One-way mission to Mars to be explored at lecture

Humans have long dreamed of going to Mars, but the only hope for doing so in the foreseeable future is on a one-way mission. Eliminating the return journey would dramatically slash costs and halve the inevitable risks associated with space flight.

“Mars on a one-way ticket is not a suicide mission,” says Paul Davies, director of the Beyond Center at Arizona State University. “Rather, the astronauts would be the first colonists of a permanent human settlement on the Red Planet. It’s a natural extension of our quest to explore.”

Davies will outline how such a mission would work during the Beyond Center’s annual Sci-Fi Meets Sci-Fact Lecture, 7:30 p.m., Nov. 20, in Murdoch Hall, room 101, on ASU’s Tempe campus.

During the talk, Davies will suggest who would go, what they would do when they got there and how a Mars colony would benefit the rest of humanity on Earth. The lecture is free and open to the public.

After Davies shares his vision for sending humans one-way to Mars, internationally acclaimed artist and senior TED fellow Angelo Vermeulen will describe his recent experience living and working in a Mars-like habitat.

“Most scientists address the engineering and logistical aspects of establishing a Mars colony,” says Davies. “But the biggest obstacle may be how to get a handful of human beings to live and work in a very cramped and challenging environment without murdering each other. Angelo has firsthand experience of what it would be like cooped up alongside other colonists with no escape.”

The Sci-Fi Meets Sci-Fact Lecture is free, but reservations are suggested. For more information, visit beyond.asu.edu or call 480-965-3240.