The Residual Outcome

Here’s the thing, this is going to be long. Maybe even complicated, I don’t know. I won’t laden it with facts and statistics, mainly because I’m merely a blogger and not a theoretical scientist, biologist, or otherwise, and I don’t claim to be. I’m a simple human with simple thoughts, and could very well be wrong about everything I’m about to espouse.

With. That. Said. Here we go:

Mars. You know, that little red planet we associate Greek Gods and Candy Bars with (or John Carter if you’re the literary type). It’s been long ascribed since the planet’s discovery that we could one day populate this little speck in the night’s sky. It’s rocky terrain and relative shape and size are similar to our very own. It’s technically within the “safe zone” of life, in reference to our solar system. And hey! There’s even permafrost frozen at the poles of our sister planet.

We’ve sent probes, droids, and satellites to Mars in hopes that we may either find life, or better yet, conditions for life with which we could populate said planet. It’s been our (human’s) dream to go to Mars, create a new atmosphere, and begin life once again on this barren fourth rock from the sun. Sure, it may be a little chilly out there, and yeah, the atmosphere and lack of electromagnetic field might pose a problem… as far as radiation bombardment is concerned. But we’re willing to try dammit!

Recently, there’s been a call for individuals willing to not only live and populate on Mars, but to also die. Which, of course, is an absolutely noble endeavor to take on. And guess what? Many people have stepped up to the plate. It’s somewhat refreshing to see the level of commitment to the idea of human exploration. Continually moving on, exploring, and starting anew wherever we go. Within us all there lies a Magellan, a Christopher Columbus, a Marco Polo, or a Leif Erikson. It’s what separates us from other creatures on this planet, much less other species of human ancestors who died out long ago.

But here’s what I’m proposing. When we finally decide to move a specific portion of our population to Mars… my suggestion is that we immediately distinguish them from our own species. No longer Homosapien, but more like Homo-Martian if you will.

Why?

Look, I know it seems pretty radical to immediately put our own kind into a box the moment they land on another planet, but here’s the catch… they’re never coming back. At least, not without good reason. They will have to live there, survive there, cultivate land, create an atmosphere, adjust to the climate, the cold, the lack of Sunlight, the weather, sand, and even potential bacteria. They’ll have to create a greenhouse effect, they’ll have to adjust to the new light cycle, and of course, the change in gravity. Essentially, we’re throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks… biologically speaking.

On this new planet, they’ll have to go in sterile, clearly. We know that we don’t want to change the environment in potentially detrimental ways, so what these new species of humans will have to do is adjust to their surroundings in a completely new and authentic manner.

Sure, they’ll have plenty of the same resources we have on Earth. Plants, microbes, water, maybe even a pet or two. But the moment they set foot on another planet, their very genetic material will have to mutate and adjust to their environment, which may or not be a complete disaster, depending on how well-prepared we are.

But much in the way of Native Americans, the biodiversity of their species will become interlocked with itself. They’ll no longer be exposed to certain diseases, bacteria, or even environmental factors that would have normally bothered them here on Earth. Instead, they’ll have to adapt to the new planet’s atmosphere and general climate. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be kind, but knowing us, we have the fortitude to do so.

So, if we send these folks to this planet, where they’ll have to eat, breath, defecate, breed, and die, we subject them to an entirely new way of life.

Let’s say we do this. We keep them there for an extended period of time, checking up on their progress, figuring out what they need, what they’ve done, how they’ve coped with life. Then, let’s say, hypothetically, we send a new wave of humans to Planet Mars; there won’t only be the A-Typical clash of culture and survival techniques, but of new bacteria (or old bacteria, depending on who’s receiving said bacteria) that one of the two camps of these human species will have to get used to.

Either that… or they die out.

“So what? We’ll just keep sending new people to Mars in droves. Shouldn’t be THAT big of a deal.” Someone might say.

But oh how they’d be wrong.

What we’ll have to remember is that as much as we’d like to imagine that we could keep the human lineage strong, the simple fact that there will be a majority of people who DON’T go to Mars is evidence enough that this will become a fruitless and impossible endeavor.

People here on Mother Earth will retain their natural progression towards whatever the surrounding environment of our planet deems necessary for us to survive, much in the way that Mother Mars will also demand this new human species to adapt to in order to carry out their inevitable existence as well. Bone structure, muscle mass, fatty tissue, hair, pigment, among many other important factors that go into environmental causes. It’s a well known fact already that astronauts who experience long-winded tenures on missions in space often come back taller and have to readjust to the conditions of gravity back here on the ground. And that’s only the effect that space has on them for only a few months.

Imagine a lifetime of that. A lifetime of a softer gravitational pull on the human body. A lifetime of freezing or sub-freezing temperatures. A lifetime of a lack of sunlight. A lifetime of radiation bombardment. These are all key factors in how life forms and exists on our very own planet, and will have an absolute and lasting effect on the genetic and physical makeup these pioneers will have to endure… forever.

Think about it though. An entirely new species, bore from our own desire to explore. We will be able to watch, in real time, the way our genetic material changes over the course of generations. We’ll be able to watch our own kind change it’s techniques when it comes to survival. Culture will shift, languages will evolve, and maybe even new religions and scientific theories may culminate from our desire to expand our genetic lineage. An ant-farm from a different planet.

What an exciting thought! We’ll not only be able to say that we took our existence to another planet, but to an entirely different level! We’ll be able to see how we can, without a doubt, shape our own destiny. This new human species wouldn’t be all that different from us. Hell, they ARE us. Much like all life is formed from one common thread. An ancient ancestor that split in two, creating new possibilities for life beyond one species, or one type, or one way of living. We’ll be able to say, “Yes, we did that, and we now know the importance of life and how it affects everything on all levels, not just as Homosapiens, but as beings of existence. Conscious, cognitive, thinking, life.”

You see, to me, the thought of people on Mars brings great meaning to me because it tells me that, whether it be man, ape, dog, cat, lion, or otherwise, understanding the importance of creatures, their thoughts or their experiences is something we should all strive to understand. We are the only kind of our species. There are no more Neanderthals, Homo-Habilis’, or Homo-Erectus’ anymore. Our arrogance and greed either wiped them out, or out-bread them. Imagine though, what we could have learned or could still learn from other human species? How our brains develop and comprehend complex thoughts. A miracle of life, and we wiped it out long ago.

This is our way of starting over. Starting anew. Not only in possibly learning about the complexities of human life, but all species (I’ll probably get to that in a later post).

I’m not quite sure how to wrap this up other than saying, look… I know it’s a strange concept to have. Changing our terminology on who we are simply due to our proximity and environment. Humans have a hard time differentiating their feelings for like-beings. But this would be a HUGE step forward in the advancement of not only our own kind, but of evolution as well. For, how can we expect to linger on in the future, if we cannot accept the diversity of life and all it does for us?

I hope this finds you well, and if you’d like to expand upon this, please feel free to like, share, and comment your lovely little hearts out.

These are just random thoughts I have as I meander about in my neighborhood at night.

Thank you,

-Jamie