The Mars Barge

There are no passengers on a Mars Barge; everyone is crew.

Video caption text
00:00
[Foreboding orchestral music]
[Gustav Holst: Mars, the Bringer of War]
00:22
[Music]
[Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance (Land of Hope and Glory)]
00:32
This is New Albion on Mars
00:36
Our human-rated interplanetary ships are
affectionately known as "Mars Barges".
00:42
The Mars Barges are like scaled-down
versions of New Albion,
00:46
complete with their own food production
and recycling systems.
00:51
They were built in space and remain in space,
00:54
having no ability of their own to land on a planet.
00:59
Like many barges on Earth waterways,
01:03
a Mars Barge can't travel around on its own.
01:06
For large changes of course it relies
01:09
on rocket tugs at either end of a journey.
01:13
The crew of a Mars Barge are in
constant microgravity ("zero G")
01:18
except during the boost phases of journeys.
01:23
New colonists travelling from Earth will
board a Mars Barge in Earth orbit.
01:28
The months-long journey to Mars serves as
an introduction to life at New Albion.
01:33
The ship's complement of around 100 people must
01:36
work together to ensure the ship's biovolume
01:40
continues to support human life, and
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that everyone on board remains healthy.
01:46
There are no passengers on a Mars Barge;
everyone is crew.
01:53
[Dissonant clashing orchestral music]
[Gustav Holst: Mars, the Bringer of War]
02:10
[orchestral music continues]