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| A quick Google search yielded this calculation |
So all communications (internet, voice, etc.) would take three to 22 minutes each way. In going with that as a basis, just to have a one-phrase voice conversation ["Hi, how are you?" and "I'm good, thanks."] would take anywhere from six to 44 minutes [note: the 'each way' refers solely to the signal itself; the bandwidth throughput would depend on protocols and other the amount of data needing to be pushed]. Think of it like space WiFi, but instead of just going through your walls in your house (where your access point and your computer are traveling through space at the same relative speed), having to beam from one object moving several hundred-thousand miles per hour to another moving slightly faster].
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| Photo: GETTY |
So to even use the Internet as we know it today on Mars, we would either have to make a local copy that somehow syncs (thus a three-to-22 minute-old version, which i'm guessing to even sync would have to send thousands of petabytes (or more? I don't know the size of the internet, really) constantly, which is just not currently possible; or alternately, copy the essentials initially and then basically have an independent, forked version of the Internet running on Martian servers, and maybe sync them with Earth-based servers occasionally. Even though that's technically possible, the link between them would be slow as all heck.
It seems that human life on Mars will essentially separate the Earthling humans from the Martian ones more than we probably expect it to. It will be interesting to see how each branch of humanity would then evolve with more than just oceans separating them, as has been the case for the past 10,000+ years. I predict that those on Mars will make technological breakthroughs faster than those who remain on Earth.
Part of this will depend on what sort of government and/or economy is in place. But assuming that it's a true colonial mission and not a scientific outpost, we should see a much more useful and efficient setup from the get-go. Then again, we must also assume that those who are going are educated, scientific-minded individuals. This bodes well for this prediction versus what happened when North America was colonized by Europeans. In that case, quests for money and religious freedom drove the the masses to the new frontier. In this case, discovery and long-term human survival will drive the migration, and should mean a stronger foundation from which to build a society. Also, it is less likely that countries waging war will be fighting for land on Mars, once more making the forthcoming colonial movement much more successful than the Euro-American one.
Here's looking at you, Mars. May all mankind benefit from the many mysteries you still hold.
