.920 --> 0:45:59.919 chance to really grow in that environment. And since since 0:46:00.000 --> 0:46:01.839 are doing this all of us underground, you don't have 0:46:01.880 --> 0:46:06.920 the cheery Martian sunshine to fuel year right exactly, So 0:46:06.920 --> 0:46:09.560 so you've got you're you're doing it all inside. That 0:46:09.600 --> 0:46:12.640 will also mean that uh, it will use the carbon 0:46:12.680 --> 0:46:16.719 dioxide generated not just by people breathing, but they'll they'll 0:46:16.760 --> 0:46:20.000 also harvest CEO two from the Martian atmosphere as well, 0:46:20.640 --> 0:46:23.560 and so that that's how they answer the water, oxygen, 0:46:23.560 --> 0:46:27.640 and food problems. Uh. That sounds like an oversimplification to 0:46:27.680 --> 0:46:29.759 me too. Again, this is talking about systems that we 0:46:29.840 --> 0:46:32.680 have not we've proven that they can work on Earth, 0:46:33.400 --> 0:46:35.560 but you know, to expect that all of these are 0:46:35.560 --> 0:46:38.560 going to work on Mars is Uh? I mean, I 0:46:38.600 --> 0:46:42.080 would hope they would, but it seems very optimistic, especially 0:46:42.160 --> 0:46:45.120 within the timeline that they have granted, because we haven't 0:46:45.200 --> 0:46:47.920 run those kind of tests to make sure that we 0:46:47.960 --> 0:46:51.040 could do this kind of thing. Um. And I would 0:46:51.280 --> 0:46:54.360 kind of want us to have a pretty confident, a 0:46:54.360 --> 0:46:56.880 pretty high confidence level that would work before one of 0:46:56.880 --> 0:46:59.200 the astronauts especially, I would want that thing. And they're talking, 0:46:59.239 --> 0:47:01.160 they're talking about the habitats and the rooms that they're 0:47:01.160 --> 0:47:05.759 in being in these inflated uh essentially kind of like 0:47:05.800 --> 0:47:08.719 inflated tents in a way, which makes me wonder how 0:47:08.840 --> 0:47:11.440 they design it so it can withstand the fact that 0:47:11.480 --> 0:47:16.760 there are nearly seventeen feet of soil on top of them. 0:47:16.880 --> 0:47:20.160 All the all the all the artistic drawings of the 0:47:20.160 --> 0:47:23.080 plans that I've seen have have been these these kind 0:47:23.080 --> 0:47:25.479 of bubbly little capsules above ground, So I'm not sure. 0:47:25.600 --> 0:47:29.400 And those are supposed to be the other like the 0:47:29.480 --> 0:47:32.160 life support units and stuff, the habitats, the places where 0:47:32.160 --> 0:47:35.000 people live are supposed to be undergrad Like if you 0:47:35.000 --> 0:47:36.799 look at some of those pictures, you'll see like there 0:47:36.880 --> 0:47:38.680 there seems to be something that looks like a tunnel 0:47:38.840 --> 0:47:42.000 that's built up a dome of Earth. But yeah, I 0:47:42.080 --> 0:47:44.080 don't don't. I mean, you know, and it's I think 0:47:44.080 --> 0:47:47.960 it's fair to to kind of put this stuff out there, 0:47:48.000 --> 0:47:52.880 and especially since they're doing this essentially for profit, um 0:47:52.960 --> 0:47:56.120 and it's all proprietary, keeping everything a little bit close 0:47:56.120 --> 0:47:58.680 to the chest, I could, I could Devil's advocate being 0:47:59.120 --> 0:48:02.040 part of their strategy. Well. And also there's there's an 0:48:02.160 --> 0:48:05.640 argument that you can make saying that, uh, we're working 0:48:05.680 --> 0:48:08.680 on the initial stuff now, we have the plan to 0:48:08.760 --> 0:48:12.600 launch by and between now and then, we may have 0:48:12.840 --> 0:48:21.160 developed the technology necessary to meet those challenges. I guess 0:48:22.200 --> 0:48:25.320 this is the same sort of thing questions, right, Yeah, 0:48:25.400 --> 0:48:27.800 and it's you know, it's it's my My biggest question honestly, 0:48:27.880 --> 0:48:29.719 is is why we're looking at Mars and not say 0:48:29.719 --> 0:48:32.360 the Moon. I have that same question. I think, well, 0:48:32.640 --> 0:48:34.560 I mean, you've got some other problems with the Moon. 0:48:36.040 --> 0:48:38.480 We have a one six the Earth's gravity, for example, 0:48:38.520 --> 0:48:41.640 which again raises the question of things like bone loss, 0:48:41.719 --> 0:48:43.719 and the Moon is actually more toxic than Mars from 0:48:43.719 --> 0:48:47.279 what I understand, um, in terms of the particulate, but 0:48:47.360 --> 0:48:51.480 it's also much closer, very much closer. If things go wrong, 0:48:51.520 --> 0:48:54.280 it's a lot easier to correct. Right, Yeah, you're talking, 0:48:54.760 --> 0:48:58.240 and we've already got the the experience of sending people 0:48:58.360 --> 0:49:02.200 there and coming back, you know, unless you believe the 0:49:02.200 --> 0:49:08.040 whole uh television studio thing. Right, Uh, but but that 0:49:08.120 --> 0:49:11.120 did go to the Moon in nineteen but the nine 0:49:10.960 --> 0:49:13.279 one was on a movie studio, was on general ben 0:49:14.280 --> 0:49:17.160 that that aside. I mean, it's my just just the 0:49:17.200 --> 0:49:19.959 ethical questions that this raises of whether or not it's 0:49:20.040 --> 0:49:24.080 it's okay too to a send people to Mars on 0:49:24.160 --> 0:49:26.319 one way ticket at all, and and be to do 0:49:26.400 --> 0:49:29.640 it under the restrictions of reality TV. I mean, I 0:49:29.680 --> 0:49:32.120 think that anyone who's watched any amount of reality TV 0:49:32.200 --> 0:49:36.759 has seen that group breakdown that inevitably happens and is 0:49:36.800 --> 0:49:41.080 and is partially, um I think, fabricated for the enjoyment 0:49:41.320 --> 0:49:44.960 or or at least schadenfreud of the viewers, wherein the 0:49:45.040 --> 0:49:48.319 group just hates each other and and someone gets kind 0:49:48.320 --> 0:49:52.279 of Lord of the Flies out, and I just don't don't. 0:49:52.320 --> 0:49:54.239 I don't want to watch that. I I don't. I mean, 0:49:54.239 --> 0:49:56.200 I don't know, Like, of course I want to watch 0:49:56.239 --> 0:49:58.960 people go to Mars. That's terrific and fascinating, agast science 0:49:59.000 --> 0:50:01.399 and you know, human exploration. But at the same time, 0:50:01.400 --> 0:50:04.640 I don't. I almost don't. Thinking about it makes me 0:50:04.680 --> 0:50:07.520 nervous for those poor people. And and you know it 0:50:07.800 --> 0:50:13.400 very well. Maybe that the popular approach that they're taking this, 0:50:13.520 --> 0:50:17.200 this kind of you know, pop culture approach almost to 0:50:17.400 --> 0:50:22.200 the whole project, uh is is really not indicative of 0:50:22.239 --> 0:50:25.800 how serious they are. So a lot of the judgments 0:50:25.840 --> 0:50:28.480 that we're making a lot of the conclusions we are drawing, 0:50:28.840 --> 0:50:32.240 it's all based off of the approach we have seen. 0:50:32.880 --> 0:50:35.840 So maybe a lot of our concerns that we've raised 0:50:36.120 --> 0:50:39.719 are already well in hand. We you know, I'll go 0:50:39.760 --> 0:50:42.400 ahead and say that might be the case. Uh And 0:50:42.480 --> 0:50:44.920 it very well could be. That's just our ignorance of 0:50:44.960 --> 0:50:48.680 the project that leads us to the skepticism. But anytime 0:50:48.680 --> 0:50:52.400 you're talking about people's lives, I think critical thought and 0:50:52.440 --> 0:50:56.719 skepticism need to be employed. Uh. Fully so that you 0:50:56.760 --> 0:50:59.200 can make sure that these people know what they're doing. 0:50:59.280 --> 0:51:02.560 They are very serious about it actually succeeding. They're going 0:51:02.600 --> 0:51:05.720 to take every precaution they can to protect the people's 0:51:05.760 --> 0:51:08.239 lives who are involved, that the mental and physical health 0:51:08.239 --> 0:51:11.040 of these people, and and to to if all of 0:51:11.040 --> 0:51:16.080 that pans out, then the potential scientific information we can 0:51:16.120 --> 0:51:20.040 get from this experiment would be amazing and the phenomenal. 0:51:20.160 --> 0:51:22.600 So I want it to work. I really do, and 0:51:22.600 --> 0:51:24.319 and like, like, like we say a lot here and 0:51:24.360 --> 0:51:26.759 also on our other podcasts, forward thinking, even if it 0:51:26.840 --> 0:51:30.440 doesn't work out, even just trying could lead to terrific 0:51:30.480 --> 0:51:33.640 scientific advancement, right anyway. I mean, the space industry alone 0:51:33.680 --> 0:51:39.520 has created so many different advancements in technology and just 0:51:39.719 --> 0:51:41.839 things that we rely on on a daily basis now 0:51:41.880 --> 0:51:44.800 that that could very well be the case. So I 0:51:44.880 --> 0:51:48.400 really do hope that that all of this is completely 0:51:48.440 --> 0:51:50.799 on the up and up, and that uh, that we 0:51:50.880 --> 0:51:54.600 see some real results from this. I just you know, 0:51:54.680 --> 0:51:57.920 it's just enough warning flags for me to be really 0:51:57.960 --> 0:52:01.359 cautious about it. But the same time, like, if there's 0:52:01.360 --> 0:52:05.200 no risk, there's no reward, right, And I know that 0:52:05.239 --> 0:52:07.160 there are a lot of astronauts out there who have 0:52:07.719 --> 0:52:10.320 done some phenomenal things that a lot of us would 0:52:10.320 --> 0:52:14.440 consider crazy. I mean it was just people from from 0:52:14.440 --> 0:52:18.719 the test pilots who are first testing the the spacecraft 0:52:18.760 --> 0:52:22.600 before it ever left the Earth's atmosphere, to the people 0:52:22.640 --> 0:52:25.560 who have gone up to the Moon or the International 0:52:25.600 --> 0:52:29.239 Space Station. These are phenomenal feats and they require a 0:52:29.360 --> 0:52:33.880 great deal of courage and determination, more than I possess, frankly, 0:52:34.520 --> 0:52:36.879 and I think it would be a shame to not 0:52:37.160 --> 0:52:40.200 encourage that. I definitely want to see that kind of 0:52:40.360 --> 0:52:43.960 indomitable spirit continue. I just want to make sure that 0:52:43.960 --> 0:52:49.000 it's the right the right project. And uh, and so 0:52:49.120 --> 0:52:53.400 far I'm not fully convinced with Mars one. That's not 0:52:53.440 --> 0:52:55.359 to say that maybe in the year maybe I'm I'll 0:52:55.400 --> 0:52:57.799 be I'll say, oh, they've met every single one of 0:52:57.800 --> 0:53:00.840 my concerns with lying colors, and now I'm totally on board. 0:53:01.040 --> 0:53:04.040 It could happen, but but we'll have to We'll have 0:53:04.080 --> 0:53:06.359 to see what what develops. Yeah, what would it take 0:53:06.360 --> 0:53:08.839 for you to go to Mars, Lauren? I would not 0:53:09.000 --> 0:53:15.800 go to Mars. I mean I just nope, especially under restraints. 0:53:15.800 --> 0:53:17.600 I mean, to be fair, I also would not appear 0:53:17.600 --> 0:53:22.680 on a reality TV show, period, So that attitude news 0:53:22.760 --> 0:53:25.720 for you, Lauren. There are cameras everywhere I've been doing 0:53:25.760 --> 0:53:28.640 the House Stuff Works reality TV show we launch any 0:53:28.680 --> 0:53:32.120 minute now. It's mostly us sitting at our desks with 0:53:32.200 --> 0:53:34.480 headphones on, not paying attention to each other. It's not 0:53:34.719 --> 0:53:37.799 terribly exciting, I'll admit, but you know, I've got high hopes. 0:53:38.640 --> 0:53:43.120 Occasionally see things like Josh talks to Chuck, I expected 0:53:43.160 --> 0:53:45.759 to drive a lot of views. I also would not 0:53:45.840 --> 0:53:47.640 go to Mars unless there was a return ticket, in 0:53:47.640 --> 0:53:51.360 which case maybe, but but with no return ticket, not 0:53:51.560 --> 0:53:55.160 all my stuff is here. So that alone makes it 0:53:55.200 --> 0:53:58.200 really hard for me to say goodbye. Yeah, that's that. 0:53:58.239 --> 0:54:01.040 I'm a materialist. But come on, you know my Xbox 0:54:01.120 --> 0:54:03.520 is over here. I worked hard on that gamer score. 0:54:04.280 --> 0:54:06.760 And that does it for that classic episode of tech Stuff. 0:54:06.800 --> 0:54:09.960 Hope you guys enjoyed it. If you have any suggestions 0:54:10.000 --> 0:54:12.560 for topics for future episodes of tech Stuff, reach out 0:54:12.600 --> 0:54:15.359 to me on Twitter or Facebook to handle for both 0:54:15.520 --> 0:54:18.319 is Text Stuff h s W and I'll talk to 0:54:18.320 --> 0:54:26.439 you again really soon. Text Stuff is an I Heart 0:54:26.520 --> 0:54:30.279 Radio production. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit 0:54:30.320 --> 0:54:33.400 the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you 0:54:33.440 --> 0:54:34.800 listen to your favorite shows.