living on mars.ppt
TRANSCRIPT
Living on Mars
1. Earth and Mars2. Why would we want to live on Mars?3. The challenges of living on Mars4. What will we need, and how can we get all these things?5. Health & Fitness6. Terraforming
Earth and Mars
Radius: 12746km 6805kmGravity: 1g 0.38g
LunaDeimos
Phobos
Earth MarsDistance from Sun 150Gm (1AU) 228Gm (1.5AU)
Atmosphere 101.3kPa78% N2
21% O2
1% Ar
0.6kPa95% CO2
3% N2
2% Ar
Temperature 185 – 331KMean: 287K (14°C)
133 – 293KMean: 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°
Earth and Mars
Mars receives only 43% of the sunshine that Earth does, but has no magnetosphere or ozone layer to block radiation.
Why would we want tolive 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 lightLength of dayHas seasons like EarthResources – atmosphere, water, metalsPotential for terraforming
The challenges ofliving 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 tolive on Mars?
Physical needs:WaterAirFoodWarmthSunshineClothingBuildings
Technological needs:ElectricityMaterialsToolsComputers & communicationsVehicles & fuelRobots
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’ atmoO2 from:
CO2
H2OFe2O3, 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 toxicAdd some nutrientsRecycle food scraps & manure (human, chook)Use earthworms (they’re also good food for fish and chooks)
Clothing, etc.
Hemp – ultra-useful plantClothCanvas for shoes, bags, etc.RopeLubricants, paint, plasticsHemp oil – nutritional supplement, skin cream
Later: cotton, syntheticsEventually: 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 & steelNeed 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 roversATVs (quad bikes)Gliders, planes, balloonsRockets, spaceshipsWalking 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 tobring from Earth?
Life support equipmentElectronics, computers & communications gearRobots, machinery, motors, toolsSolar panels, windmillsSeeds, animalsCooking equipmentGames, 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, abseilingHang-glidingRover racingGliding, ballooningFlying 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:
96.5% CO2
3.5% N2
Titan:
98.4% 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
