Abstract

Humans will go to Mars one day. But what if we skipped the plant-a-flag stage, and instead endeavoured to build a permanent human settlement on Mars?

What challenges will need to be overcome to make this a reality, and how can they be dealt with? What technologies will be needed for communities to survive, and ultimately thrive, on the red planet? How might the early Martian pioneers engineer unique solutions as they construct the first society on another world?

In this talk, Caius Astrophysics PhD student and Mars One Astronaut Candidate Ryan MacDonald will explore the architecture of the Mars One project. A special focus will be on how one-way trips using existing technology is not only possible, but is substantially simpler and cheaper than previously proposed return missions.