Assault at Antarctic base could be a warning for future travellers to Mars

[Jilly_in_VA]

A tense situation among members of an isolated base in Antarctica could foretell conflicts among astronauts on a long distance journey to Mars.

The South African Antarctic research base, SANAE IV, is located at a remote location in East Antarctica. It hosts a nine-member team made up of a doctor, scientists, and engineers who spend 10 months in isolation during the harsh, dark southern winter.

Reportedly, an altercation between one of the members and the leader resulted in an alleged physical attack, death threats and sexual harassment. Names have not been released. According to a statement from South African government officials, the team is undergoing mediation and the accused person has written a formal apology. The statement says the issue is considered resolved and the team will not need to be evacuated.

This type of conflict among people living in extreme isolation and confined quarters is a concern for planners of a much longer human mission to Mars. Travel to the red planet, using any currently available technology, will take roughly seven months one way. Once the crew arrives, they will have to remain there alone for almost another year waiting for the Earth to come around its orbit so it is on the same side of the sun as Mars for a return trip.

Then it will take another six or seven months to journey home. That is a total round trip journey of 750 to 1,000 days, depending on how much fuel you are willing to burn.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/antarctic-base-assault-1.7489637

People living in close quarters can have these problems.

[rsdsharp]

1. Robert Heinlein foretold those problems for Mars explorers 65 years ago in Stranger in a Strange Land.

[Oneironaut]

2. I believe any society on Mars will revert to lawlessness.

It would be near impossible given those circumstances to have social order. That society would need to face the same growing pains as that of earth, unless we could somehow enforce the law there.

ISS missions and trips like that are different imo because those on board know they are going to eventually return to earth. Not so on Mars, as, those who go there will live out their lives and die there.

[2naSalit]

3. Human nature...

We seem to have not overcome the lower regions of possibilities there.

And all this hype about going to Mars is just such rubbish, we will never get there and/or survive the journey let alone any time on Mars IF we got there. Not in our current physical form.

Blows my mind that people can't understand this.

[harumph]

4. I don't think they'll be an actual "base" on Mars.

Maybe a smallish structure - like a land based ISS. My gut feeling is the first thing that goes wrong, you can kiss the inhabitants goodbye.
We now live in a pretend world where every billionaire's wet dream will come true - and no unexpected events of any seriousness occur.
Such is the mindset of people who live without constraints. Interplanetary travel is now just like taking a bus ride, and practical fusion is just around
the corner.

[Bayard]

5. This is what survivors here can look forward to,

When the Earth becomes uninhabitable.

[hunter]

6. Humanity will probably land a few more people on the moon, hopefully bring them back safely...

... and that will be the end of human space exploration for centuries and maybe forever if our existing world civilization collapses.

Natural born humans are just too damned fragile and difficult to keep alive in space, especially beyond low earth orbit.

I used to read science fiction about space travel as futurism, now I regard it as pure fantasy. Faster than light starships and martian colonies no different than dragons, wizards, and magic.

Human exploration of space will continue , but it will be our machines doing that.