You might think that the organization with the clearest bloodline back to “that question” would avoid even mentioning anything Mars; Like how some folks say that Elon Musk can never honestly bring up Solar Power Satellites because even just a mention could detract others from blindly supporting his childhood dream of dangling his legs over the rocky rims east of Tharsis.
But… nope. “That question” was and is a living question. It is one that honest people should be honest with themselves about continually re-asking as actual 3rd-party verified empirical facts come in. Faith is never enough.
Mars. You should read about it. No matter what value you put on the lifetimes-away renders that folks keep pushing on casual audiences, there is no doubt that it continues to get force-of-habit attention that could one day add up to real money and less cosplay.
So, with religious holidays coming, requiring gifts for others and hintings of gifts that we would like to receive ourselves, we picked one from the Religion of the Red Planet and SSI Senior Associate Robert Sugg gave it a good look to see if it is a right one for your short list.
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Dinner on Mars:
The Technologies That Will Feed the Red Planet and Transform Agriculture on Earth
by Lenore Newman and Evan D.G. Fraser
Available in paperback and audiobook
For those with an interest in food and drink (like most of us), or longevity, or space, or entertaining, or gravity, or making civilization interplanetary (as Elon Musk likes to say), a very enjoyable book has come along that stimulates the imagination and helps integrate these interests into an actual plan of action.
Authors Lenore Newman and Evan D.G. Fraser, Canadian agronomists and food experts, embarked on a thought experiment during the Covid lockdowns of 2020-21: how to establish and sustain a human colony on Mars. They researched agricultural and nutritional aspects, brainstormed ideas on Zoom, and explored advanced techniques for food production, consumption, and environmental sustainability for “BaseTown”, their imagined Mars settlement.
One may wonder whether or not cows, pigs, chickens, and horses would be raised off-Earth for food, products, and labor. Newman and Fraser conclude that it’s not likely. These animals require a tremendous amount of land and resources which the Martians will not have, and they produce a large amount of CO2, not a good thing to have to deal with in enclosed environments.
Fortunately, as their research suggests, the tools and techniques developed for food production, distribution, consumption, health & safety, and recycling on Mars can be downloaded to Earth, which is facing its own issues with food scarcity, unsustainable farming practices, and climate change. While O’Neill-style free-space habitats are beyond the scope of the discussions, one can bet that the tools and techniques will transfer to those rotating O’Neill environments as well.
Newman & Fraser explore tribal culinary cultures, ongoing developments in algae-produced and 3D-printed meats and fish (for improved textures and taste), vertical farming, iFarming using drones and robotic tractors, aquaponics, hydroponics, and circular agriculture, which can be adopted for closed-loop greenhouse systems to provide, not just nutritiously adequate, but pleasingly tasteful food and drink to a hungry, healthy, busy Martian civilization.
While being clear about the challenges, the authors are optimistic, and they conclude with pragmatic recommendations to address the food needs of both Mars settlers and Earth’s growing population. A fairly short read (212 pages), I can highly recommend it to any of those who will be doing the work, and to the rest of us who will be lucky enough to be around to see it happen.
– Robert Sugg, SA
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Many thanks to Robert. He does good reviews. Go find him on LinkedIn and let him know your thoughts.
The Dinner on Mars realbook and audiobook should be available at your local IRL bookseller, and supporting them would be a very nice thing, but if you are truly pressed for time you can of course get it from BN.com or Amazon.