▲ Experts warn that if humans want to establish bases on other planets such as Mars, there may be a terrible situation of "astronauts eating astronauts".
Looking back at the substantial progress made in space science and technology in 2021, not only NASA successfully launched the latest Webb space telescope, private companies have also frequently tested manned rockets, SpaceX CEO Musk has said that he hopes to move to Mars in his lifetime. However, existing scientists warn that if humans dream of establishing bases on other planets such as Mars, as long as there is a mistake or loss of control, it may lead to the tragedy of "astronauts killing each other" and "people eating people".
According to Metropolis and The Sun, when humans try to inhabit planets on Mars or even farther, scientists face many questions, such as whether space travel will make people age and how long the supply of goods can last. Experts say that the establishment of a human base on Mars, its disease, sustainable food and self-sufficiency are several elements that must be addressed, because aid from Earth may take years to arrive.
Charles Cockell, a professor of astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, said that the climate crisis may cause the earth to become uninhabitable, which is a catastrophic reason for humans to establish an alien "colony", but if there is a crisis in the agricultural system of the alien base and crop failures, humanity may repeat the "cannibalism" of The John Franklin Arctic Expedition more than 170 years ago.
An expedition led by Sir Franklin of England sailed to the Arctic Sea in 1845 on two ships, and although they brought many canned foods of the latest technology at the time, they experienced constant trek and stranding, and the crew eventually killed each other and ate human flesh to survive. Coker said historical experience shows that even with the best technology, isolated groups of humans can quickly degenerate into similar animals, "and if you put a group of people on Europa [a moon of Jupiter], problems will start, plant growth modules will collapse, and if there is no other way to survive, they will eat each other." ”
Cameron Smith, a professor of anthropology at Portland State University, said the supply of food for survival on the planet is a key issue, and the first thing to do is build a really good agricultural system and put in a lot of food reserves. However, Smith is not sure that humans will kill each other, citing the Uruguayan football team's 1972 plane crash, although the survivors ate human flesh to fill the hunger, but the scope is limited to those who have died, he believes that human beings can still choose to deal with the extreme plight of the human race can still choose to deal with it in a positive or negative way.