Transcript Colonize - Physics @ IUPUI

Welcome
to Mars
Colony!
History of Mars Colonization:
• In the late 20th century to early 21st century
the USA and Russia sent dozens of
probes to Mars.
• In the mid 21st century the pride of nations
finally brought explorers and scientists to
Mars.
If we want to go to Mars, we clearly
have our work cut out for us!
• What do we need to survive on Mars?
If we want to colonize Mars, we
clearly have our work cut out for us!
• What do we need to survive on Mars?
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Liquid water
Oxygen
Food
Warm temperatures
Energy
What else is there?
• Astronauts will have to also face the
following dangers:
• 1) Cosmic Rays – need shielding
• 2) Solar flares
• 3) Muscle + Bone loss from
weightlessness
• 4) Cabin Fever
What are we
looking at?
• The top left is the
top of a plateau.
• The bottom right
is the bottom of a
crater.
• What are the
dark lines in the
center area?
Also
• Evidence for floods 100X bigger than any
known flood on earth!
• So, clearly Mars had water, but where has
it gone?
• But wait, more evidence…
Mars Geology
So, we have all this evidence for
liquid water once in Mars’s past.
• Why don’t we have it today?
• 2 reasons.
• Reason 1: Too cold – it freezes.
• Reason 2: Big long explanation here…
Mars’s ancient past:
• Mars must have had a thicker atmosphere
sometime in its past (probably as large as
3 times the earth’s current atmosphere).
• Mars had at least lakes if not an ocean.
• What happened to it?
Mars looses its water
• One way it could have lost its atmosphere
was through asteroid impacts.
• Mars is small enough that impacts would
knock atmosphere off of its surface.
• This is good for very early on until the end
of heavy bombardment 4 billion years ago.
• However, there seems to have been water
on the surface until about 3 billion years
ago.
Why is that important?
• No magnetic field means no protection
from the solar wind.
• Combined with its low gravity, the solar
wind could easily strip Mars of its
atmosphere.
• Since it is further from the sun, it would
take longer, thus 1 billion years.
• So, Mars’s atmosphere is mostly gone.
So, where is the water?
• Much of it was probably taken with the
atmosphere.
• However, some is still in the crust (gullies).
• There is probably LIQUID water
underneath the surface where it is a little
warmer (100 meters down)!
• Also, some is FROZEN in the Northern
polar cap.
At first
• They spent months at a time on Mars
before heading back to Earth.
• This was similar to working in Antarctica.
The Mars gold rush of 2157
• It wasn’t until the mid 22nd century that long term
settlements were built on Mars.
• By the mid 22nd century the Earth was quickly
running out of natural resources such as iron.
• Since Mars cooled very quickly early in its
history the metals that are mostly in the core of
the Earth and therefore rare in the crust are far
more accessible on Mars.
Mines
• And so Mars was colonized much like the
state of California in its early days – by
miners looking to make lots of money.
Why 2157?
• However, it was well known in the early
21st century that Mars had these
resources.
• With time the costs to launch missions to
Mars decreased as technologies such as
improved Earth orbit rockets and ion
propulsion were improved.
Private sector
• Also, it took a long time for space travel to
move from the government monopolies to
the private sector.
• Competition drove prices down.
• Eventually it was cost efficient enough to
sent mining supplies to Mars that you
could turn a profit.
And the race was on
• The creation of rocket fuel on Mars made the
return costs much lower.
• The majority of the cost for earth is getting into
Earth orbit.
• Mars has an escape velocity which is 5 km/s
which is far lower than Earth’s 11.2 km/s.
• To get to Mars you need a shuttle built in Earth
orbit, which is moderately costly.
• The same shuttle can give you the return trip
with only a little extra fuel.
Eventually
• Eventually Martian cities were built.
• Most of these were built in the North.
Seasons of Mars
• Therefore for the Northern hemisphere, there
is far less variation in temperatures from
summer to winter.
• In the Southern hemisphere you have the
exact opposite. Summers are warmer than
normal, and winters are cooler – and very long.
Colonies mostly in the North
Colonists
• To live on Mars you have to live in an
enclosed space where you can trap in
your own air – to keep a more earth-like
pressure, and to keep a higher
temperature.
To live on Mars:
• Two choices.
• One, live in a bubble (sort of like a greenhouse) where
you can bring in and trap your air, and use the little
sunlight you have to have plants (and maybe solar
panels for energy).
• You will have to protect from dust storms which can
leave dust everywhere (especially the solar panels).
However, otherwise, they are pretty tame.
• With no magnetic field and very low atmosphere, you
need to protect yourself from harmful radiation
(especially UV rays).
• Have to make sure that you can survive any event
(volcanic – although very rare if at all, or meteoric) which
could cause a break to your bubble.
• You also have to be able to replenish your water supply.
Live on Mars – part 2
• Two, live underground.
• You don’t have to worry as much about
containment.
• You don’t have to worry about heat.
• If you live > 100 m down you have access
to liquid water!
• Hard part here is keeping oxygen (no
sunlight for plants). Food from fungi?
And so
• The colonists used the excavated mines as
cities and lived underground.
• To solve the food problem smaller bubble
enclosed areas were created near to the equator
in order to grow and harvest plants.
• Also, fungi are farmed underground where there
is ample supplies of water.
Power supply
• You will see lots of solar panels.
• These power the cities.
• Also there are batteries to store extra
energy for the winters when we get less
sunlight.
• Every year the panels have to be dusted
off, so if you want to stay and need a job,
we need more dusters.
We do hope you will enjoy your
stay.
• But be sure to always wear a space suit
when outside in the non-enclosed areas.
• It will be many more centuries before we
have the know how to terriform Mars into a
more earthlike planet.