Foundation of an Autonomous Colony

The Foundation of an Autonomous Colony on another cosmic body is one of the most challenging tasks for humanity. Though it requires enormous effort, the effort to expand the influence of mankind throughout the Solar system is worthwhile enough.

Preparations

Bringing down Phobos before a settlement is built may help to make Mars safe for the long term.

Since people can not live in the natural environment a basic artificial habitat with houses, supplies and equipment for a long term stay is deposited on Mars' surface. The equipment is technologically sufficient to allow the colonists to grow their own food, build new houses etc.

The Departure

The transportation of colonists is the most complicated part. Health threats or even death during the journey is hard to avoid. See also: Solar Radiation, Cosmic Radiation, Meteorites

Organizational Issues

The preparation costs for a mission like this is tremendous. A financial effort estimation helps to get an overview.

In a small group of colonists a daily council of all members is held. In a growing community some kind of representative democracy becomes necessary.

A growing number of members in a martian population goes along, unfortunately, with a growing number of cases of death. The way of arranging funerals is to be discussed.

Medical Issues

Before heading for Mars any crew is quarantined to make sure they do not suffer from a infectious disease. As a result the martian colony is more or less free of pathogenic germs, which saves some medical effort. However, for children born on Mars an even more effective vaccination program becomes necessary to stimulate the development of their immune system.

The size of the human population may not be arbitrarily small due to a risk of inbreeding depression.