#Scientist calculates 110 humans would be needed to start new civilization on Mars

Enlarge Image

An illustration of NASA’s InSight lander about to land on the surface of Mars.
AP

At least 110 humans would be needed to start a new civilization on Mars, a study has calculated.

That number would ensure enough tools and commodities could be produced before supplies run out.

Any human colony would have to set up home in an oxygen-filled dome and start their own agriculture and other industries.

The study assumes support from Earth has been cut off due to war, failing resources, or settlers declaring an independent republic.

In 2015’s “The Martian,” Matt Damon’s character Mark Watney was stranded there.

But space expert Professor Jean-Marc Salotti estimates he could have set up a permanent home if he had 109 colleagues.

The scientist, at France’s Bordeaux Institut National Polytechnique, used a mathematical model to determine “the feasibility of survival on another planet and being self-sustaining.”

He said survival would depend on access to natural resources, work conditions and other “assumptions.”

Elon Musk’s SpaceX program hopes to one day colonize Mars, which is around 140 million miles away.

Prof Salotti added: “This question is of particular importance for the future of space conquest and perhaps also for the future of humanity in general.”