The race for Mars has begun. Elon Musk of SpaceX said he would get people to the Red Planet by 2026. Mars One claims its team will be on Mars a year later, in 2027. NASA plans to put humans into orbit on Mars by 2033 and then to the surface by 2039. The European Space Agency is also targeting a Mars mission by 2033, and the Chinese space program has planned to conquer Mars between 2040 and 2060. Very soon, the surface of Mars may become crowded. And here's the question: if we build a colony on Mars, should its inhabitants be left to themselves? Should we declare the independence of the Red Planet?
When these crews land, they will represent their companies and countries. And while each of them builds colonies and research stations, living quarters on Mars, they will report to their higher authorities. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty states: "Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall not be subject to national appropriation either through the declaration of sovereignty, use or occupation, or by any other means." From which it follows that countries cannot lay claim to Mars (and cannot place nuclear weapons on it).
But the deal says nothing about individual companies like SpaceX. And although no country can lay claim to Martian land, it can, in theory, use any of Mars' resources. People who will build their homes on Mars may not own the land they live on, but must report to the country or entity that is responsible for them.
And so it will be if Jacob Hagg-Mishra does not get his way. Hagg-Mishra is a Research Fellow at the Blue Marble Space Institute. He recently published an article entitled "The Transformative Significance of Mars Liberating," in which he argues that Mars should be completely independent from the beginning. “Mars seems to have the potential to do something different with civilization, not what we have already done,” he told the BBC.
The idea is simple. Instead of the people who have landed and live on Mars, accountable to the companies and institutions of their home planet, they should gain complete independence. To ensure this independence, Hagg-Mishra proposes five provisions of liberation (liberation).
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First, people who land on Mars renounce their earthly citizenship. Now they are Martians, not Earthlings. Second, governments, companies and people on Earth have no right to interfere with the politics or economics of Mars. This means no coercive trade, no economic interference, no behind-the-scenes deals in goods or services. Thirdly, the scientific exploration of Mars can continue exactly as long as it does not interfere with the independent development of civilization. Fourth, the use of land on Mars must be determined by the Martians. Fifth, everything that is brought from the Earth is now the property of Mars, and earthlings have no right to demand it back.
To breathe some reality into these words, let's look at an example. Let's say SpaceX is the first to go to Mars with its Mars Colonial Transporter in 2027 with a team of 15 people and a bunch of cargo to found a colony. If Mars is free, these 15 people will no longer be Earth citizens. They are now citizens of Mars and operate on Mars as an independent group with no political or economic ties to Earth.
The things they brought with them, the equipment and technology that SpaceX has equipped them, are all theirs now. If another crew arrives, from NASA, ESA or China, the SpaceX crew will negotiate with them, and only with them, about how Mars resources will be divided and allocated. As more and more people arrive on the Red Planet, a set of laws and regulations will be developed by the Martians. In the end, if they decide, they can start trading with Earth. But only on their own terms.
"Release" agreement
It might seem odd that a company or country would spend billions of dollars to get to Mars only to completely lose control of what is happening on this planet. But this is not excluded, says Hagg-Mishra. He also believes that there may be some kind of long-term (very long-term) perspective that will make investing in an independent Mars journey worthwhile. Plus, there are many stories of lucrative technology emerging from space programs - light-emitting diodes (LEDs), aircraft de-icing systems and portable cordless vacuum cleaners - all emerged from the NASA research lab. Yet even the most generous billionaires interested in spacewalks may wonder if it is worth the investment.
But there are certain people who like this idea. Hagg-Mishra says he heard this from several people on the Mars One program. “Having an independent colony on Mars resonates with what astronaut candidates like to talk about,” he says. The idea of becoming not just the first people on Mars, but the first people in a completely new independent colony is popular with people who have signed up for a dangerous and long-term mission.
Hagg-Mishra calls this way of settling Mars "liberation," liberation, and indicates that it goes completely against the way colonization usually proceeds. “After the liberation of Mars in accordance with this set of provisions, the Red Planet becomes available for the development of a new civilization, but falls under the prohibition of the control of any groups existing on Earth,” he writes in his work.
And also notes that there are many precedents when revolutions led colonies separated from their rulers by great distances. The United States rebelled against England, as did India and a whole host of now independent countries. And the distance between England and the United States is nothing compared to the distance between the United States and Mars. That is, it was difficult to suppress the revolution at a distance, and it may become completely useless.
The idea of planetary independence has continually resurfaced in science fiction. In the novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein told the story of the revolt of a lunar colony against earthly rule. Many of the arguments that surfaced in the book resulted in the Hagg-Mishra's proposal - the inability of people on one planet to truly understand others, the need for freedom and an institution to manage their own economic results. The exhaust will be even more powerful when many new people are born on the planet. "When you get the majority of the people that have never been on Earth, when a generation has passed and there are no more born on Earth, this will be an important turning point."
It will be many years before humans put their feet of flesh and blood on the Red Planet. Hagg-Mishra does not think that one document will be enough to describe the entire future politics of Mars. "This idea of Mars liberation may not be accepted in the form in which I suggested, but it suggests thinking about what it is like to be a citizen of the planet." We should start thinking about how exactly all these missions to Mars will proceed. And it is worth thinking about what to do to prevent these future colonies from rebelling against the Earth.