Getting to Mars is long and expensive. To build a functioning colony there, people on the Red Planet must reproduce. But this is impossible. What to do?
The two main reasons why humans cannot have children on Mars are radiation and reduced gravity. The atmosphere on Mars is very scarce, it practically does not protect against cosmic radiation, which has an extremely negative effect on all germ cells, embryos and embryos. Prolonged exposure to reduced gravity causes fragility of bones, affects the level of fluid in the eyes and spinal cord of astronauts, which can lead to extremely serious problems during childbirth and pregnancy. If we add to this the suppression of immunity, changes in the nervous system, hearing loss, which are the result of long space travel, it becomes clear that people on Mars will not be in the best shape for having children.
So what are the settlers on Mars to do if they want to start a family? Scientists from the University of Information Technology and Management in Poland have proposed a very unexpected solution. Astronauts need to change their DNA to make them a little less human.
In their article, the researchers say it is possible to use CRISPR to genetically modify humans and overcome these obstacles to reproduction. Such an initiative will lead to the development of a “subspecies of Homo Sapiens”, in fact, a new species of man, which opens up a number of radically new ethical issues for our entire civilization, to which the world will have to seek a solution.
Of course, when such a problem confronts people not hypothetically, but in reality, perhaps scientists will already find some other ways to facilitate the existence of a person in conditions of a long stay in space and on another planet. But the possibility of human genetic modification remains, and, as we can see, is already being seriously discussed.