All Due and Neccessary Survival Gear for the Journey / Mars,-of course. Obviously much of that would be Different than we Typically Use back here, -but It would be Neccessary Survival and Preparedness Gear and Practices All the Same.

Air Supplys, -Both Normal Use and Emergency Use,-Would be one of the Very Most Important!,-but It would of course Range the Entire Gamut. ( I've mentioned in my Post,-of This particular Importance of Oxygen / Air,-something that Aside from various Specialist Applications,-Caving, Firefighting, High Altitude Mountaineering and Trekking,-Among Others,-We Often Don't Have to Worry All that Much on!, -Here in Earth Survival Situations. You could be in the Antarctic, the Sahara, the Amazon, the High Himalaya, or on a Raft somewhere between Greenland and Spitsbergen,-and Be in a Real Bind!,-regarding Everything Else!, -But at least Here,-You'd Still Have Air! -Not So Out There! )

And space, -as I also Mentioned in my Post, -Has Many Survival Imperatives of It's Own! Just as you Can't Use a Lot of your Desert Gear in the Jungle,-or Vice Versa,- ( Same with Arctic, Ocean, Mountain, and So On ), -Neither Does a Lot of Space and Earth Survival Gear Comport with One Another! But It's All Vital, Crucial, Survival Gear and Techniques,-All the Same!

Besides,-More than a Little of It IS the Same! Just Go Back and Recall, -the Survival Kits and Training of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Astronauts!,-Nothing to Sneeze At! Plus the Fact,-that They were Already Military Officers and Test Pilots,-with Plenty of Survival Training and Experience under their Belts. Like with They, -Even a Mars Mission has to Come Back to Earth sometime. As with Apollo,-That could be an Unplanned Landing in the Sahara, the Andes, the Congo Jungle, the Mid Indian Ocean, or the Greenland Icecap! Here the Full Range of Earth Survival Gear and Techniques,-Will Also Come into Play.

But as to What I would Take to Survive Out There,-Besides just So Vital Air?,

-Well Lets First Establish the Conditions!, -That One would Have to Deal With!, -You're in a Desert!,-an Arctic Desert!,-There on Mars. And a Near Vacuumed One,-for All Practical Purposes. Air is Only 1% that of our Sea Level. This is Far Far Less!,-than our Mountaineers Experience on even our Highest Heights!, -Back Here on Earth. And That Air that there Is,-is Mostly Carbon Dioxide. For These Two Reasons,-a Spacesuit and an Air Supply is a Must! You Have a Similar Day and Night Length there,-as we Do here on Earth, -Both are at About 24 Hours. But you've Got a Substantially Weaker Sun Too! This is a Major Factor in it's Coldness!,-Much of the Planet Being Plenty Colder than even an Antarctic Winter! Yet there's Still Enuf Air to Blow Up a Sandstorm!,-and Create a Whiteout!,-er,-Rather a "Redout"! Water is so Microlittle on the Planet!,-Perhaps as Gold is on Our's. -No Food to Grow, Gather, or otherwise Get!, -That's Another Absolute to be Bringing from Earth with me. Many Locales have Rocks,-one can Build a Shelter Against,-though the Materials would Often have to be,-various Space Paraphanalia. Though a Sort of "Mars Igloo",-Could be Built out of the Ever Abundant Mars Rocks. The Spacecraft Itself,-as well as whatever Earth Manufactured Shelter as may be Built on Mars,-would Have to by Far,-Be the Prime (or Only ) Shelter. Oxygen, Water, and Other Vital Materials could Perhaps be Extracted from Mars Materials,-And I would Make Sure I Had the Neccessary Emergency and Technical Gear,-for That! I Beleive that Mars has a Very Weak to Non-Existant Magnetic Field, -So a Compass would be of Absolutely No Use There! So I Won't be Taking any sort of a Mars Compass. Nav Gear such as a Sextant,-Yes.A Fire also is Entirely Impossible!,-for Earlier Given Reasons. One would also Have to Concern Themself with the Typical, "Ordinary" Spaceflight Hazards, -Meteoroid Impacts, Radiation, Unfiltered Sun Glare, -and Sudden Capsule or Suit Depressurization!,-Among Others. And One can Always Fall Over a Mars Cliff!,-and the Like.

So What would Follow?,-as Some of What I'd Vitally Need?, -That I Shud Certainly Take with me?

A Saw for One!,-Especially One Able to Cut Metal,-would Be in Order. Even a Knife,-Though not for any "Mars Rocks" Purposes. I'd Need a Full Assortment of Tools,-Not Totally Different from the Home Workshop here on Earth. ( I'm Not Talking about Drill Presses and the Like,-Though,-Much Too Bulky for the Mission!) I'd Need Emergency Antennas and System,-To Communicate with an Orbiting Mars Satellite or Craft,-or my Own Landing Craft,-Off in the Distance, -in Answer to your Question,-of What I would Do, -What I would Take! If I Had to Survive on Mars. I'd Also Take Signaling Mirrors, and a PLB, -These can be Much Like Those we Use back here on Earth! You Have our Space Effort to Thank,-For the Latter! As we Also Have with This Very Net,-We're Now Communicating on! If I Have the Benefit of a Mother Craft, or Mars Satellite, -Orbiting Above,-I'd Want and Would Take,-the Mars Equivalent of the GPS. Other Unmentioned Due Survival Gear, -I would also Take. As with Earth Flight and Survival,-Weight and Bulk are Also Crucial Factors,-and I would Have To Carefully Pick and Choose!,-as I Enter These Factors into Consideration.

Mars Doesn't Have a Jungle's Wood / Fuel Supply! -Or Water! -Nor Other Typical Earth Advantages. There is No Game,-but at Least There's No "Mars Grizzlys" either! ( Light Comic Relief Smile! ) As with Spaceflight we're Already Well Familiar with,-There's Little!,-Aside from Rocks and Soil, -That one can Make Use of,-From Mars Materials Itself. The Vast Majority of one's Survival Needs,-Would Have to be Met from one's Spacecraft and Gear, Suit, and What you Materially Bring With you,-from Earth. Materials can Later be Extracted and Fabricated,-But that Won't be occurring on the First Missions.

So It comes Down to such Survival Gear as I've Mentioned. Much will be Quite Different than What we Typically Use on Earth,-Some Surprisingly Won't Be!

But Like you Don't Gear Up for the Jungle!,-If You're Heading for the Arctic!, -I Can't here Give you a "Spitting Image List",-That Compares so with what we typically Use here on Earth! -Different Gear for Different Conditions!

The Needs, however, are the Same!, -Food, Water, Warmth, Light, Air, Shelter, Health, Rest, Signaling, Communication, Navigation!, -But the Materials, Means and Methods, Gear, Resources, and Conditions, -So Often are Not! I Can't List Evry Last Item,-or This Post would Go on Longer than I'd Like.

But you Did Ask for an Answer,-so I've been Giving It.

These are the Sorts of Conditions One would be Facing Out in Space and on Mars, -and Such Things as I've Mentioned and More,-Would Be What I'd Take!, -Were I to be One Going There,-as your Question Stipulated.

I've Also Addressed the Relevance and Topicality of my Salute,-There in my Post. I Think I've Addressed It rather Adequately Well. It Revolves Around that Same Great Spirit of Adventure, Exploration, and Discovery!,-as Does So Much Else in our Outdoors World!, -of Which Survival and Preparedness is So Much a Part! Plus we are Here Around the Campfire,-to Boot. As Exploration and the of the Great Outdoors in the Sense I've Mentioned,-I Think It is,-Due and Relevant Campfire Talk. Plus, -Space Has and Will Only Continue to Have, -Many Great Survival Imperatives of It's Own! Man is Not somehow Freed Up or Excused from the Need of Survival Out There! As such Too!, -It Qualifies as Survival Talk.

I Certainly would Not Place It on the Survival Forum though,-Even though It Does Deal with Space Survival. -Now some Distant Day, -When we've Got ETS Members Posting from the Moon, -That Will be Another Story! But Not Now on the Survival Forum, -We Here Deal with What Parts of our Planet or World,-That we CAN Reach,-or May Find Ourselves At. The Moon Ain't There Yet. But Space Itself Now Is!, -The Outdoors, Adventure, Exploration, and Discovery!,-and Our Campfire, -Is!

So in my Considered Judgement,-I Therefore Thought,-and Continue to So Feel, -That It Qualifies. -That It Is Pertinent, Germane, Relevant, and Topical. -To the Campfire, -but Not the Survival Forum.

I Thot I Made This Relevance and Topicality, -Adequately Clear!,-there in my Post. By your Post though,-Looks Like I Had to Make It Basically Clear Again! It's Not Rocket Science!,-Pardon the Pun! ( Smile )

To Any Contention or Feeling that I may be Off Topic, -I would Beg to Differ! For the Reasons Said, -I Think I Am, -Within Campfire Topicality here!

As to my use of the Apostrofe as you Mention, -That is Normal here in my Country, -it's There on my Keyboard!,-Which in Turn Does Come with the Computer, -So Why on Earth Not?

I'll Admit I'm in the Process of Finishing Up, -my Efforts to Make my Writing Style Clearer!, -I Think that will Soon Come About, -A Lot of It Already Has!

Your Good Question has somewhat Neccessitated What Length there is in this Post. An Answer is What you Desire, -I've so Given It! ( Though I've Far from Covered All Mars Mission Survival / Prep Gear.) I'm Happy to Have Answered your Question.

Survival Gear and Techniques Will Come to Have Their Great Place in All our Upcoming Space Efforts!, -as They Long Have Already! Wherever Man Goes, -He's Going to Have to Be Prepared!,-and Able to Survive! Space is and Will Be No Exception!

Finally, -Another Peice of Vital Gear has since Occurred to me!, -Namely,-The Mars Equivalent of our Rope, Tether, and Cord! That can Come In Very Handy, -and Be Vitally Neccessary!, -There on Mars or Anyplace Else! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Eugene[/email]