Mars Independence 12/12: The Call to Independence – A Million-Android March Begins
Over the past 11 chapters we’ve shown that a self-sufficient Mars doesn’t need a million humans.
Core pioneer crew: roughly 200–300 highly skilled humans.
Then grow slowly and sanely to maybe 10 000 people over a couple of decades – plenty for psychological diversity, specialization, and just feeling like a real society.
Behind them: one million Optimus androids doing the brutal 24/7 heavy lifting.
The maths on genetics, industry, energy, food, and risk all point the same way: robots first, humans second, independence third.
The classic “send a million people or the colony dies” story was written for 20th-century chemical rockets and zero automation.
Today Starship carries 150 t per flight, Optimus costs roughly the same as one Mars ticket in the 2030s, and AI keeps getting smarter.
Waiting for a million warm bodies means waiting until ~2070 at the earliest.
Waiting for a million androids (and then growing organically to ~10 000 happy humans) means we can finish the job by 2039.
27 000 Optimus androids land unmanned, build solar farms, dig regolith, print habitats, and stockpile a decade of spare parts – all before any human feels 0.38 g.
By the time the first 40-person crew arrives in 2035 the lights are on, the air is breathable, and the pantry is full.
That single decision flips Mars from “hostile death world” to “rough frontier posting”.
When every kilojoule, every litre of water, every chip, and every drop of propellant is made on Mars by Martians (human and android alike), Earth’s permission stops mattering.
1 January 2039 isn’t about shunning Houston or Beijing. It’s about raising a new flag that says: “We can stand on our own – and we choose to keep the door open for anyone who wants to join.”
The first Optimus Gen 2 is folding shirts today.
Gen 5 will be laying bricks on Mars in six years.
Every factory Tesla opens, every line of code xAI writes, every Starship that roars off Pad A is another step in that march.
We don’t need to ask governments for permission.
We just need to keep building.
Key Takeaways
• Sustainable Mars = <300 initial pioneers → ~10 000 humans long-term + ~1 million Optimus androids
• Robot-first strategy reaches full independence by 2039 instead of 2070+
• Independence = responsibility, not separation
• The march is underway right now on Earth assembly lines
I started this series because the old million-person dogma just didn't jell.
Seeing the numbers line up so cleanly – and realizing 10 000 humans is more than enough for a vibrant, sane society – confirms to me even more that Mars independence is a real option.
Thank you for coming along😊
Series 1 is complete.
Series 2 (the exact timeline) starts Jan 9th with “The Three-Window Fleet That Changes Everything”.
See you on the red planet – sooner than anyone thinks 🚀
