The ambition to realize human habitation on Planet Mars continues to grow. However, did you know that living there has the potential to fundamentally change humanity? More than just cultural, social and political changes, life on Mars could trigger biological transformations in the human body.
Scott Solomon, an evolutionary biologist from Rice University, in his new book “Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds”, reviews the potential impacts of space settlement.
Solomon argues that evolution over millions of years has shaped A wise man to be compatible with life on Earth. Our bodies and brains adapt to the atmosphere, gravity, radiation, microbes, and light and dark cycles. Bone density down to the circadian clock is the result of long evolution on this planet.
Permanent life on Mars would bring changes through different evolutionary paths.
As reported by Detik iNET, settlers on Mars will face gravity that is only 38% of Earth’s, increased exposure to radiation, and a lack of microbial ecosystems that form the human immune system. This condition will be a tough challenge, even transformative from generation to generation.
Solomon told IFLScience, “Animals on islands often get bigger or smaller over time. It’s possible this could happen to us.”
He added that limited resources in space settlements would provide an advantage to smaller individuals because they would require fewer resources such as water, food, air and space.
Weaker Bones
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Low gravity can trigger serious physiological challenges. Experiments on the International Space Station show that microgravity causes loss of bone density and muscle atrophy. A similar impact might occur on Mars, resulting in a population with weaker bones and reduced muscle mass.
Solomon argues that these effects can be especially detrimental for children whose bodies are still developing. “If you build your skeleton and muscles in a low-gravity environment, there’s a chance your skeleton and muscles won’t build in the right way,” he notes.
Bigger Head
Childbirth is also a serious problem. Solomon believes that most births on Mars will be via caesarean section. These changes could reshape the human species over time.
“This creates an interesting scenario where if all births were caesarean section births, then the head would no longer be constrained by having to fit through the birth canal, which has been an obstacle throughout human evolution. As our ancestors evolved, our brains got bigger and our heads got bigger, but then there was an upper limit to how big the head could grow because we still had to put the head through the birth canal. If that wasn’t the case anymore, the head could evolve to be bigger,” explains Solomon.
Changed Skin
Visible changes may also occur in the skin. Melanin, a pigment in the skin, functions as a shield against UV radiation. Mars has a much higher radiation environment than Earth due to the absence of a magnetic field and a thin atmosphere.
“One scenario is that pigments evolved to make us darker or new pigments emerged that changed skin color. If you want to think about how we could look like science fiction aliens, there are several plausible scenarios,” he said.
Get sick more easily
Solomon argues that the microbial threat is often overlooked. Astronauts in space suffer from weakened immune systems. The bacteria traveling with them will also evolve and adapt to infect hosts in foreign environments.
Children born extraterrestrial will develop immune systems in conditions of total microbial isolation, exposed to only a fraction of the diversity they would naturally encounter on Earth. Commuting can make them sick easily.
Solomon thinks this challenge is underestimated and could determine whether humans can move freely between planets.
For these reasons, Solomon concluded that humanity was not ready to settle in space.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t go. In fact, I think ultimately there are good reasons to try, but I don’t think we’re ready,” Solomon concluded.
