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Why not build the settlement in advance of the first landing? (piefed.social)
submitted 1 month ago* by to c/mars@discuss.tchncs.de
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Sending people to Mars, keeping them alive there, and bringing them back (optional) is hard.

Sending robots to Mars is easier. It's been done in 1997 and artificial intelligence and robotics have made major strides since.

A semi-autonomous* settlement with life support should be built before we send people there. This will save a lot of time and make the mission far more likely to succeed than if we treat it like a camping trip and make astronauts set their own "tents" up.

* with high-level operations being managed remotely, but real-time operations requiring automation due to the unavoidably high ping between Earth and Mars

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[–] 1 point 1 month ago

oh and besides my other comments in this thread, i want to note something very important:

  • i'm absolutely in favor of sending robot probes to confirm that the soil does indeed contain extractable water (hydrated minerals). because water is basically a pre-requirement for anything else, so it absolutely has to be clear that there is indeed enough of it on the landing site before any settlers arrive.
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