MISSION TO MARS: What Would You Bring With You?

So the headlines rage that over a 100,000 people have volunteered to go to Mars on a one-way trip...never to return.

The firms involved in this travel have allowed you to bring one small item not exceeding a total of 10 pounds only on this mission.

It could be anything but organic based....as they wish for you not to contaminate a "sterile" environment (this includes food, plants, animals, etc...)

Moreover, they promise there will be electrical outlets for you to plug in any Earthly electronic device, such as computer, music devices, etc...however there would be no internet available or phone service (what happens on Mars stays on Mars...sound familiar to anything?)

What items would you bring with you?

Mine would include:

a) Apple computer (because PCs tend to break down faster) with Terrabytes of movies, music, and family/friends/nature pictures preloaded

I'd take a transmitter that could beam a message containing our human DNA sequence at the big face on mars.

Considering the possible stresses living in isolation, I wonder if anyone will be armed? Perhaps a firearm and some ammunition?

reply to post by Skywatcher2011

Clean underpants.

reply to post by Skywatcher2011


need some kind of force field or 8ft walls of lead to even have a chance against all that radiation. At least that's what some scientists say. I would bring some kind of Terra device that would turn the planet into a place like earth, plus all the life forms we have on earth. not sure if that would be practical but it might make for new real estate.

inflatable doll to talk to, once everyone started dieing of radiation or of old age.

24 cans of stella artois for the take off

reply to post by gladtobehere


yeh and lots of toilet paper, lots, i hear sand tends to leave some marks

Well, lets see... After my 1911 and a box of ammo, I'm rather limited to weight, huh? So I suppose I'd bring the most advanced notebook in the 'durable/armored' class with my gigs of PDF libraries. Between novels, how-to/DIY and self help texts? I'll need my gun for myself by the end of things or I'll be the most qualified handyman full of useless trivia and self motivation in the galaxy !

Boredom sure won't be among my issues though.

** P.S. Don't forget the Sharpie Markers in all colors. The famous 'Kilroy was here' won't have anything on the 'Rabbit was here' by the time I die of old age up there.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I thought we were only allowed one object?

A instrument of some kind. I dabble in electronic hardwares, like synths, drummachines, sampler. But these will eventually break, and its hard to find spare parts on mars. A guitar´s string will break. I think I would bring a harmonica, I can´t play the harmonica, but I guess there will be lots of spare time to learn it.

reply to post by Skywatcher2011


Shame Sarah Brightman weighs more than 10 pounds.....

My ipad with ALL the books I can possibly find
my tv shows downloaded, movies etc
pics of my family

I would rather saw off my testes with a blunted butter knife than go on a one way mission ANYWHERE! The very idea is inhumane, foolish, unlikely to be fruitful, and has already been surpassed by a plan to build a two way vehicle with improved propulsion methods, capable of making the journey there and back WELL inside a human lifetime.

But in the spirit of the thread, if I WAS the sort of total MORON that wanted to basically die for no particular reason other than to feed the hubris of mankind, then I would want to take some sort of electromagnetic personal sheild, sort of like a portable magnetospheric bubble, to keep the worst of the rads off me and the rest of the unfortunate intellectual non-entities who signed up.

Originally posted by ObjectZero
reply to post by Wrabbit2000

 

I thought we were only allowed one object?

I thought we were allowed 10 lbs? It all fits in my personal bag. 1 object.

A small laptop with pics, movies, vids, and books loaded on it seems almost like a no-brainer...

(and in those books, lots and lots of books on Mars). If I were younger and single, I'd be signing up in a heartbeat...

They really should reconsider their stance on couples though...not just for the obvious procreation reason, but taking couples that have been together for a while assures that you have people who can compromise and reach agreement and work as a team. Teamwork will be the most important factor other than knowledge and expertise. These pioneers are going to have to be multifaceted to be sure.

Radiation isn't exactly difficult to protect against...not so sure why so many harp on it...

Originally posted by ObjectZero
inflatable doll to talk to, once everyone started dieing of radiation or of old age.

To talk to? Really? Or maybe something more.....

i would bring a round trip ticket lol

a) Apple computer (because PCs tend to break down faster) with Terrabytes of movies, music, and family/friends/nature pictures preloaded

No Apple store on Mars though... Without viruses to worry about (no Internet), I'd think your PC would be fine.

By the way, here's a link to a story about it:

www.cnn.com...

Anyone 18 or older may apply via video but there is an application fee -- $38 for U.S. applicants. The money will fund the mission

So, if 100,000 have applied, that's $3,800,000 raised so far...yikes!

Once selected, a group of 40 astronauts will undergo seven years of training.

Basically, they intend on it being a reality show, to help with funding too.