When humans finally settle on Mars, they will be stepping out into one of the most hostile environments in the solar system.
But if we want to understand what life will really be like on the Red Planet, we should look to a hostile environment much closer to home.
Life for astronauts in a Martian colony will be extremely similar to the conditions inside today’s prisons, according to a leading space scientist.
From isolation and a lack of personal space to bad food and a rigid routine, astronauts’ conditions will be much closer to those of prisoners than explorers.
Space agencies have spent decades studying extreme environments like Antarctic research bases to learn how humans might react to living in space.
However, Professor Lucy Berthoud, a space systems engineer at the University of Bristol, says that prisons are already the closest parallel to life on Mars.
Professor Berthoud told MailOnline that prisoners and astronauts both face: ‘Too little personal space and privacy, overcrowding, poor food, unnecessary risks, rigid regimes with no autonomy, little variation in daily activities.’
With astronauts trapped 140 million miles from home (225 million km), Professor Berthoud warns they may feel even more isolated than those locked in cells here on Earth.
A space expert warns that life for astronauts on Mars would be very similar to that of a prisoner here on EarthÂ
Both astronauts and prisoners are trapped in cramped, dangerous conditions with the same small group of people for extended periods of time. Pictured: Wandsworth PrisonÂ
The biggest difference between astronauts and prisoners is obviously that one voluntarily takes a highly sought-after position, while the other has their freedom removed as a punishment.
However, once the astronauts actually make it to a Martian colony, their conditions would be remarkably similar.
Most obviously, both prisoners and astronauts will be physically trapped inside a cramped, dangerous environment with the same small set of people.
In prisons, the European standard for a cell is four metres square per person, but overcrowding means that there is often much less space.
On a Martian colony where resources are scarce and survival is the primary goal, astronauts are likely to face similarly cramped quarters.
For example, NASA’s Apollo Command and Service module, which took astronauts into lunar orbit, had just 6.2 cubic metres of space for three astronauts.
This lack of privacy, combined with close proximity to other people, can lead to heightened stress and a much greater risk of conflict.
Those tensions are only made worse by the fact that both prisons and Mars are extremely dangerous environments.
The European Space Agency says that astronauts will live in spacious ‘oases’ (AI depiction), but a space expert warns that cramped conditions and stress will likely be a major part of astronauts’ livesÂ
In prisons, the European standard for a cell is four metres square per person, but overcrowding means that there is often much less space. On Mars, where resources are scarce, similarly crowded conditions are a serious possibility. Pictured: Tamara prison, Honduras
While the sources of danger are extremely different, this persistent level of threat has the same effect on someone’s psychology.
Professor Berthoud says: ‘Living in a high-risk environment would mean that your threat situation would be constantly switched on, which takes a toll on you psychologically and physically over the long term.
‘Astronauts are specially selected to be good at dealing with emergency situations, unlike prisoners, but over the mission length this would still have an effect.’
In addition to their living conditions, astronauts and prisoners may find themselves with similar lifestyles.
In prisons, those incarcerated have their schedule planned out down to the minute with restrictions on everything from eating and sleeping to working and resting.
This is exactly the same situation faced by the astronauts currently living on the International Space Station (ISS).
Astronauts on the ISS have 15-hour working days with two hours of compulsory exercise, eight hours of work, and only a single hour of personal time.Â
Professor Berthoud points out that this lack of control can lead astronauts to rail against or even disobey NASA’s rigid mission guidelines.
Another similarity is that astronauts and prisoners both have every minute of their day carefully scheduled by an authority. This lack of freedom can have a serious mental toll on astronautsÂ
NASA’s astronauts are subject to a gruelling daily schedule with just a single hour of personal time per dayÂ
Likewise, for both prisoners and astronauts, one of the biggest issues is the availability of fresh, tasty, nutritious food.
The UK government standard for prisoners’ meals is set at £2.70 per person per day, which means that food is often of low nutritional value and famously unpleasant. Â
While astronauts on Mars are likely to have much more expensive and pleasant food than prisoners, a lack of variety and fresh ingredients will still be a major restriction.
On the ISS, NASA has invested huge resources into trying to make space food palatable.
However, astronauts losing their appetite and failing to keep their weight up is a constant concern.
However, the most important similarity is that both prisoners and astronauts on Mars would face heightened levels of isolation.
Prisoners, just like astronauts on a remote planet, are taken away from society and have their contact with friends, family, and the outside world cut to a minimum.
Even though astronauts willingly subject themselves to this isolation, they still face the same effects.
The biggest similarity is that both prisoners and astronauts are isolated from their friends and family in the outside world. Just like Matt Damon in The Martian (pictured) being stranded millions of miles from home can lead to serious mental health impactsÂ
Professor Berthoud says: ‘I feel that the effects of isolation will be similar, but for Mars there will be the added factor of feeling very remote from everyone you care about and love.
‘The fastest you could get home would be 6 months, so that would add to the isolation.’
Although Professor Berthoud says that life on Mars could be similar to a prison, this doesn’t mean NASA should model its Mars colonies after the prison environment.
Mars bases should be equipped with measures to maximise privacy and autonomy, while astronauts should be given meaningful activities to help combat monotony.
Ultimately, fixing these problems on Mars might even help us make prisons more habitable back here on Earth.
Professor Berthoud says: ‘I would suggest we would want to rethink prisons to be more like the ideal space base!
‘I would imagine that more space, more autonomy, more personalisation, more sense of purpose would help anyone deal better with a stressful situation, even if they are there to keep society safe.’
