Why should we write a Constitution for Mars?

In his science fiction novel “Blue Mars,” Kim Stanley Robinson likens the process of constitution-writing to weaving together the tapestry of history.[1] In his fictional world, we meet a group of three hundred people who are tasked with drafting a constitution for Mars. Robinson takes a whole chapter to describe this intricate process, explaining the what, how, and why of writing this constitution. Delegations of each Martian settlement with more than five hundred people form the constitutional assembly in the novel, which creates the draft that is later voted upon by the population.[2]

The chapter follows small working groups discussing a variety of topics: “And along with them, on everyone’s screens, were the blank constitutions with their section headings, suggesting all by themselves the many problems they were going to have to come to grips with: ‘Structure of Government, Executive; Structure of Government, Legislative; Structure of Government, Judicial; Rights of Citizens; Military and Police; Taxation; Election Procedures; Property Law; Economic Systems; Environmental Law; Amendment Procedures’.”[3] Robinson also describes how Martian citizens are encouraged to send in their ideas for the constitution and that “all messages were read by groups of volunteers in Sheffield and South Fossa, who passed some proposals ‘up to the table’.”[4]

The author does not leave out a description of certain challenges during the drafting process. For example, the characters seem to struggle with the fact that “if [they] decide to include economic and social issues in the constitution, for instance, then this is a very different kind of thing than if [they] stick to purely political or legal matters, or to a very general statement of principles.”[5] Another important point of discussion is the role of future generations and environmental protection. “Point three of Dorsa Brevia states that the land, air and water of Mars belong to no one, that we are the stewards of it for all the future generations. This stewardship will be everyone’s responsibility, but in case of conflicts we propose strong environmental courts, perhaps as part of the constitutional court […].”[6]

If you wonder why a speculative fiction novel set in the future is so important to you and me, living on Earth in the present, let me explain.

Although human settlement on Mars is not happening any time soon, plans are currently being made, and we should be part of those discussions.

NASA has already published an extensive report called “Journey to Mars: Pioneering Next Steps in Space Exploration.”

In this report, they outline their plans to study conditions on Mars and describe three specific stages in the development of potential settlements. Separately, it was announced that the International Space Station (ISS), a shared space station of NASA, CSA, JAXA, Roscosmos, and ESA, will end in 2030 and be brought back to Earth in a controlled crash. As a replacement, new space stations will emerge, organised by private companies.

This means that space exploration in the low Earth orbit will be commercialised and privatised, which requires increased international collaboration. Why is this important? Because a planet like Mars is part of the so-called “common heritage of humankind.” The common heritage of humankind describes the idea that certain territories or resources that are to the benefit of humankind, should not be governed by a singular power but rather through international agreement and shared responsibility. Because of this, the discussions and plans should include a diverse range of voices, including citizens from all over the world, instead of being confined to NASA, experts, and private space organisations.

Unfortunately, in the history of law, constitution-drafting has rarely been open to citizens.

In the past, constitutions were often written by small groups that were not representative of the citizens the constitution was supposed to represent. The National Constituent Assembly in France during the French Revolution in 1789, for example, was predominantly male and made up of clerics, nobles, legal professionals, and members of the military.

Why is this important? On a foundational level, constitutions are understood to represent the values, rights, and political organisation of a country. Constitutions also represent the highest or “supreme” law of a country. Whilst the involvement of legal experts is critical, the importance of including as many people in the country as possible at some stage in this process therefore also seems self-evident.

Until now, citizens’ views have sometimes been present at the pre-drafting stage, for example, in the form of submitting ideas, or at the end of the process, like voting on the final draft or an amendment. However, rresearchers like Eisenstadt, LeVan and Maboudi have found that the inclusion of citizens at the stage of “drafting, which occurs earlier in constitution-making, has the greatest impact on subsequent levels of democracy.”[7]

As part of a new international research study, we’re trying to test this out and study the process of citizen engagement at the drafting stage.

Writing a Constitution for Mars: An International Research Study

We’re a team of researchers at the University of Galway, Ireland, and our primary goal is to create a draft Constitution for Mars before the end of 2025.

How do we plan to do this? There are several steps.

Firstly, we will use a survey method to ask at least 300 people from at least 6 different countries regarding their core ideas for a constitution for Mars. The participants will go through different sections that are usually part of a constitution and answer both specific and open-ended questions about their views.

Secondly, we will organise a drafting workshop in the autumn of 2025, where we will present these ideas to a team of experts, who will create a draft constitution from these ideas through a structured process of deliberation and discussion. The final draft will be made publicly available for other research and policy teams to continue working on.

Finally, a third component of this research project will focus on the creative dimension necessary to imagine the constitution for Mars. We will invite visual artists and creative writers to contribute their ideas and conceptualisations in response to our survey prompt, which will be presented in 2026, alongside the draft constitution.

It's not just about Mars, writing new constitutions is highly relevant for Earth.

In 2011, 25 citizens in Iceland formed a Constitutional Assembly to draft a completely new constitution.

Despite gaining independence from Denmark in 1944, “the Icelandic republic still rests on a modified translation of the 1849 Constitution of the Danish constitutional monarchy.”[8] After the 2008 economic crisis, Iceland started a process of drafting a completely new constitution to replace it.

The process began with a National Meeting in November 2009, where 1,200 participants discussed their ideas for societal reform and the values they wished to be represented, resulting in a handbook of ideas.[9] Afterwards, a group of 25 citizens was elected from a pool of 522 candidates “from all walks of life”[10] to be part of a Constitutional Assembly, which was tasked with the production of a new draft constitution. After a process of drafting, not unlike the process described in Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel, a draft constitution was voted on in a referendum in October 2012 and approved by two-thirds of the voters.

A second procedure started in 2016, with an expanded range of methods including deliberative strategies like online opinion polls, as well as deliberative polling in person. One tool used was the website “Better Iceland,”[11] which was able to reach 39,000 citizens, who contributed over 1,092 ideas for the new constitution. The second procedure was designed to stretch over two legislative periods, ending in 2025.[12] Although Iceland still does not have a new constitution, this example shows that the idea of drafting a new constitution is not only a thought experiment or future endeavour for Mars, but is highly relevant and ongoing for nations on Earth. So, what's next?

How you can be part of this project:

If you would like to participate in our survey, please click here.

If you are an expert interested in participating in our drafting workshop in the autumn of 2025, please refer to the information on the sub-page ACONMARS 2025 or contact the research team.

If you would like to learn more about submitting to the creative part of this project, please keep an eye on this website or contact us at hello@writing-a-constitution-for-mars.com .

References

[1] Kim Stanley Robinson, Blue Mars, (New York: HarperCollins, 1996), 157.

[2] ibid.

[3] ibid, 129.

[4] ibid, 153.

[5] ibid, 126.

[6] ibid, 150.

[7] Todd A. Eisenstadt, A. Carl LeVan, & Tofigh Maboudi, “When talk trumps text: The democratizing effects of deliberation during constitution-making, 1974-2011,” American Political Science Review 109, 3 (2015), 606.

[8] Katrín Oddsdóttir, “Iceland: The birth of the world’s first crowd-sourced constitution?” Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law 3, 4 (2014): 1208.

[9] Eirikur Bergmann, “Lessons from two island nations: Re-reading the Icelandic deliberative constitutional process in light of the success of the Irish Constitutional Convention,” in Deliberative constitution-making, eds. Min Reuchamps and Yanina Welp (London: Routledge, 2022).

[10] ibid, 159.

[11] ibid, 160.

[12] ibid, 160.