*Engage Serious Percy Mode*

The Starhopper test this last week is an important reminder that space colonization is no longer a subject of science fiction. It’s a very real possibility and one that deserves a lot of serious consideration before attempting.

Let’s discuss.

When we talk about colonizing other planets, we very rarely talk about something that I think deserves serious consideration.

Who are the people that billionaires like Musk or Bezos will be taking with them when they decide they want to go to space?

More than likely, there will be those people who pay ridiculous sums of money for the chance to live on another planet. But then there are others who will go as support staff for these types of facilities.

This is where we run into problems.

If we’re lucky, everything will go fine and we can start off on the right foot on this brave new world and it will be a symbol of hope for humanity the world over.

But space is hard. It’s VERY hard.

What happens in an accident? What happens if there’s a food shortage? What happens if there’s limited O2 or medical supplies? If it comes down to the wire, will resources be distributed evenly?

What do you think will REALLY happen?

Worse yet...

What happens if there is abuse of these support staff on Mars? What if they are poorly compensated? What if they are told initially that they can leave eventually and that opportunity never comes? What if there’s reports of sexual harassment or assault?

Where do these people go to report their grievences?

This is fundamentally creating an uneven power dynamic in a space where there is no ability for outside entities to intervene in the event that injustices are inflicted on the people living there.

At best, we’re looking at years of grueling labor appeasing the whims of the ultra-wealthy. At worst, this could become a breeding ground for human rights violations at the level of Apartheid or even slavery.

The story of human civilization has been a story of the haves and have-nots. There will always be people who try to take advantage of others, and the only difference between then, now, and the future, is the technology those people have at their disposal to do what they want.

This is obviously a very complex topic, but the Starhopper test is an important reminder that these conversations need to be had now and often so that solutions to these problems can make themselves apparent.

Otherwise, in the centuries to come, we may enter an age of modern feudalism in the many orbiting bodies of the solar system.

I don’t know about you, but to this humble Mars rover, that would be a very grim future.