**11.9 Sports and the media**

Sports and the media must not be viewed as extraneous to a well-functioning Martian settlement. As witnessed in terrestrial societies, the absence of sports and simultaneously the importance of entertainment and news in their various formats demonstrate that these two social institutions provide important lessons for settling beyond Earth. It is important for the citizens of a Martian settlement to distract their attentions away somewhat from their hardships associated with living on an isolated and potentially deadly planet. Two forms of sports and media consumption exist.

First, on Mars, planners of the habitat modules—and to the extent possible aboard the spacecraft—should focus on establishing community areas because sports and media outlets together represent extremely relevant outlets for the well‐being of individuals. Live sports and entertainment events such as concerts and plays in the settlement can contribute to a rise in psychological well-being and group cohesion. Recreational activities are also important. This is different from interacting with coworkers, and thus, off‐work activities must supplement it. A Martian Internet should be part of the planning process before launch. Encouraging a focus on the benefits of living on Mars, including the social interactions with others living there, is important to mitigate feelings of isolation and homesickness.

Second, the consumption of sports and media content from Earth can help negate any psychological hardships that are exacerbated by communication delays with those on Earth, as they will provide various levels of frustration among settlers. Connecting to Earth‐based cultural trends, events, and people is vital, especially for new arrivals. Therefore, recorded sports events, entertainment programming such as television shows and movies, and news recordings will mitigate some of that despondence. Recorded messages that can be played without the prospect of interaction can help although it also emphasizes the disconnection among individuals on each planet. Recorded content cannot replace communicating interactively with loved ones, friends, colleagues, and others; however, a combination of communication formats will be required. Finally, a warning of sorts is important. Sports and the media must not receive undue attention because, together, they can act as a pacifier that glosses over negative sociocultural realities such as social problems that could exist including discrimination or the support of other harmful social conditions. The prospect of placation of the citizenry will depend also on the agendas of the other social institutions including the political influences. Precautions to avoid instances of community harm will require ongoing oversight by social scientists in settlements away from Earth.

### **12. Social problems in Mars settlements**

Social problems can harm most people or specific categories of people, and they will exist in any Martian settlement. Many of the problems faced within, and between, terrestrial nations are difficult to address and mitigation is often not a priority among political leaders. Given the seriousness and ingrained nature of social problems, is it a good idea to spread these harmful behavioral patterns into our solar system and beyond?

On the one hand, an argument exists against migrating beyond Earth's atmosphere and staying put on humankind's home planet [60–62]. This position disfavors settling Mars based on a crisis of faith in which people cannot be trusted to set their differences aside and create a society that lacks social problems. Thus, space exploration, including the settlement of Mars, is not a guaranteed outcome, or at least it is not necessarily easy to put into motion and sustain. There are forces that prefer to slow down sending humans to Mars. There are other forces that want to limit the number of humans who go there in order to reduce contamination levels and the number of contaminated sites.

The contrary argument is that we *must* settle Mars despite humankind's history of conflict, inequality, and production of social problems. Advocates favoring settling other planets and space environments argue that social problems can be minimized in terms of their negative impacts based on the perceived ability to learn from history so as not to repeat humankind's worst errors. The movement to going to Mars seems inevitable with SpaceX and other private companies gearing up to send people beyond the cislunar space environment. This author foresees the inevitability of settling elsewhere

**159**

*Astrosociology on Mars*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93309*

ing problems and proposing mitigation strategies.

**13.1 The healthcare system**

countermeasures are not always effective.

Intensive research will be necessary at that point.

**13. Space medicine and medical astrosociology**

The healthcare system is an extremely important social institution briefly described in an earlier subsection. Relatedly, space medicine is vital for the health and safety of settlers on Mars. Traditionally, space medicine has focused on the effects of spaceflight on the human body, which strongly involves the biological and life support issues. It is defined more broadly as the "practice of all aspects of preventive medicine including screening, health care delivery, and maintaining human performance in the extreme environment of space preserving the long-term health of space travelers [64]." Thus, preventive and reactionary efforts are involved, as

These types of definitions apply mainly to living in a spacecraft and they focus

on human factors rather than social-scientific principles. Human factors and ergonomics are important although not all practitioners are also social scientists. The two are complementary, however. This is important during the voyage to Mars though social science should apply more strongly even in weightlessness. However, when the focus extends to the settlement where the gravity field changes from zero gravity to one-third of Earth's, Martian medical practice will change in order to adapt to yet unknown biological effects. It will depend on the specific conditions of the planetary environment that will differ from weightlessness in outer space.

in our solar system *and* the manifestation of serious social problems occurring together

With this in mind, it seems prudent to keep the argument against migrating into our solar system in mind while focusing on how best to make a settlement function as fairly and equitably as possible. It is best to include both types of advocates in the planning process in order to be exposed to voices that point out discriminating strategies and other forms of harm to potential settlers. An overwhelming focus on the hardware that takes attention away from the human dimension, which astrosociologists focus upon, will result in skimping on things that may bring discomfort or even danger to human beings. "Astrosociology on Mars" refers to the beginnings of the mission on Earth through establishing the settlement, and beyond, as human interaction and the functioning of the physical aspects of the settlement continue. Social problems will continue in various forms in Martian settlements [63]. They will differ from one settlement to another just as social problems differ among various nations on Earth. Part of the determination, at least for the start of a settlement's beginning stages, will be determined by who funds the mission and the composition of the leadership. The nature of the settlement will also bear on how it functions and the priorities. A scientific mission will differ from a communal type of orientation, for example. Another settlement may be characterized by a mixture of priorities as well. Settlers will need to deal with the various types of social problems, which include injustices. This is because they will bring them along due to being socialized in terrestrial societies. They may well possess attitudes that lead to unwanted behaviors. Inequality will undoubtedly exist that includes sexism, racism, poverty/ social classes, religious conflict, and political dissent. How well the socialization during the planning and traveling stages could serve to curtail the impact of these problems is important although they will exist to some degree and must therefore receive serious attention. Astrosociologists on Mars can help with this by identify-

just as the existence of social problems did not stop exploration on Earth.

#### *Astrosociology on Mars DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93309*

*Mars Exploration - A Step Forward*

ments away from Earth.

our solar system and beyond?

and the number of contaminated sites.

**12. Social problems in Mars settlements**

Social problems can harm most people or specific categories of people, and they will exist in any Martian settlement. Many of the problems faced within, and between, terrestrial nations are difficult to address and mitigation is often not a priority among political leaders. Given the seriousness and ingrained nature of social problems, is it a good idea to spread these harmful behavioral patterns into

On the one hand, an argument exists against migrating beyond Earth's atmosphere and staying put on humankind's home planet [60–62]. This position disfavors settling Mars based on a crisis of faith in which people cannot be trusted to set their differences aside and create a society that lacks social problems. Thus, space exploration, including the settlement of Mars, is not a guaranteed outcome, or at least it is not necessarily easy to put into motion and sustain. There are forces that prefer to slow down sending humans to Mars. There are other forces that want to limit the number of humans who go there in order to reduce contamination levels

The contrary argument is that we *must* settle Mars despite humankind's history of conflict, inequality, and production of social problems. Advocates favoring settling other planets and space environments argue that social problems can be minimized in terms of their negative impacts based on the perceived ability to learn from history so as not to repeat humankind's worst errors. The movement to going to Mars seems inevitable with SpaceX and other private companies gearing up to send people beyond the cislunar space environment. This author foresees the inevitability of settling elsewhere

sports and media outlets together represent extremely relevant outlets for the well‐being of individuals. Live sports and entertainment events such as concerts and plays in the settlement can contribute to a rise in psychological well-being and group cohesion. Recreational activities are also important. This is different from interacting with coworkers, and thus, off‐work activities must supplement it. A Martian Internet should be part of the planning process before launch. Encouraging a focus on the benefits of living on Mars, including the social interactions with others living there, is important to mitigate feelings of isolation and homesickness. Second, the consumption of sports and media content from Earth can help negate any psychological hardships that are exacerbated by communication delays with those on Earth, as they will provide various levels of frustration among settlers. Connecting to Earth‐based cultural trends, events, and people is vital, especially for new arrivals. Therefore, recorded sports events, entertainment programming such as television shows and movies, and news recordings will mitigate some of that despondence. Recorded messages that can be played without the prospect of interaction can help although it also emphasizes the disconnection among individuals on each planet. Recorded content cannot replace communicating interactively with loved ones, friends, colleagues, and others; however, a combination of communication formats will be required. Finally, a warning of sorts is important. Sports and the media must not receive undue attention because, together, they can act as a pacifier that glosses over negative sociocultural realities such as social problems that could exist including discrimination or the support of other harmful social conditions. The prospect of placation of the citizenry will depend also on the agendas of the other social institutions including the political influences. Precautions to avoid instances of community harm will require ongoing oversight by social scientists in settle-

**158**

in our solar system *and* the manifestation of serious social problems occurring together just as the existence of social problems did not stop exploration on Earth.

With this in mind, it seems prudent to keep the argument against migrating into our solar system in mind while focusing on how best to make a settlement function as fairly and equitably as possible. It is best to include both types of advocates in the planning process in order to be exposed to voices that point out discriminating strategies and other forms of harm to potential settlers. An overwhelming focus on the hardware that takes attention away from the human dimension, which astrosociologists focus upon, will result in skimping on things that may bring discomfort or even danger to human beings. "Astrosociology on Mars" refers to the beginnings of the mission on Earth through establishing the settlement, and beyond, as human interaction and the functioning of the physical aspects of the settlement continue.

Social problems will continue in various forms in Martian settlements [63]. They will differ from one settlement to another just as social problems differ among various nations on Earth. Part of the determination, at least for the start of a settlement's beginning stages, will be determined by who funds the mission and the composition of the leadership. The nature of the settlement will also bear on how it functions and the priorities. A scientific mission will differ from a communal type of orientation, for example. Another settlement may be characterized by a mixture of priorities as well.

Settlers will need to deal with the various types of social problems, which include injustices. This is because they will bring them along due to being socialized in terrestrial societies. They may well possess attitudes that lead to unwanted behaviors. Inequality will undoubtedly exist that includes sexism, racism, poverty/ social classes, religious conflict, and political dissent. How well the socialization during the planning and traveling stages could serve to curtail the impact of these problems is important although they will exist to some degree and must therefore receive serious attention. Astrosociologists on Mars can help with this by identifying problems and proposing mitigation strategies.
