I have been thinking about Mars lately. A few days ago the planet came the closest to earth that it will be in fifteen years. It’s the brightest object in the eastern sky just after sunset.
If Elon Musk has his way, earthlings are going to inhabit Mars sometime soon. SpaceX may launch its first three uncrewed Starship missions in 2022, followed by Starship missions with small crews in 2024.
Eventually, Musk plans to build 1,000 Starships, with each Starship able to carry 100 people and 100 tons of supplies. Then he wants to launch three Starships per day during the launch windows that occur every twenty-five months. That’s 100,000 people every two years.
He also wants to make it cheap enough so that anyone who wants to can go. The goal: 1,000,000 people on Mars by 2050.
Assuming all this actually happens, several questions come to mind.
First, what kind of governance will there be? Will the Mars community be an extension of America, or of a consortium of nations? Or will it be autonomous? After all, we all know what happens when colonists start thinking for themselves.
Will the government be democratic or authoritarian, socialists or capitalist? Who will own the means of production? Will the new Martians own their own pods or rent? What kind of legislature and courts will they have? And what about policing?
One also wonders what kind of social structure our Martian neighbors will create, what culture they develop, and what religion/s they will adopt. Or will there be any religion at all?
I’m thinking if Elon has his way, there won’t be any religion on Mars. Science, after all, is his thing. I picture Martians posting black signs with colorful lettering out front of their dwellings that say, “We believe in science…”
But if you have one million earthlings settling Mars, then it’s inevitable that a First Baptist Church of Mars (and a lot of other churches, mosques and temples) is going to pop up.
After all, we all know what happens when colonists tire of science’s sterile world view and start believing for themselves.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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