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Frame from Building a Marsbase is a Horrible Idea: Let’s do it! Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

Building a Marsbase is a Horrible Idea: Let’s do it!

50 videos recommended on HN
YouTube
4 HN users recommended this explainer4 months2019–2024 score 4
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

Recommended as a sobering, accessible overview of the practical challenges of living on Mars.

A Kurzgesagt animation walking through how a Mars base could be built and why it would be punishing, covering radiation, temperature extremes, toxic dust and the need for shielding.

“sobering run down of the realities when living on mars” (HN, 2019)

4 recommendations · 1 citations · Explainers

5 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@abledon Jun 2019 Recommends
on HN thread Four Mars missions are launching next year
sobering run down of the realities when living on mars: [this video] The layers of soil we'd have to cover our buildings in really got me!
Sobering rundown of realities of living on Mars, like soil shielding.
@Etheryte Apr 2021 Recommends
on HN thread Elon Musk on Mars efforts: “A bunch of people will probably die.”
There is no sugarcoating it, Mars is a hostile environment and to claim otherwise would simply be lying. Between the radiation, temperature, microdust and more, inhabiting Mars will be very hard. Kurzgesagt has a great video outlining many of the challenges [0]. Regardless of how meticulously you prepare, mistakes on Mars will lead to death and it's good to be honest and upfront about it. [0] [this video]
Outlines challenges of inhabiting Mars: radiation, temperature, microdust.
@notTooFarGone Jun 2024 Recommends
on HN thread Why Nothing Can Grow on Mars
I think you vastly underestimate the amount of radiation and how hard it would be to build a colony that is protected enough and is "self sustaining". Nice kurzgesagt video: [this video] If we manage to terraform mostly using robots and bacteria that would be so much easier.
Explains radiation and sustainability difficulties of a Mars colony.

Citations, criticism and jokes

@chriskanan Feb 2019 Cites it
on HN thread Mars One, which offered 1-way trips to Mars, declared bankrupt
So many comments here are really depressing and lack a sense of adventure and romance. Yes, Mars One did not have a sound plan, but it inspired a certain kind of person who wants a grand adventure with impact. Mars to Stay is a legitimate idea and makes a lot of sense for colonization: [link] The Mars One idea of turning the colonists life into a reality TV show would be the first reality TV show I'd ever want to watch and would make a fantastic documentary. So, while Mars One was severely flawed, I think the Mars to Stay philosophy makes a lot of sense if we want to colonize Mars. [this video]

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

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