The Mars Delusion: Why One-Way Colonisation Is a Dead End
In a recent opinion piece for The Guardian Culture, the author argues that the dream of interplanetary settlement is a technological pipe dream, contrasting the hostile reality of Mars with the viability of Earth’s frontiers.
Jordan Prosser has published a critique of human colonisation plans for Mars, arguing that the red planet is an inhospitable destination that offers no possibility of return. Writing in The Guardian Culture on 7 August 2026, Prosser utilises the collapse of the Mars One project as a primary case study to illustrate the failure of one-way space missions that relied on reality television funding. He contrasts the delusion of space colonisation with the viability of Earth frontiers, comparing the concept to the failed metaverse.
Mars One was a Dutch not-for-profit organisation that planned one-way missions to Mars, initially targeting 2023 before delaying to 2024, 2025, and 2027. The project intended to fund itself through broadcasting rights for the training and mission, described as "Big Brother in space". However, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after failing to secure the broadcasting deals it relied on for funding. An Indiegogo campaign also failed to reach its $400,000 target, highlighting the fragility of its financial model.
Despite the financial collapse, the project attracted significant public interest. Two hundred thousand people expressed interest in Mars One, with under 3,000 formally applying and 100 reaching finalist status before the company’s collapse. Prosser notes that these finalists began rearranging their lives in the belief they would soon be headed into space, never to return, only to be forced back to Earthbound life when the venture failed.
Prosser argues that Mars presents extreme environmental hazards, including radiation, extreme cold, and low gravity. He highlights that the surface is bombarded by solar and cosmic radiation, with temperatures ranging from a balmy 20C to -153C elsewhere. Cyclone-strength winds can kick up global dust storms that block out the sun for months. Furthermore, there is no scientific precedent for humans living indefinitely at 38% of Earth’s gravity or being permanently cut off from their history and culture.
The article references the Artemis II mission, which took place in April 2026, noting that while the public enjoyed the nine-day crewed flight, few would want to spend 10-plus years embedded with astronauts for entertainment. Prosser compares the concept of space colonisation to the metaverse, a "dead-on-arrival" technological promise. He concludes that while humans have a drive to reach far-off places, historical frontiers on Earth have always been anchored by the promise of a return journey, a luxury Mars does not offer.
Prosser is the author of the novel Blue Giant, which is available from University of Queensland Press and from 26 September in the UK from Dead Ink Books. His piece serves as a cultural commentary on the intersection of tech utopianism and the harsh realities of space exploration.