Experts have warned that human colonists in space could resort to cannibalism for survival if their food runs out. Talks about colonizing the Moon and Mars have been doing the rounds for a long time, although it has largely remained a theoretical discussion up until now. However, experts have already warned that colonists living on Mars could eventually rebel against Earth, and now scientists are sounding even more macabre warnings.
Elon Musk has long been upbeat about colonizing Mars, and only recently, promised to take humans to the Red Planet in five to ten years. According to him, establishing a habitat on Mars will be essential in "about 500 million years" when the Earth will get too hot to sustain life. However, radiation, extreme weather, and resources for habitability are just some of the roadblocks that might derail Musk's dreams of colonizing the Red Planet.
In an interview to British newspaper Metro, Charles Cockell, professor of astrobiology at Edinburgh University, and Dr. Cameron Smith, anthropologist at Portland State University, said that humans could end up eating each other as a last resort if crops fail while living in far-flung colonies in space. According to them, some of the biggest worries for future colonists could be food shortages, disease and continued dependence on earth for sustenance. They also said that a colony should be set up as an insurance policy against extinction, not to guard against the off change that the earth would become uninhabitable because of the climate crisis.
Colonizing Mars Won't Be Easy
According to the two scientists, discussions about food security in space colonies are incomplete without figuring out how to quickly send supplies from earth in case of any problems. They also said it is unlikely that humans would colonize any of the other planet in this solar system in the first place, largely because they're uninhabitable. Instead, Jupiter’s moon Callisto and Saturn’s moon Titan could be more hospitable to humans, they said.
While the idea of leaving earth to live on a far-away planet is a scary thought to begin with, the dire predictions of Cockell and Smith are enough to make anyone question the idea of colonizing Mars or any other planet. However, they are unlikely to dissuade the likes of Elon Musk and the legions of scientists, researchers, and astronomers who are burning the midnight oil trying to ensure that humans can set up colonies in space in the near future.
Source: Metro