Project Overviewand the
Planetary Conditions of Mars
Scott P. Milroy, Ph.D.USM Department of Marine Science
29-31 October 2012
Pioneering Mars:Turning the Red Planet Green
BAKERST STAN
Pioneering Mars Project Overview
Julie Cwikla, Ph.D.Professor & Director of CISSTEMUniversity of South Alabama
Scott Milroy, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Marine ScienceUniversity of Southern Mississippi
Pioneering Mars Project Overview
Pioneering Mars Project Overview
Pioneering Mars Project Overview
Pioneering Mars Project Overview
Planetary Conditions Earth-Mars Comparisons
EARTHMARS
Mean Diameter 7,926 miles4,222 miles
(53.3% Earth Diameter)
Mean Surface Gravity 9.8 m/s2 3.675 m/s2
(0.375 G)
Mean Distance to Sun 92,955,820 miles142,633,260 miles
(1.53 AU)
Mean Solar Irradiance 1350 W/m2 590 W/m2
(43.7% Earth Insolation)
Length of Year 365.25 days687 Earth days
(1.88 Earth years)
Length of Day 23.9 hours24.6 hours
Planetary Conditions Earth-Mars Comparisons
EARTHMARS
Mean Atm. Pressure 1,013 millibars 7.5 millibars
(4 – 10 millibars)
Atmospheric Composition N2 (77%) CO2 (95.3%)
O2 (21%)N2 (2.7%)
Ar (1%)Ar (1.6%)
CO2 (0.038%)O2 (0.13%)
Partial Pressure CO2: 0.38 mb CO2 7.15 mb CO2
(18.8X Earth CO2)
Surface Temperatures: -89⁰ C min (-128⁰ F) -87⁰ C min (-125⁰ F)
58⁰ C max (136⁰ F) 20⁰ C max (68 F)⁰
Planetary Conditions Earth-Mars Comparisons
Phase Diagram for WaterThe Triple Point of H2O
Phase Diagram for WaterThe Triple Point of H2O
Critical Experimental RangeTemperature: 0.1 – 8⁰ CPressure: 6.2 – 10 mbar
Why Antarctic Cyanobacteria?Picking Our Pioneers
• Can Survive Freeze/Thaw Cycles
• High Photosynthesis in Low Light
• Rapid Growth in Extreme Conditions
• Thought to be Earth’s First Terraformers