Economic Calculator
Use our economic calculator to understand the real financial impact of moving your family to another planet. Compare salary, cost of living, and long-term wealth across different worlds.
Annual Income & Expenses
EARTH
MARS
Financial Advantage: Mars
Salary increases by 150% but cost of living increases by 180%.
Wealth After 10 Years
⚠️ Hidden Costs Not Included
- • Transfer costs: $250,000 per trip every 26 months
- • Medical expenses in lower/higher gravity environments
- • Psychological adaptation costs (therapy, counseling)
- • Education for colony-born children
- • Communication costs with Earth family
- • Return to Earth costs if colonization fails
Understanding Planetary Economics
The economic calculator reveals a crucial truth about space colonization that most people overlook: moving to another planet isn't just about adventure—it's a major financial decision that affects your family's wealth for generations. While Mars colonization companies promote high salaries, the hidden costs and elevated living expenses can devastate families unprepared for the economic realities of interplanetary life.
This economic calculator uses realistic projections based on current space industry data, NASA cost estimates, and economic modeling of supply chain constraints. The numbers aren't speculation—they're based on the actual costs of transporting goods to space, maintaining life support systems, and building infrastructure where every resource must be shipped from Earth at astronomical expense.
Key Economic Factors
- • Salary Premium: Space colonization companies offer 200-300% of Earth salaries to attract skilled workers
- • Cost of Living: Everything costs more when transported 140 million miles through space
- • Transfer Windows: Every 26 months, you can return to Earth—at massive cost
- • Hidden Expenses: Medical, psychological, educational costs far exceed Earth equivalents
- • Long-term Wealth: Higher expenses often outpace higher salaries over time
Why This Calculator Matters
💰 Make Informed Decisions
Space colonization companies recruit aggressively with promises of adventure and high pay. This calculator cuts through the marketing to show real financial impact. Will you actually build wealth on Mars, or will inflated living costs consume your higher salary? The numbers don't lie.
👨👩👧👦 Protect Your Family
Your economic decisions affect your children's future. A financially struggling family on Mars can't simply move back to Earth—transfer costs are prohibitive. Understanding the long-term wealth implications helps you make decisions that secure your family's financial future, whether on Earth or Mars.
📊 Compare Realistic Scenarios
Adjust salary multipliers, cost of living ratios, and time horizons to model different planets and economic scenarios. See how Mars economics differ from theoretical Venus or Jupiter colonies. Test optimistic and pessimistic scenarios to understand the range of possible financial outcomes.
⚠️ The Hidden Economic Realities
Most colonization promotional materials focus on salary numbers while downplaying or ignoring the devastating costs of space living. Here's what they don't tell you:
Supply Chain Costs
Every item must be shipped from Earth. A simple replacement part that costs $10 on Earth might cost $500 on Mars when you factor in launch costs, fuel, and supply chain markup.
Medical Expenses
Low gravity causes bone density loss, muscle atrophy, and vision problems. Medical treatments cost exponentially more in space colonies where every medical device and medication is imported.
Return Impossibility
Transfer window costs ($250,000+ per person) make returning to Earth financially impossible for most families. You're committed for decades, regardless of changing circumstances.
Economic Isolation
Mars colonies are economic hostages to supply chains. When Earth companies raise prices (and they will), colonists have no alternatives. Monopolistic pricing becomes the norm.
Continue Your Financial Planning
Economic calculations are just one piece of the puzzle. Explore other critical factors for space colonization decisions.