Chart, astrobiology, astronomy, mars, martian colony, science, space, space travel...

Meet the First Realistic Martian Woman

What would we have to do to our bodies if we wanted to live on Mars? io9 consulted scientists, our imaginations, and a designer, and came up with the most realistic-possible portrait of a Martian colonist who might truly exist on the Red Planet in 100 years. She's really tall, doesn't have to wear a bra, and has some pretty awesome photosynthesis and water-reclaiming implants in her exosuit. It's time to meet the first Martian woman. Click through for full frontal.

Here is our Martian woman's spec:

First, our woman is tall, a little pear-shaped, with really thick legs. This shape compensates for the reduced gravity.

She has a very lightweight exoskeleton covering her whole body. The exoskeleton has to keep her warm, keep her pressurized, shield her from solar wind, and absorb lots of sunlight. So it can be thin, but laced with heated mesh. It should have a nanofabric outer shell laced with lead to repel x-rays and other cosmic rays. And the upper half should have super bendy, ultra-thin solar cells that are constantly sucking up solar energy.

In her boots and strapped to her thighs, she has water drilling/processing packs. A cannulated drill can extend out of it, go deep under martian crust, suck up water, run it through a filter to get the salt and acid out, and then store it close to her body to keep it liquid so she can sip from it.

She also has a photosynthesis rig on her back. This is a light, thin backpack that converts the C02 from the atmosphere and some of the water from her leg pack into sugars and oxygen for our Martian. So it's a combination breathing apparatus and feeder.

Image by Stephanie Fox. Additional reporting by Nivair Gabriel.

2:04 PM on Fri Mar 21 2008
By Annalee Newitz
6,395 views
44 comments

Comments

Git Em SteveDave at 02:09 PM on 03/21/08
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A bra-less chick in a stillsuit w/ built legs and calves!! I want to be a Mars-onaut!
Git Em SteveDave at 02:10 PM on 03/21/08
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Wait, is she single? I didn't read that in the article. Is she?
Mathmos at 02:11 PM on 03/21/08
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Martian atmosphere is very thin, and Mars is farther from the sun. Has someone done supporting calculations for the photosynthesis idea?
Dolly-At-School at 02:12 PM on 03/21/08
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That's KIND of like drinking through your feet.
Annalee Newitz at 02:14 PM on 03/21/08
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@ratlas: Not yet! You could do it.
Annalee Newitz at 02:15 PM on 03/21/08
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@Dolly-At-School: Honestly I was thinking about that when we designed her drinking feet.
Grey_Area at 02:16 PM on 03/21/08
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Yes, very rational and salient description for a future colonist. Plus, inside the dome and out of the suit she's a dead ringer for Dejah Thoris!
Grey_Area at 02:22 PM on 03/21/08
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Plus, she's a dead ringer for Dejah Thoris out of the suit!
Rus at 02:22 PM on 03/21/08
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Does she come in other colors?
Dillenger69 at 02:22 PM on 03/21/08
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Reminds me of the old cover art from Heinlein's "Red Planet"

[content.answers.com]

Will someone engineer us a three eyed fuzzball for a pet?
Grey_Area at 02:22 PM on 03/21/08
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damn i'm an idiot
darcymcgee at 02:28 PM on 03/21/08
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Any planet where women don't need to wear bras is a planet I'd like to settle!
darcymcgee at 02:33 PM on 03/21/08
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@Dillenger69: Tribbles are way too much trouble.
Garrison Dean, King... at 02:38 PM on 03/21/08
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Hrmm a braless, pear shaped (read full figured(read chunky)), thick legged woman who pees her pants.

Martian or 2nd semester freshmen co-ed.
Grey_Area at 02:39 PM on 03/21/08
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@darcymcgee: Not to be a pest, but Dillenger69 is referring to Willis from Heinlein's "Red Planet".
ideaman2020 at 02:39 PM on 03/21/08
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Is the urine recycled through one of those Kamen thingies?

Also, I don't see how the lower gravity would require her to be tall. It may allow her to be taller than would be feasible in normal gravity, but I don't see why it would be necessary. [Col. Chapman voice] It's just as easy to get these things right as wrong, you know... [/Col. Chapman voice]
Ed Grabianowski at 02:43 PM on 03/21/08
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I, for one, welcome our new braless overlords.
Zantor at 03:03 PM on 03/21/08
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Hillary Clinton: 1st President of Mars!
Garrison Dean, King... at 03:06 PM on 03/21/08
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@Zantor: Hahahaha FTW
Zantor at 03:09 PM on 03/21/08
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I can see the radiation-proof, pressurized pants suit now...
Evil Tortie's Mom at 04:03 PM on 03/21/08
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@ideaman2020: Seems to me she'd be more stable if she was short, especially in the wind. Plus smaller people require fewer resources.

In other words: if she was shorter she'd be me, so it should be so. I hate gravity and bras, so send meeee!
CyberKender at 04:15 PM on 03/21/08
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So, what your saying is that Martian women are all drawn by R. Crumb?
FredicvsMaximvs at 04:30 PM on 03/21/08
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I loves me some well built women, but I'm having trouble understanding why she needs to be bottom-heavy to compensate for lower gravity. Are we afraid she's going to flip upside down a lot?
Or are you saying bigger hips = wider stance?
FredicvsMaximvs at 04:32 PM on 03/21/08
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@CyberKender: Or Coop maybe.
taxbaby at 05:22 PM on 03/21/08
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Um... why do bras even come into it? Let's discuss her possible need for makeup or high-heeled shoes while we're at it. How will living on Mars affect the New Woman's hair- will it still be glossy and moisturized, or will she have to buy special Martian shampoo? C'mon, y'all.
rondalescott at 05:39 PM on 03/21/08
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Women wear bras for more reasons than just gravity relief.

Also:

So, you're saying that this Martian woman is an interplanetary explorer--and homemaker? Does she think that nanomaterial and cake baking are both lots of fun?
drift_marlo at 05:44 PM on 03/21/08
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I would think at some point our intrepid colonist would venture inside, alleviating the need for her suit to feed her with her own pee. Being tall and thick legged seem to cancel each other out. Would she need thick legs if she remained shorter? and is this a first generation colonist? If so, she'd probably be about the same size as human females are now. On the downside as the generations of colonists progressed, they'd no longer be able to return to Earth. That said, great job! Definite fuel for a drawing.
JesusDeSaad at 06:30 PM on 03/21/08
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Surely not Marsonaut.
Martianaut?
Areonaut? (from Ares-greek name for Mars)
Killa_Charlie at 07:29 PM on 03/21/08
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Good thing I prefer backsides.
Annalee Newitz at 09:09 PM on 03/21/08
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@taxbaby: Well as a woman I was pretty psyched about not having to wear a bra on Mars, so I just threw that in because I liked the idea. I mean, she's in a freakin exoskeleton so it's not like it's all about showing her tits or something.
Annalee Newitz at 09:11 PM on 03/21/08
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@rondalescott: Why does mentioning that she's not wearing a bra mean she's a homemaker? She has a photosynthesizing backpack, and kickass boots that help her filter water. Do those things mean she's a homemaker too? I'm completely confused here.
taxbaby at 10:56 PM on 03/21/08
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@Annalee Newitz: 1.) Exoskeleton /= spacesuit, I think. (A Ripley-style powered exoskeleton would be pretty wicked, though.)
2.) I didn't think it was about showing her tits- I just don't get why it's especially notable. There are other, more interesting ways that lower gravity would affect her- larger lungs and lower bone mass, e.g.
Annalee Newitz at 11:18 PM on 03/21/08
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@taxbaby: Well, I mentioned those other things too. We talked about her height, for example. But I don't see why I can't mention her bra, too. I mean, she's a woman and bras are something that many women deal with every day. I'm frankly sick of hearing people yammer on about the "first man on Mars" and wanted to offer a corrective to that.
Annalee Newitz at 11:20 PM on 03/21/08
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@taxbaby: Oops I meant exosuit not exoskeleton. Though I agree that exoskeleton = teh awesome.
dubqnp at 02:34 AM on 03/22/08
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Read Pohl's Man Plus. That was a good Martian suit.
castewar at 03:52 AM on 03/22/08
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@Garrison Dean: Somewhere in France, Robert Crumb is reading this article and panting.
DearEditor at 07:14 AM on 03/22/08
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@castewar: I want to see Crumb's drawing of this gal. Check out his Bigfoot Couple (not safe for furry-butt-phobes).
Evil Tortie's Mom at 03:10 PM on 03/22/08
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@Annalee Newitz: Amen. Not having to wear a bra is one of the pluses of anything less than 1g.

The first woman on Mars is going to be an explorer/scientist/builder, not a housewife.
corpore-metal at 08:16 PM on 03/22/08
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This is really daydreaming about cool space suits of the future. If so, I'm all for it! Argh! I really hate those big clunky white things our current cosmonauts wear!
Thorfin at 10:41 PM on 03/22/08
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Kinda reminds me of my first ex-wife: Ilsa, She-wolf of the leather bar.
NeoPoliticus at 04:08 AM on 03/23/08
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Dune
MaxTwice at 01:42 PM on 03/23/08
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I love the detail of the inset drawing. Fashionistas will have a vibrant field day with this kind of stuff~
rb780nm at 07:16 PM on 03/23/08
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The later two of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars books describe second and later generation Martians - a lot like this...
victheremin at 08:27 PM on 03/25/08
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looks suspiciously like an Arrakis stillsuit to me.