Living on Mars

Today, Explained

Vox

News, Daily News, Politics

4.3 • 10.3K Ratings

🗓️ 15 August 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The most powerful people in the world want to send humans to Mars. Getting there will be extremely difficult. Staying there will be even harder. This episode was made in collaboration with Vox’s Future Perfect. It was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Jolie Myers, fact checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast. During the Mars Society in the Southern Utah desert participants pretend they are on Mars to study the environment and collect data. Photo by Paul Harris/Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today explained shot Robbinsburg outside the Arid Space Museum in Washington, D.C. to ask,
0:06.0	would you want to live on Mars? No, I wouldn't want to live on Mars. No. I just think simply it's just too dangerous. Yeah.
0:13.0	Oh, hell yeah, of course.
0:15.0	It'd be cool to see something different and be pioneers.
0:20.0	Even with the risk involved?
0:21.6	I mean, we risk our lives when we walk out here on the streets.
0:26.6	No, I would miss my family. They're all here. I would not want to leave them behind.
0:31.6	If I got paid for it, yeah.
0:33.6	How much did you want to get paid for it?
0:35.6	$10,000.
0:36.6	That's it?
0:38.0	Yeah?
0:39.4	You got to ask her more.
0:40.7	Okay, $1 million.
0:42.5	That's more like it.
0:45.8	No, because the risk of death is too high.
0:46.7	What are the risks?
0:48.2	Have you seen the Martian?
0:49.1	With Matt Damon?
0:49.9	Yeah.
0:51.0	Thank you.
0:54.0	Living on Mars.
	...

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