Draft Mars Constitution

Primarily for use by members of the Civilization and Culture discussion group at The Mars Society (Civ-Culture@lists.marssociety.org) to design a Constitution for the governance of Mars.

The Draft so far ...? Also shouldn't there be a DraftMoonConstitution? seeing as that will probably be a stepping stone to Mars and elsewhere, and be populated faster?

Maybe. On the other hand, Mars is a terraforming candidate, Moon is not, so full population may happen on the one but not in the other.

Mars has many features that make it much more suitable for life. At least 3 of the 4 elements of organic chemistry (H, C, N, O) are abundant, with N being the one mystery (although we know it exists in at least ppm quantities). Its higher gravity mitigates whatever the effects of low-G are, although we don't know those yet. It already has an atmosphere, albeit a thin one, but that already gives us big advantages in protection against cosmic rays and micrometeorites, and since it can be used to aerobrake, it can mean that the amount of energy needed to land a unit mass on the surface of Mars is less than the amount of energy needed to land a unit mass on the surface of the Moon. Its diurnal cycle is very close to Earth's, so our native plants have a better chance of surviving. It's been geologically active which has concentrated ores useful to industry to the surface.

The Moon makes an excellent scientific base. It's geologically dead and has no atmosphere, so if you were to put an array of radio telescopes on the far side of the moon, you would have an amazingly clear view with an incredibly big and stable telescope. And the solar wind has been depositing Helium-3 into the regolith for billions of years, which is the key ingredient needed for next-generation-plus-one fusion reactors. (We're still trying to get deuterium-tritium fusion to be economical.)

And any Moon colonies are likely to be held longer with tight control and frequent rotation of personnel back home...

You might also be interested in the Contact Conference this year:

   CONTACT 2004
   The Challenge of Mars: Past, Present, Future...
   March 12-14, 2004
   Mountain View CA
   http://www.contact-conference.com/

Let me know if anyone from c2 goes, especially if due to this post. -- DougMerritt

Mars, so not going to happen. Proof? It won't happen within 50 years. By that time, we'll have AI and/or nanotech, or we'll have destroyed human civilization. Assuming the former, Mars will be a candidate for disassembly, not terraforming or colonizing. Mind you, we were saying that 50 years ago... No, sorry, 50 years ago we were going to be on Mars within 50 years. 30 years ago we were going to have AI within a decade. Hmmm...

[[On the other hand we should not underestimate the potential of these technologies in the future suddenly we may find ourselves facing something we are not prepared for. Like the Inca to whom "The arrival of Pizarro was at first viewed as little more than a curiosity by the Incas, who did not recognize the danger posed by Spanish steel weaponry and horse cavalry..." (http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/inca.html) they had no contingency to deal with something so far from their worldview as another intelligence with "advanced" capability. We should draft constitutions and try to avoid Moon, Mars or whatever colonies starting revolutionary wars, and not let our machines cause problems for our great-grandchildren.]]

Humanity's main instinct is to survive and populate. We will manage our machines, and bend them to our will whether that means using Mars for habitation or reaching other stars. Control systems will evolve as fast as assembly/disassembly agents. We will interface with machines I believe directly at the brain level and augment our intelligence to keep one step ahead. We don't want to become like the Borg but we will continue to be the tool masters as we have for eons. Like a teenager becoming an adult we as a species have to look down the road and make choices as to what we want to become which is why I think a page like this is relevant.

Article I. All adult Martians shall carry a 500 gigawatt Death Ray Blaster, attend one day of Death Ray Safety Training, and maintain readiness as a member of the Martian Militia.

Article II. Mars and all Martian assets (rocks, etc.) are the exclusive property of native Martians, who shall vigorously defend their Sovereign Rights against all invaders.

Article III. Littering (crashing of rovers and other miscellaneous junking up), damage to Mars or any Martian asset (rocks, etc.), and pollution of the electromagnetic spectrum are offenses against Mother Mars and shall be treated as acts of war.

Article IV. The skin of any war criminal (i.e. Earthling) may be exchanged for a Mars bar at the main office of the Bank of Mars.

--- Mars FAQ ---

Q: What is all that crap out where Marvin's saucer used to be?

A: It is litter from the noisy two-legged things.

Q: What are the noisy two-legged things?

A: The noisy two legged things are a noxious invasive species. They have already swamped the third planet, causing mass extinction of all other life. They must not be permitted to establish a foothold on Mars. Shoot them at first sight.

Q: Will we be invading the third planet to punish them for littering?

A: At this time it appears that the two legged things will render the third planet sterile in less time than it would take to transport our battle fleet into orbit. However, all options remain open.

Seriously though will earth nations, having spent billions (if not trillions) of dollars to settle/terraform Mars be willing to relinquish sovereignty to the settlers?

They will be Mormons who came on their own bill. I hope they take Glenn Beck with them. One-way fuel.