The Sword and Laser discussion

Have any of you guys heard of the Mars one project?

The whole thing gave me a story idea and sorry this is probably the wrong place to put it, but I want folks opinions and S&L rarely has led me wrong with their brainpower.

Would you want to go to Mars and live? (one way trip) and the part of the thing that inspired the story idea, would you be ok with the whole trip being a pay per view situation and the world seeing your journey?

Thank you for joining me on this tangent and my research :)

Any answers are research for a project I just started writing (my weak excuse for topic placement)

Have you seen/heard the episode of StarTalk on this subject? Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down with the Mars 1 CEO, Bas Lansdorp.

WATCH (44:10) → http://www.hulu.com/watch/892719
or
LISTEN (52:52) → http://www.startalkradio.net/show/col...

yes it's part of what inspired the idea

I wouldn't want to go, but if I did I would be ok with being observed. I would insist on a time limit though. One year of observation with option to renew. I don't want to be a specimen for the rest of my life, but for a reasonable amount of research it would be ok.

Ariel wrote: "I wouldn't want to go, but if I did I would be ok with being observed. I would insist on a time limit though. One year of observation with option to renew."

Wow, you're optimistic. I doubt they'd last a year :-?
I wouldn't go, unless there was a return journey.

A sustainable Mars base colony is not realistic in their time frame.
There are some huge engineering & scientific hurdles to over come before you can even takeoff.

* There has to be supplies sent ahead to the planet.
* Getting to Mars and surviving the possible radiation exposures in flight and on the surface of Mars.
* Making enough oxygen and nitrogen to sustain everyone that makes it there for the rest of their lives.
* Growing food on a nutrient dead planet (Probably one of the easier problems to overcome)
* Getting enough water for human and farming needs.
* Combating the psychological and physiological problems of isolation.
* Replacing broken equipment.
* Producing power. Solar power is no good in the frequent sand storm blackouts.
* Getting enough vitamins and minerals from their diet.
* and a thousand others that I haven't mentioned or are unforeseeable.

There are too many problems. The stress on family members left behind. The potential for a disaster that would upset viewers of any reality TV show that was made.
Not to mention that the people behind the project haven't got the money to pay for it. They are relying on TV companies buying the rights to televise it & corporate sponsorship.

When we do go it will be a multi-government science mission, with a guaranteed return.

But great for a story idea. :-)

the idea of the show intrigues me almost as much as the mission.

Not only do you have the ton of issues with the base and getting there, from a TV production perspective, the hurdles to climb over are huge. First of all I don't see anyway with the "current" majority of the viewing public, you have one season, the very first trip. How do you engage the viewer beyond the fact its the first trip to another world? I see it as one of two things, possibly the greatest reality tv show in history, or the biggest trainwreck in television. The story of the people in charge of this show would be pretty dang cool

Would I go? Maybe. Would I consent to being observed for a reality TV type show? No. (vital signs and other mission-oriented monitoring, yes)

I'd go if there was highly credible science that made it very likely I'd get there alive and land safely* and if there was some sound plan for survival once there, i.e. concrete plans for how to get food, water and shelter that would protect against radiation. I'd want one more thing - the possibility of return, even if it's not guaranteed. That is, if technology develops 10 years after my missions such that we could do reasonable round trips to Mars, I'd want to be able to come back. I wouldn't go with zero chance of that.

As for the observation? No. I'd be fine with the level of observation that the space station astronauts deal with, but not 24/7, out of my control feeds.

PS: See here for some really interesting housing tech: http://www.marsicehouse.com

*safely meaning with the same risks of any space mission but without reliance on wild, untried techniques.

Would I go? Not for a one-way trip. That would be a bit too much adventure and idealism for me!

As for the pay-per-view aspect - As a viewer, I'd be interested in unedited, multi-perspective streaming, but not edited "reality show" type presentation. No one is getting voted off the ship, no rose ceremonies, we don't need the "producers" creating any additional drama. Perhaps individual video diaries could be interesting. But being in space? on Mars? That is plenty of excitement on its own, in between (hopefully) vast swaths of boredom. Nothing needs to be jazzed up.

that I think is where my story conflict lies, a group of producers and artists who want to present the story for what it is, one of the possible greatest events in man's history, and the business end who in this day and age you know will want to slap Coke logos on the rocket and turn it into big brother in space (or is my whole line of thinking too far fetched?)

I think there are two ways to do it. One is to try for realistic tension, something like the Mars One project where they've sold rights in order to make the project happen then there's tension that threatens the mission, etc. Don't just make the end game "Will it be tacky or not?" as those stakes aren't really interesting.

The other way is to posit an alternate society, something like Varley's Steel Beach or even the current selection, Radiance and make over the top, hyper-exagerated commercialism a feature of that society. See also Stand on Zanzibar

Im not sure where I want to go with it, I am just throwing it out there seeing what bounces back.