Chris Dragan's Corner

This is a great piece: Women are cheaper to send to Mars than men.

If you think of it, it makes sense. Life support is one of the most expensive elements of any manned space mission. Every kilogram sent to orbit and then away matters. Among things which contribute to the total mass of any space vehicle are not only humans themselves, but also their food and all the equipment necessary to keep them healthy and happy.

Statistically, women are smaller (weigh less) than men and need less food. Given that men and women are equally smart, women seem to be better candidates for deep space missions.

So what next?

The mission to Mars may be the last mission where humans will break the frontiers of space exploration. Given the current rate of AI evolution, I won’t be surprised if sentient machines will be the ones going beyond Mars.