Fascinating - How we will colonize Mars.

[martin-w 3,235]

It actually sounds doable. 👍

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2021 by martin-w

[birdguy 3,943]

I can't IMAGINE! myself living like that even for a few weeks.  I'd go NUTS!

I need fresh air to breathe.  I need my 7 glasses of water a day including a cup of coffee and  a cup of tea.  I need at east 1 apple and 1 orange day for my diet.  I couldn't possible give my me beef.  I need to take my shirt off on hot summer days and let the rays soak in.

As a backpacker living on Mountain House freeze dried food for 4 days I would always visit the nearest burger joint on my way home and down TWO cheese burgers.

Even if I were young enough and qualified I couldn't even think about it.

Noel

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

Yea not for me either, but I have a friend that studied to be an astronaut but never got the experience, she now does gravity effects studies for these missions and would go in a second if she wasn't 50 years old now. She missed out on space as back in her 20s the opportunity was so rare, as we move forward more people will have that chance maybe my kids will get a space vacation in about 30 years from now when it becomes more common

[fppilot 4,360]

Have a Skickers?  We speaka your language(s)...

        

Edited March 16, 2021 by fppilot

[ILSFREAK 56]

Freud would have had a royal time picking those guys brains that want to go there for life

[martin-w 3,235]

You guys are correct of course. It wouldn't initially be a comfortable existance.

But then throughout human history there have been those prepared to endure the discomfort in order to push the envelope.

We owe those individuals a lot.

The real challenge will be the impact of the lower gravity on human physiology. I'm guessing that over generations adaptions will take place. Science is looking at drugs that can help too and even genetic engineering.

But consider this... in a Mars dome at one Earth atmoshere, it would be feasible to fly with wings. We could literally fly like birds.

The lack of a magnetic field should be considered too. However, many aren't aware that a thick atmosphere offers protection too, and indeed, a satalite parked at the Lagrange 1 point could act as a shield.

And interestingly, some scientists are suggesting that a magnetic field doesn't offer protection at all. Controversial but interesting.

[stans 702]

Living on Mars won't be easy and not for the faint of heart.

[n4gix 4,947]

13 hours ago, martin-w said:

The real challenge will be the impact of the lower gravity on human physiology. I'm guessing that over generations adaptions will take place.

SF authors have speculated that mankind would grow taller and skinner after several generations had passed.

[martin-w 3,235]

11 hours ago, n4gix said:

SF authors have speculated that mankind would grow taller and skinner after several generations had passed.

 

Well I guess there would have to be some kind of adaption. Sounds a reasonable hypothesis.

What fascinates me is the satellite parked at Lagrange 1 idea. Park a satellite equipped with a magnetic field generator at Lagrange 1 and it would act a s a shield for Mars. 

 

https://phys.org/news/2017-03-nasa-magnetic-shield-mars-atmosphere.html

 

Its been suggested that if we did that, the atmosphere would thicken in just a few decades.

 

Quote

As a result, Mars atmosphere would naturally thicken over time, which lead to many new possibilities for human exploration and colonization. According to Green and his colleagues, these would include an average increase of about 4 °C (~7 °F), which would be enough to melt the carbon dioxide ice in the northern polar ice cap. This would trigger a greenhouse effect, warming the atmosphere further and causing the water ice in the polar caps to melt.

 

Edited March 18, 2021 by martin-w

[n4gix 4,947]

5 hours ago, martin-w said:

What fascinates me is the satellite parked at Lagrange 1 idea. Park a satellite equipped with a magnetic field generator at Lagrange 1 and it would act a s a shield for Mars. 

To quote Spock, "Fascinating" (spoken in a dry voice).

A natural question though would be "How much energy would be required both to create and maintain such a device, and how could we produce the power?"

[martin-w 3,235]

49 minutes ago, n4gix said:

 

A natural question though would be "How much energy would be required both to create and maintain such a device, and how could we produce the power?"

 

1 or 2 Tesla (or 10,000 to 20,000 Gauss) as an active shield against the solar wind. But of course the strength of the field and size of the field are two different things. So all very well for the scientist who proposed this to claim only 1 or 2 Tesla, but as you rightly state, how much power would be required for a large enough field. 

The other point is that the 1 or 2 Tesla proposed is the bare minimum, just to allow the Martian atmosphere to thicken over time. And I believe they were talking about a number of such satellites in an array. 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2021 by martin-w