to mars and back -part 2

     these four men and women . who having received a death sentence, or life sentence could easily be found among our current population if not here then a foreign nation would do and the diversity it may bring would be welcomed addition to such a feat as establishing a colony on mars. extensive psychological and physical examinations , and a handyman type of mentality would be what it takes to exist in a foreign land as mars would be.women also would be highly desired in establishment of a colony, and a 1:1 ratio maybe not necessary when considering men to women ration of new explorers, so that maybe more women as many as 6 women to 2 males may provide the best ratio to help humans initially survive a length of time. with the emphasis on breeding humans on the other end . 

     you could use the space ship you initially use as interplanetary vehicle to be utilized as a mars based habitat for initial survival of the colony. pre planned supplies would be accumulated on the planet surface for retrieval  by early explorers prior to their first arrival on the planet. multiple rockets would be used in the interplanetary trip to assure that the highest level of safety could be achieved through redundancy. if one rocket system or another has a system malfunctions then you could transfer personnel to another rocket for completion of mission. 

   currently we have a new rocket system to shuttle materials into space and fly back into earths orbit and land on its own . and there is even talk of a space ladder that would use robots to ferry materials skyward into space to a circling satellite station set in a stationary orbit around earth. from there we could load interplanetary spaceship with the supplies needed to establish a colony for one year minimum. that is we take everything including air , food and shelter to last a colony for one year. 

  people with a broad range of experiences and qualifications is desired among our prison lifers. a willingness to receive a second chance , as well as a desire to make the community as a whole. our explorers will be ex-cons and should always be treated accordingly. this would surely be a second chance for anyone but especially those individuals whose hope and prospects had dwindled. surely this should be a motivating factor to succeed. it will also be an experiment in society based on reform. when i had mentioned the ratio earlier i was not advocating multiple mating to males but was more interested  in diversity and a chance for women to also use in vitro fertilization or artificial insemination as a secondary means or prefer to not be pregnant at all per there choice. with multiple women more choices require additional women to assure human reproduction to occur at all on mars. 

     what role would religion be considered when it applies to this mission would be on a personal basis. each person is responsible for his own personal religious beliefs. religion is only to be considered as it relates to the individual . you can not impress your views on others or use religion as basis to make colony decisions. 

    all vocations will be open in the new colony and needed as it expands. efforts should be made to search for those skills in a person that would be most in need on a priority basis. module technicians capable of assembling modules to live in after we first arrive on mars. shelter is probably the number one priority of the early explorers . initially they would use their space vehicle as pre planned shelter that could easily be set up on a semi permanent basis. modules sent previously by supply ships and dropped by parachute into the area of where the planned community was going to be, will then be returned to the colony site . these modules would be filled with supplies they will need in the coming months to start the community on a track to self sufficiency. 

     if water exists and at least some metals in the form of ore like iron ore or some other type of metal say bauxite and maybe silica to make glass , and soon we have a basis for us to manufacture our own structures allowing the population to increase . water is the main key to it all as if water exists the 2 major components of water is hydrogen and oxygen. we could heat the water and release the oxygen and expel the hydrogen back into martian atmosphere. we could build a small nuclear generator such as those used on submarines to generate the heat and electricity we would need to initially start the colony. having heat would allow the water to boil, releasing the oxygen. having artificial light would allow one to grow food and vegetables necessary to sustain human nutritional needs.  some form of carbon material would be desirable to achieve sustainability of  human life as carbon plays a major role in producing food for our tables in the form of carbon dioxide . plants require it for photosynthesis , turning the suns energy into plant food. this may be present though not evident as it is here on earth. on earth we have lush green forests and jungles that help temper our environment , as well as become sources for storing the suns energy over a period of time. on mars the forests may be a sea of brown mold or green goo , which would serve as the flora and fauna of mars. 

     if we can not eventually be self sufficient then mars may not be the place to go. i would say any earth exploration event should only be attempted as a means to sustain life beyond our earth planet. our resources would be better spent trying to extend life beyond our earth planet, irregardless of how far that may be. 

   well we have checked out all the parameters of the project and have decided it is a go with our final five women and 3 men on board , i will attempt to take you along on this ride to another planet. and since you are going along . just ask yourself the question. just what was it you did to get life in prison?  i told a joke. think i heard a song like that one time in my life. gilbert o sullivan i believe or leo sayer. more soon.