THE journey to Mars could be a treacherous one and the risk of going where no man has gone before may even involve cannibalism.
That’s according to Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, the authors of a new book about whether humans should really try to live on Mars.
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Live Science highlighted an excerpt from their book A City On Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?
One major topic of discussion is the issue of food on the Red Planet.
Nasa estimates that the journey to Mars will take about seven months.
Astronauts will need all their food for the entire mission to be on their rocket and if there is a problem or delay, the supply could run out.
The Weinersmiths describe eating a crew member as a “forbidden space meal” and question whether this would ever be an ethical or correct decision.
Whether space cannibalism is legal could also depend on what country the astronauts are from.
“The Outer Space Treaty actually provides something of an answer,” the authors wrote, citing the work of nanomedicine specialist Robert A. Freitas.
“Under Article VIII, jurisdiction goes to the state of registry. Different nations have different rules regarding the ‘law of necessity,’ so really you just need to know what the relevant legal code permits.
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“If you’re in a Canadian ship, get a Canadian judge on the line and explain about the people-meat.”
They also refer to the work of another author, Dr. Erik Seedhouse, who wrote Survival and Sacrifice in Mars Exploration.
Seedhouse suggests that in an emergency situation, the largest astronauts should sacrifice themselves first.
The argument is that the largest people may be consuming the most food out of dwindling supply and eating them would provide a large “forbidden meal” than consuming a smaller person.
He suggests that this sacrifice should be made to ensure some of the crew survive while waiting for an emergency rescue.
Seedhouse wrote: ” “Imagine you’re stranded on the Red Planet with three crewmembers.
“You have plenty of life-support consumables but only sufficient food to last one person until the rescue party arrives.
“What do you do?… One day, while brewing coffee for breakfast, you realize there are three chunks of protein-packed meat living right next to you.”
Nasa says it hopes to send humans to Mars as early as the 2030s.
