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The Science of The Expanse: Season 1, Episode 4

In the future, you'll be able to live to be over 120 years old (but only 68 if you're on Ceres).

By Bryan Enk
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How long do people live in this future world, anyway? According to the Coroner, the average life expectancy on Earth is 123 years ... and it's "even better on Mars!"

(Oh, and it's only 68 years on Ceres ... don't live there.)

Let's get technical. Studies in the biodemography of human longevity indicate that mortality rates in late-life, decelerate: that death rates level off at advanced ages to a mortality plateau. That is, there is no fixed upper limit to human longevity, or fixed maximal human lifespan. Good news if you're going for immortality.

One study done in 2009, which a bunch of fancy modified stretched exponential functions for human survival curves suggested that the maximum human lifespan for humans to be 125, so that's pretty much spot on with Mars. Mars' average lifespan! That means they've done something to mess with the degredation of telomeres and achieved a modicum of negligible senescence. Good for them!

In the future, you'll be able to live to be over 120 years old (but only 68 if you're on Ceres).

You'll also be able to perform impromptu surgeries -- whether you're a surgeon or not -- with tools like 'auto-forceps.'

And oh, the things you'll be able to do in zero gravity!

Click here to see if it's possible or just a bunch of hooey.