Mars One & Other such space colonies: Will there be LGBT rights?

This will more than likely not happen in our lifetime. When and if it happens it will be scientists and specialists and the last thing they're gonna worry about is LGBT rights. However if we colonize on Mars each country would have their own pods and they'll be governed by whichever country funded them.

 

Planetary colonization is so far in the future it's hard to imagine what the rights would be. We don't even know what might be going on on Earth during that time.

 

Like previously mentioned by LucidMonk89, it might happen that colonies would be subject to the laws of the flag they fly like a ship in international waters. I wouldn't put it past some companies from flying a "flag of convenience" to avoid certain requirements or regulations. That said, I find most technological companies would have non-discriminatory regulations given that when seeking the best talent worldwide, discrimination is counterproductive.

 

I hadn't considered the legal side of things in terms of a colony. If it were established by a private organisation I suppose they could do whatever they wanted.

A national or international space agency would be more likely to follow a set of laws. Whether they could all agree on what they would be I don't know.

If it were just NASA it would be fairly straightfoward I guess.

 

We're talking about a group of people living in a very confined space, with no real privacy and no way to make the return trip. This is the sort of thing that would require years of psychological testing and physical training, probably with dry runs in enclosed habitats simulating potential Mars living quarters.

So yeah...human relationships are an extremely important part of it, and I'm sure every possible scenario and mix of people will be considered.

As much as I love space and astronomy, I wouldn't want to do it...spending the rest of my life living in a series of connected modules the size of cubbyholes does not sound fun and I'd probably go crazy.

 

I forget what the agreement is called but there is a UN agreement that essentially forbids outright ownership of anything extraterrestrial.

How that would hold up in reality I don't know but following international law it would have to be a combined effort of nations probably overseen by an international agency I imagine.

Most of the countries that have the capability and willingness to do a joint venture(USA, European Space Agency, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, Russia etc...) Have positive or neutral LGBT stances. The ones that don't would likely compromise.

This is all in the hypothetical world where nations respect UN treaties theysign.

 

Perhaps knowing that the country of origin is The Netherlands makes you feel better. =) I'm not sure whether the country has a say in it, but if they do it's very likely that human rights will be there (and LGBT rights too).

I think it's an extremely interesting project, but then again, I'm interested in space (and space colonisation too, for that matter). However, I do agree with you with the limits they have imposed on themselves.. It seems a bit unrealistic (and overambitious) for reasons you know as well. I do hope they'll succeed in their plans, perhaps with a (little) delay, but I'm aware that it's a very ambitious plan.

I might be able to say yes, yet it's not solely my decision. My boyfriend has a say in it too. Moreover, even if I wanted to go, I'd very likely not apply, since the selection of people is very strict!! There are so many that wanted to go (with that I mean "more than I expected") and the chances that I'd be able to go is not high. And what are the odds that both me and my boyfriend can go..?

Besides the more technical issues, I don't see a reason to go. =) I think Earth has a lot of things to offer, a lot of things to explore. I don't have to be the first to go to a place. :icon_bigg So would I go? No, I would not. Earth is way too exciting for me (and I'm sure my boyfriend feels the same about the issue).

This is a very interesting question! I think for Mars One, it's likely that the Dutch government has a say in it. I'm not sure how that will go. People can misbehave, and then... What? Do we need some kind of police force there? It's a problem that generates a lot more problems easily.

Like you said, what would happen IF Russia decides to set up a colony there? We can't just say "you're not allowed, we were first", or can we? A very interesting question.

The Sun has nothing to do with this. The Sun will expand first, at some point, and then Mars won't be suitable. Certain moons of Saturn are better. Mars will be too close to the Sun, meaning it'll be uninhabitable.

Mars One has nothing to do with the expansion of the Sun.

 

Mars One is probably a scam and even if it isn't I can't see them send people to space, let alone build a colony without major (financial) backing from multiple nations.

Mars One Finalist Announces That It's All A Scam | IFLScience

 

Interesting article, I had no idea about that. However, one person saying doesn't mean it's a scam necessarily. =) The person might also want to give the project bad publicity.

However, that doesn't take away the fact that it's a very ambitious plan. André Kuipers (ESA astronaut) said that there are a few things that the project is not paying attention too. Moreover, there might come (major) psychological issues too..

 

Ambitious.. right.

The ISS which is in easily reached low earth orbit, has one supplying launch each month for only a few people.

But this is on Mars. Those launches will be astronomically expensive compared to those 'easy' low orbit launches.

A sustainable population needs about 50 breeding pairs.. So where is all that money coming from?

Not sending supplies as often would require a self-sustainable system and our previous experiments with that haven't gone very well (See the Biosphere articles on wikipedia).

 

Has anyone here actually read their website? Pretty much everything asked here is answered there. Basically mars one is a not-for-profit organization with no political ties, four will go first, there will be no sexual reproduction allowed, no government except what they make up themselves while there, they will grow their own food as well as get more every two years along with four more people, and there are so many redundancies it's ridiculous.

More questions answered here:
Mission - Mars One ,and here
FAQ - Mars One

 

Growing food would cost more on Mars with the proposed methods than by importing them by rocket. Also, their atmospheric make-up wouldn't hold for much longer than ~2 months..

 

They would be violating the treaties they created/signed. So theoretically yes we could say you can't own this. We, the west, also couldn't just take a chunk of Mars.

Closed notes of the outer space treaty:


1) the exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and shall be the province of all mankind;
outer space shall be free for exploration and use by all States;

2)outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means;

3)States shall not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or station them in outer space in any other manner;

4)the Moon and other celestial bodies shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes;
astronauts shall be regarded as the envoys of mankind;
States shall be responsible for national space activities whether carried out by governmental or non-governmental entities;

5)States shall be liable for damage caused by their space objects; and
States shall avoid harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies.

Outer Space Treaty

 

Ooops!

 

In Mars Two, the first family will be LGBTQIA+, and all people thereafter will be LGBTQIA+.