To understand the culture we must understand the technology involved. So, let's look at that first.

SpaceX plans a super-heavy lift launch vehicle as part of its Interplanetary Transport System. Variants the basic reusable two stage to orbit vehicle will place

300 metric tons (660,000 lb) in reusable-mode.
550 metric tons (1,210,000 lb) in expendable-mode
380 metric tons (840,000 lb) of propellant with an ITS tanker upper stage

—to low Earth orbit.

Each vehicle is likely to cost around $250 mililon in current dollars, at $3075 per kg of structure and about $1 million per launch in current dollars, at $82 per metric ton for LOX/LNG propellants. With 2,500 launches per vehicle - that's another $100,000 per launch replacement cost - another $400,000 per launch for maintenance.

The 550 metric ton expendable part is put into orbit. You then fuel it with one to three tanker launches, depending on destination and timing. You then put up the crew with the reusable vehicle. That's three to five launches.

Now 105 people, 6 stewards and 4 crew members with cargo, mass 26 metric tons. So, scaling that to 300 metric tons translates to 1210 passengers, 70 stewards/service, 46 crew.

Now, the 550 metric ton expendable is $1.7 billion - $1.40 million per passenger. This is all the stuff people need to survive on Mars long-term.

Five launches add $7.5 million to this total for operating costs- $6,200 per passenger.


550 ton payload

1,911 ton upper stage propellant
115 ton upper stage structure
2,576 ton upper stage total

9,389 ton lower stage propellant
696 ton lower stage structure
12,661 ton take off weight

WIth three launch centres and a one week turn around, we have 3 launches per week - and over a 52 week period 156 ships will be launched. With 1,210 passengers per ship this is 188,760 people per year.

Now a synodic period is 2.15 years. And over this period 405,834 people will be launched into space. Now, it takes 3 to 4 months to get to Mars, depending on the details of when you launch. It takes over a year to get to the asteroid belt. When you get to Mars, or the asteroids, you will stay there indefinitely. So, you will have hardware to keep you alive indefinitely. So, people will launch into orbit - and wait until the planets align - and then depart. Those who launch early in the synodic cycle, pay less. Those who launch later, pay more. Those with spots may trade those spots with others for a premium - and take the next flight. So, there will be an active market in this sort of thing going forward.

$1.4 million per passenger, is quite a bit to pay. However, you're buying an advanced technology home that supplies you with all you need - using advanced technology! People would pay that to have a home like that on Earth. Unfortunately, people that do that must deal with local politics and government. Not to say that government is bad, but some governments from time to time make things difficult for everyone. So, that's one reason people will leave.

How many people have a spare $1.4 million to spend? Well, according to the World Wealth Report there are 15 million HNWI (High Net Worth Individuals) - those worth $3 million or more; and 108,000 those worth $30 million or more (UHNWI - Ultra High Net Worth Individuals).

HNWI Wealth Distribution

Region-------- HNWI Population HNWI Wealth

Global-------- 12.00 million $46.2 trillion
North America 3.73 million $12.7 trillion
Asia-Pacific--- 3.68 million $12.0 trillion
Europe-------- 3.41 million $10.9 trillion
Latin America-- 0.52 million $7.5 trillion
Middle East--- 0.49 million $1.8 trillion
Africa--------- 0.14 million $1.3 trillion

188,760 per year represent a market penetration of 1.25% per year - an easily sustainable figure across this population. Paying stewards and crew members - with Mars based housing costing everyone else $1.4 million each plus a little cash - provides a means for people without means to go to Mars and the asteroids and other planets.

People of very high wealth who have money making plans off world may hire agents to represent their interests and establish a homestead off world and later come visit. People who have political difficulties with terrestrial governments will seek a place to live free of those difficulties off world. Governments worried about people off world posing a threat and interfering with terrestrial affairs will send agents and officers off world on various missions that make sense to them. Scientists who seek to understand the new environment and develop that understanding - will have governments and business support their activities. People born off world may seek to return to their parents home world. Others born off world will seek their fortunes where they are. Some will seek their fortunes further afield. Some like America's early lunar explorers will have philisophical insights. Those insights will inform and enlighten others, and new philosophies and religions will arise in the frontier and extend back to terrestrial populations.

My friend Edgar Mitchell's Samadhi Experience on his return from the moon -
https://vimeo.com/15037621

The Noetic Institute was created by Edgar following his flight. Other Apollo astronauts became ministers and artists to communicate their experience. Others became politicians and served on boards of corporations. We can expect a flood of returning adventurers to do even more than the handful of Apollo explorers in the coming years. This will expand and enliven the centre by expanding the mythos of the centre.

Breaking free of the authorities that presume to control us, that is a great transformation of culture, which enlivens and extends the culture in many ways - freeing the centre of that control - and the common mode risks there.

Joseph Campbell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGx4IlppSgU

The frontier will provide resources to the centre - the terrestrials remaining behind. The world for example today consumes 83 tons per year of precious metals far more valued than gold. These metals are more abundant off world than on Earth. So, these metals will form the basis of trade. Less valued metals, but still considered precious occur in larger quantities off world than on Earth. Platinum - 530 tons per year worth a substantial amount - used in fuel cells for example. Gold - 2500 tons per year of gold is produced on Earth used for a variety of purposes. This could easily be doubled using off world resources. Copper 18,400 tons per year. Silver 26,000 tons per year. Uranium 58,000 tons per year. Uranium would very likely be processed into usable forms before being sent to Earth - say suitcase sized devices that produce 750 MW - and when hooked up to sea water and switched on - produce

3.43 kg/sec - hydrogen
12,376.5 kg/hour - hydrogen
111,389.2 litres/hour - water reduced to hydrogen and oxygen
11,138,928.1 litres/hour - sea water to fresh water
389,862.4 kg/hour salt

This is enough to supply fresh water and power in the form of hydrogen fuel, for 668,000 persons. 1.5 million of these devices would supply a population of 10 billion people with the essential of life.

We can also dispose of radioactive wastes off world - on the moon for example - where it can be re-processed.

The escape velocity of Mars is 5.3 km/sec. The excess velocity required to reach Earth is 3.0 km/sec for about 3 months every 2.15 years. This requires an object attain 6.1 km/sec when launched from the surface of Mars. Containers with these metals can be shot out of magnetic launchers, rail guns, hyper velocity cannons, on Mars' surface and they will arrive back at Earth in 3 to 4 months. There they will enter the Earth's atmosphere, and parachute down to a landing. So, returning significant quantities of material from Martian mines is possible.

A 750 MW generator can project 40.3 tons per hour from Mars at 6.1 km/sec using a form of rail gun. Doing this for three months obtains 88,317 tons. Doing this once every 2.15 years obtains 41,077 tons per year - per launcher.

Firing from Ceres at a speed of 4.5 km/sec - for three months out of every 15 months - achieves the same sort of results. It takes about 15 months for materials to reach Earth. Over 583,800 tons of metals and other materials may be projected from Ceres each synodic period from a 750 MW rail gun type launcher.

The world produces 1.6 billion tons of steel each year. Each ton requires 14 gigajoules of energy. To transport this to Earth requires 10.1 gigajoules per ton from Ceres and 16.3 giga joules per ton from Mars' surface.

A 750 MW generator that processes iron into steel and projects it from Ceres transports 244,751 tons per three month interval. We can increase this to the higher rate by making iron in advance and projecting it out - during the synodic launch window. Then, in other periods, making steel and other materials for local production.

To replace all primary steel production world wide with off world sources requires 6,558 mine sites on Ceres, each operating a 750 MW power plant and a rail gun.

Actually Mars covered as it is with iron oxide, is an ideal source of iron, despite the higher energies involved. 8,163 mine sites using a 750 MW power plant and rail gun capable of firing a 6.1 km/sec projectile off world - accurately - and have it guided to Earth - where it brakes in the Earth's atmosphere and descends directly to a customer's site.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnnSiK5mayY

So, you have a large bus that is launched off Mars or Ceres, loaded with smaller cargos, that enter the upper atmosphere and descend directly to their buyers.