[ot] Mars colonization

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

I dunna know.

A space race without German rocket scientists just isn't as cool.

What's the line from the Right Stuff?

"Don't worry Senator, our Germans are better than their Germans."

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I dunna know.

A space race without German rocket scientists just isn't as cool.

What's the line from the Right Stuff?

"Don't worry Senator, our Germans are better than their Germans."

Well, I am a German physicist, and I'd certainly seriously consider any offer from any space agency willing to hire me...

Unfortunately, my speciality is heart cell simulations instead of rocket science. On the other hand, I will be drafted in January - and once I finish basic training, I will be stationed at an Army university that has a Department of Aerospace Engineering...

Well, maybe there is hope for me yet.

 

[Sidran]

If you are truely interested in Missions to Mars you should check out the really good book by Dr. Robert Zubrin (forget the name at the moement) But it talks about feasible ways to get to Mars (Fast track flights, and so on) Then I recomend reading most of Dr. Ben Bova's Mar's books (Though Fiction they detail the difficulities of going to mars) Also Gregory Benfords The Martian Race, and Kim Stanley Robinsons Mars Trilogy ( Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars, and the Tack on Purple Mars.)

These also show the difficulties and the two major motivations for going verses not going.

Personally I feel that Space is our next frontier (that or the deep sea) Fact is we really do not need to go to mars for anything other than Science ( As much as I hate to say it)

The real thing we need to do is get a mining operation out in the Asteroid belt (which despite critics arguments) Is the most financial way to get into space. In this case we would more likely want a Colony on the Moon where there is no Atmosphere and it would be easy to ship materials down and finished products out.

Also I see us building an O'neal station long before we would ever put a hab down on Mars.

Me I have been dreaming of the Red Planet since I was a Little boy. I would have loved to go on a tourist trip to see Mount Olympus mons when I am old and graying.


The real way we will end up with Cities in Space is if we fund it ourselves by finding a reliable corporation (more like two or four) to fund the first missions to the outer solar system. Or at least getting a Corp. to have a joint Contract with NASA, or other world space agencies to colonize mars, etc.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Personally I feel that Space is our next frontier (that or the deep sea) Fact is we really do not need to go to mars for anything other than Science ( As much as I hate to say it)

Personally, a self-supporting off-world colony would do great things for my peace of mind... It would help ensure that humanity will survive no matter how badly we mess up Earth.

(Not that I think that doomsday scenarios are all that likely. On the other hand, I collect old books that "predict" future technological and social developments, and I am all too aware how wrong we can be about the future...)

Me I have been dreaming of the Red Planet since I was a Little boy. I would have loved to go on a tourist trip to see Mount Olympus mons when I am old and graying.

Know what? So am I. And I aint giving up on this dream until they put me six feet under.

(Then again, I do plan to live for at least 120 years... )

 

[Sidran]

http://www.nw.net/mars/


Here is the link to a web page about and for Dr. Zubrin's book Case for Mars

Also try a google search Colonizing Mars or Colonies in Space and you may get some good info

We should really allow OT debate teams to discuss such matters ( its all in the fun of the Debate anyway right)

 

[Razuur]

In the whole Moon vs Mars thing, my perspective has always been simple.

We should hit the moon first.

A. Its closer

B. We have done it before.

C. We can practice making a colony.

D. If we ever want to go to Mars, going from the moon would be a perfect staging area. The gravity is less, easier to launch shuttles/rockets from.

I too dreamt of seeing Olympus Mons, but am resigned to the fact that we won't in our lifetime. Walking on the moon is another story. It is very possible. Heck we could do it now, we just aren't allocating the effort.

Razuur

 

[Zappo]

I agree with Razuur. While in the very long term Mars can be easier to colonize (it does have an almost survivable temperature and apparently some water too after all), when it comes to now and here, getting people to live on the Moon is just as nigh impossible as getting them to live on Mars.

The Moon, however, is way closer, the technology to reach it is known and tested, and it also has valuable mining resources. Extra-low gravity makes certain things harder and many others easier.

When it comes to Mars, having the Moon as a starting point will make the whole thing easier. Technology developed for the Moon colony will be reused for Mars, and it will be known and tested. Low gravity means a lot less fuel is needed.

 

[Fenris]

Terraforming

The first thing that needs to be done and done now. Is to send up alpine lichens to Mars. These hardy symbionts can withstand the cold temperatures and high radiation. The high CO2 levels will be a bonus to them and they can function almost without water. The use of small terrestrial plants to begin craeting an oxygen atmosphere with a viable ozone layer as well as the creation of topsoil is paramount to survivability on Mars. The less harsh the climate to us the loss expensive it will be to colonize. If we started now it would still take hundreds of years to make an impact, but you must start somewhere.

 

[Xeriar]

'high CO2 levels'

hehehe

The actual amount of CO2 isn't so dangerous, it's the fact that there isn't much of an atmosphere to begin with. Oxygen extraction from rust would probably be one method, but we wouldn't want to use bacteria (or be damn careful, eww...)

The problem with the moon, or a moon base, is the temperature variance. During the 'day' the temperature can melt lead, during the night...

Also, although we could mine oxygen on the moon, it has no water whatsoever. Better than space, perhaps, but still a problem.

 

[Airwolf]

-SNIP-

Also, although we could mine oxygen on the moon, it has no water whatsoever. Better than space, perhaps, but still a problem.

More water on the moon.(estimate doubled to 600 billion metric tons)(Brief Article)
Author/s: Ron Cowen
Issue: Oct 10, 1998

Researchers analyzing data from the Lunar Prospector, the tiny robot that has been orbiting the moon since January, have drastically upped their estimate of the amount of frozen water buried beneath the lunar poles. In March, the Prospector team suggested that craters in permanent shadow at the north and south poles could hide 300 million metric tons of ice (SN: 3/14/98, p. 166). After refining models of how water might be delivered to the surface, the team now says that the poles may contain as much as 600 billion metric tons, with the north pole harboring perhaps 15 percent more of the precious resource than the south.

William C. Feldman of the Los Alamos (N.M.) National Laboratory and his colleagues report the new findings in the Sept. 4 SCIENCE. The evidence is indirect. Prospector's measurements indicate that the poles have a higher abundance of hydrogen than elsewhere on the moon, and the team asserts that the hydrogen is almost certainly tied up in water.

COPYRIGHT 1998 Science Service, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group

I hate to rain on the parade but the moon does have water. It is just not easy to get at.