Life on MarsLife on Mars

Pankaj Agarwalpankajiitjee@gmail.com

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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 & Fitness

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?

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, metals

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

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

Sport on Mars!

Rock-climbing, abseilingHang-glidingRover racingGliding, ballooningFlying with wings!Snow sports

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.

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, medicineIT, electronics, mathematics, roboticsMetalworking trades, mechanicsMusic, writing, film-making

Questions?

Email questions to: pankajiitjee@gmail.com