You're in Charge of Planning the First Martian Settlement

[CarlinAnnArbor]

A simple question. There are no trees on mars. There is likely no coal or oil. There is virtually no free oxygen. And the sun is just a fraction of the intensity of what it is on earth.

How exactly will you heat your settlement? It's cold on mars. VERY cold. So cold on mars that the CO2 in the faint atmosphere freezes into dry ice and falls to the ground as "snow."

How will you heat your first martian settlement?

 

[Darkwind]

Rosie O'Donnell. Just keeps bitching about Trump. She should be good for three, maybe four biodomes.




My guess would be heating water with a nuclear plant. Generate steam for electricity as well as heating the enviroment.

The biggest problem would be the initial cost of shipping the hydrogen and Oxygen to the planet to recombine into water.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Start out with about 1gw of solar powering the heaters needed to heat the outpost. Later on as it transformed into a larger settlement go over to nuclear power.

 

[miketx]

Start out with about 1gw of solar powering the heaters need to heat the outpost. Later on as it transformed into a larger settlement go over to nuclear power.

Mr. Science forgets the sun muy tiny from Mars.

 

[TheOldSchool]

A simple question. There are no trees on mars. There is likely no coal or oil. There is virtually no free oxygen. And the sun us just a fraction of the intensity of what it is on earth.

How exactly will you heat your settlement? It's cold on mars. VERY cold. So cold on mars that the CO2 in the faint atmosphere freezes into dry ice and falls to the ground as "snow."

How will you heat your first martian settlement?

Well once Elon Musk nukes the poles, the whole planet will be like New Zealand

 

[Vastator]

A simple question. There are no trees on mars. There is likely no coal or oil. There is virtually no free oxygen. And the sun us just a fraction of the intensity of what it is on earth.

How exactly will you heat your settlement? It's cold on mars. VERY cold. So cold on mars that the CO2 in the faint atmosphere freezes into dry ice and falls to the ground as "snow."

How will you heat your first martian settlement?

Have to go subterrainian for temp stabilization.

 

[miketx]

A simple question. There are no trees on mars. There is likely no coal or oil. There is virtually no free oxygen. And the sun us just a fraction of the intensity of what it is on earth.

How exactly will you heat your settlement? It's cold on mars. VERY cold. So cold on mars that the CO2 in the faint atmosphere freezes into dry ice and falls to the ground as "snow."

How will you heat your first martian settlement?

Well once Elon Musk nukes the poles, the whole planet will be like New Zealand

No, it'll still be too far outside the liquid water zone.

 

[ScienceRocks]

I support nuclear power

If we can ever get fusion working for more then a few minutes I'd support going over to that.

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

Rosie O'Donnell. Just keeps bitching about Trump. She should be good for three, maybe four biodomes.




My guess would be heating water with a nuclear plant. Generate steam for electricity as well as heating the enviroment.

The biggest problem would be the initial cost of shipping the hydrogen and Oxygen to the planet to recombine into water.

Nuclear or geothermal is what I was thinking.

What got me thinking about this was getting thru a regular Michigan winter. We have resources mars doesn't have. Nothing to burn, no oxygen, etc..

I think our science worshippers get caught up by the pictures. The sky is blue. The landscape looks like Arizona. I think these people think mars is habitable, but you're actually living in a subzero, near vacuum.

 

[JGalt]

Just push the three-fingered button those Martians left behind. It'll warm up there before long.

 

[Darkwind]

Rosie O'Donnell. Just keeps bitching about Trump. She should be good for three, maybe four biodomes.




My guess would be heating water with a nuclear plant. Generate steam for electricity as well as heating the enviroment.

The biggest problem would be the initial cost of shipping the hydrogen and Oxygen to the planet to recombine into water.

Nuclear or geothermal is what I was thinking.

What got me thinking about this was getting thru a regular Michigan winter. We have resources mars doesn't have. Nothing to burn, no oxygen, etc..

I think our science worshippers get caught up by the pictures. The sky is blue. The landscape looks like Arizona. I think these people think mars is habitable, but you're actually living in a subzero, near vacuum.

Of course. Anything that we'll need to live there we'll have to either bring with us, or mine the resources needed to manufacture it.

A number of movies have tackled this problem with no real solution.

One movie promoted an idea of pre-supplying future missions. Once they get the landing technique down, they land specific resources in an area for future use. The advantage here is that it would be more cost effective if you don't have humans in tow. Then, when a crew arrives, they have only to start assembling what they need.

In reality, I think that the first colonies will be underground. Much easier to create a few small environmental seals than it is to build a dome for habitation that you see in so many movies.

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

A simple question. There are no trees on mars. There is likely no coal or oil. There is virtually no free oxygen. And the sun us just a fraction of the intensity of what it is on earth.

How exactly will you heat your settlement? It's cold on mars. VERY cold. So cold on mars that the CO2 in the faint atmosphere freezes into dry ice and falls to the ground as "snow."

How will you heat your first martian settlement?

Have to go subterrainian for temp stabilization.

One of the best ideas for building that I've heard suggested, is adobe. Pretty basic and primitive, but the thick walls, once heated, could retain heat for a long time, especially if it is covered with thick foam walls. The heavy "earth" walls would also protect the inhabitants from radiation, which the thin atmosphere cannot do.

 

[Manonthestreet]

Without a Lunar colony there will never be one on Mars.....

 

[Vastator]

The settlement would need to be near the poles for water access, then a nuclear powerplant would be the logical choice of heat, and power generation given today's technology. Under the caps perhaps for the insulative value and shelter from the dust storms. Not to mention its easier to burrow through ice than it is to excavate rock.

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

In reality, I think that the first colonies will be underground. Much easier to create a few small environmental seals than it is to build a dome for habitation that you see in so many movies.

Probably, but they could also transport a large 3d printer, designed for home construction, to build structures with adobe, before the first human settlers arrive. We already have those available today.

 

[Vastator]

Without a Lunar colony there will never be one on Mars.....

That is correct. We need to cut our teeth on something closer to home before we send people beyond reach of help.

 

[Darkwind]

In reality, I think that the first colonies will be underground. Much easier to create a few small environmental seals than it is to build a dome for habitation that you see in so many movies.

Probably, but they could also transport a large 3d printer, designed for home construction, to build structures with adobe, before the first human settlers arrive. We already have those available today.

Hmm....a possibility. I'm not really familiar with 3D printing. What material does it use?

 

[JoeMoma]

Are the benifits worth the costs?

 

[Darkwind]

Are the benifits worth the costs?

I suppose it depends on the ultimate goals. If we are looking at just population reduction or colonization for the sake of exploration, probably not. However, if we're talking about the possible use as a prep stage for resource mining in the outer system or the asteroid belt, I think it might be.

 

[JoeMoma]

Without a Lunar colony there will never be one on Mars.....

I think a large scale space station colony could also work as a stepping stone to a mars colony....with or without having a colony on the moon.