Living_on_Mars

							Living on Mars

          Shaun Moss
          shaunmoss@yahoo.com.au
          Mars Society Australia
          www.marssociety.org.au
Living on Mars

           1. Earth and Mars
           2. Why would we want to
           live on Mars?
           3. The challenges of
           living on Mars
           4. What will we need,
           and how can we get all
           these things?
           5. Health & Fitness
           6. Terraforming
Earth and Mars
                      Deimos
   Luna              Phobos




Radius:    12746km   6805km
Gravity:      1g      0.38g
        Earth and Mars
                                   Earth                      Mars
Distance from Sun          150Gm (1AU)              228Gm (1.5AU)
Atmosphere                 101.3kPa                 0.6kPa
                           78% N2                   95% CO2
                           21% O2                   3% N2
                           1% Ar                    2% Ar
Temperature                185 – 331K               133 – 293K
                           Mean: 287K (14°C)        Mean: 210K (-63°C)
Length of solar day        24h                      1 sol = 24h 40m
Length of year             365.25d                  668.6 sols (1.88y = 687d)
Axial tilt                 23.4°                    25.2°

             Mars receives only 43% of the sunshine that Earth does, but
             has no magnetosphere or ozone layer to block radiation.
  Why would we want to
  live on other worlds?

Survive asteroid impacts.
Population growth.
Develop many new
technologies & systems.
Develop a global view of
Earth.
For the challenge and
adventure!
Why not?
But why Mars?

                Mars is by far our best choice
                for colonisation:
                   Close to Earth (and
                   asteroids)
                   Warmth and light
                   Length of day
                   Has seasons like Earth
                   Resources – atmosphere,
                   water, metals
                   Potential for terraforming
     The challenges of
      living on Mars

Cold!
Very thin and toxic atmo.
Water frozen solid.
High radiation.
Low gravity.
Long way from home.
No shops!
  What will we need to
    live on Mars?
Physical needs:   Technological needs:
  Water             Electricity
  Air               Materials
  Food              Tools
  Warmth            Computers &
  Sunshine          communications
  Clothing          Vehicles & fuel
  Buildings
                    Robots
                       Water


Plenty of water, frozen.
But: Very cold ice is harder than rock –
very hard to dig.
Solution: Heat up the ground, cause ice to
sublimate, and capture the steam.
Also: Recycle.
                 Air
Earth: 20% O2, 80% N2
Can make air like this
on Mars!
N2 from Mars’ atmo
O2 from:
  CO2
  H2O
  Fe2O3, SiO2, etc.
Recycle using plants
(photosynthesis)
Food

       Mars’ dirt is not suited for
       life (yet).
       Food grown in sealed
       greenhouses.
       Hydroponics – growing
       plants without dirt.
       Aquaponics – fish farming
       combined with
       hydroponics.
       Chickens & eggs
    Making fertile dirt

Process Mars dirt to
make it less toxic
Add some nutrients
Recycle food scraps &
manure (human, chook)
Use earthworms
(they’re also good food
for fish and chooks)
Clothing, etc.

       Hemp – ultra-useful plant
         Cloth
         Canvas for shoes, bags, etc.
         Rope
         Lubricants, paint, plastics
         Hemp oil – nutritional supplement,
         skin cream
       Later: cotton, synthetics
       Eventually: wool & leather
           Buildings
Low grav & thin air means less
material.
Biggest problem – radiation.
Surface structures – pile dirt
on the roof.
Underground – protection from
radiation, and easier to keep
warm (but need big machines
to dig).
Domes – Glass or plastic,
maybe inflatable.
Materials

      Iron & steel
        Need for many things:
        buildings, tools, kitchen items,
        furniture, vehicles, robots, etc.
        Mars is covered in iron! (rust)
        Make steel using carbon from
        atmo.
      Many other metals available
      on Mars.
      Can also make bricks,
      concrete, glass and plastics
      from local resources.
          Electricity

Nuclear: problematic on
Earth, even worse on Mars.
Also, would have to find
uranium.
Solar: possible, but less
sunlight on Mars.
Wind! Lots of wind on Mars;
the air is thin, but high-
speed.
       Vehicles & Fuel

                       What sort of vehicles?
                          Pressurized rovers
                          ATVs (quad bikes)
                          Gliders, planes,
                          balloons
                          Rockets, spaceships
                          Walking rovers
Good fuel: methane (CH4) & oxygen (O2) – easy
to make from Mars atmo and water.
              Robots

Will play a big part in
colonising Mars.
Digging, mining,
construction, exploration,
transportation.
Electronics from Earth.
Bodies could be imported
from Earth, or made on Mars
from steel and other metals.
Software – Earth or Mars.
What will we need to
 bring from Earth?
            Life support equipment
            Electronics, computers &
            communications gear
            Robots, machinery, motors,
            tools
            Solar panels, windmills
            Seeds, animals
            Cooking equipment
            Games, books, musical
            instruments
     Health & Fitness

Low gravity means loss of
bone and muscle.
  Need lots of strength training.
High radiation increases risk
of cancer & genetic mutation.
  Stay inside during solar flares.
Air, food & water probably
better than Earth!
Build parks to play in, and to
provide sunshine (artificial or
real)
Sport on Mars!

      Rock-climbing,
      abseiling
      Hang-gliding
      Rover racing
      Gliding,
      ballooning
      Flying with wings!
      Snow sports
      Terraforming

Making Mars’ environment hospitable to
organisms from Earth.
         Warming Mars

Create global warming
using PFCs
(perfluorocarbons) – a
powerful greenhouse gas.
Use mirrors in space to
reflect more sunlight onto
Mars.
Heating Mars causes frozen
CO2 to sublime, thickening
atmo and causing more
warming – a runaway
greenhouse.
    Adding Nitrogen

To make a thick atmosphere like Earth,
need lots of nitrogen. Some on Mars, but
probably not enough.
Can get more N2 from Venus or Titan.
Venus closer, but Titan easier.

          Venus:               Titan:

          96.5% CO2            98.4% N2

          3.5% N2              1.6% CH4
       Adding Life

With warmth & liquid water, life can grow.
Biosphere develops with climate, from
polar/alpine towards temperate/tropical.
Genetic engineering.
  Building a Biosphere

1. Begin with some hardy radiation- and cold-
resistant microbes.
2. As lakes form, add aquatic plants – these
convert the atmo to oxygen. Water provides
protection from UV.
3. Aquatic animals.
4. Rising oxygen levels cause an ozone (O3)
layer to form, providing UV protection on land.
5. Plants on land, then animals.
6. Eventually humans can walk around on Mars
without a spacesuit.
Robot Gardeners!


            Robots will be much
            more advanced in 100
            years.
            They can plant seeds
            in the best spots, and
            look after the plants
            and animals.
 Who’s making plans?


Mars Society – analog studies, research,
promoting manned Mars missions
(www.marssociety.org.au)
Mars Homestead – designing a future Mars
settlement. (www.marshome.org)
4 Frontiers – company planning to build Mars
settlement. (www.4frontierscorp.com)
Red Colony – open source plan for colonising
and terraforming Mars. (www.redcolony.com)
Do you want to go to Mars?

You will need:
  Skills, education, and/or experience.
  Some scientific knowledge.
  Good health & fitness.
  Good people skills.
  A range of interests.
Good things to study:
  Engineering, science, technology,
  medicine
  IT, electronics, mathematics, robotics
  Metalworking trades, mechanics
  Music, writing, film-making
 Questions?




Email questions to: shaunmoss@yahoo.com.au