Space Colonies: Cities of the Future

  • Have you ever thought what it would be like to live in space?
  • Where would you build your settlement?
  • Would you be able to communicate with earth?
  • What items would you be able to take with you when you left earth?
  • Who would you take along as the first settlers?
  • What would your homes look like?
  • How would you manage to get enough clean air and water?
  • What food would you eat and where would it come from?
  • Who would make the rules and important decisions?
  • Would your furniture and clothing be the same as on earth?
  • What jobs would people do in space?
  • What would people do for recreation?
  • How would children be raised and educated?
  • How would you provide care for sick people?
  • Go with us now into the year 2020!

    Office of the Commander
    International Mars Base
    Earth  date: January 1, 2020

    Greetings student team,

    You and your crack team of young scientists and technicians are one of several groups that have been chosen to help design the first permanent human colony on Mars. As of now, the only people on Mars are a group of international military scientists who stay for 6 months and go home.  They do not have the capability of living there permanently.  Due to the quickly deteriorating conditions on earth with regard to environmental pollution and warfare between competing groups that is about to change.

    That is where you come in.  It is essential that you begin your preparations immediately.  You have been selected to plan this community because of your dedication to making society fair for all and conserving natural resources.  Throughout the history of settling new frontiers, this has not always been the case. The lessons we have learned from our global earth experience have demonstrated to us that we must ensure that all future developments use resources wisely and share them equally among all settlers right from the beginning.  That is the task that you and the other student groups are being assigned and all the resources of the classroom and the Internet are at your disposal. Your final plans are to be unveiled at a joint meeting of all the participants in two weeks.  Please follow the guidelines on the project instruction sheets and good luck.

    Sincerely yours,

    Commander U. R. Dafutur