Living on Mars

Shaun Moss
shaunmoss@yahoo.com.au
Mars Society Australia
www.marssociety.org.au
Living on Mars

1. Earth and Mars

2. Why would we want to
live on Mars?
3. The challenges of
living on Mars
4. What will we need,
and how can we get all
these things?
5. Health & Fitness
6. Terraforming
Earth and Mars
Deimos
Luna Phobos

Radius: 12746km 6805km

Gravity: 1g 0.38g
 Earth and Mars
Earth Mars
Distance from Sun 150Gm (1AU) 228Gm (1.5AU)
Atmosphere 101.3kPa 0.6kPa
78% N2 95% CO2
21% O2 3% N2
1% Ar 2% Ar
Temperature 185 – 331K 133 – 293K
Mean: 287K (14°C) Mean: 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°

Mars receives only 43% of the sunshine that Earth does, but
has no magnetosphere or ozone layer to block radiation.
 Why would we want to
live 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 light
Length of day
Has seasons like Earth
Resources – atmosphere,
water, metals
Potential for terraforming
 The challenges of
living 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 to
live on Mars?

Physical needs: Technological needs:

Water Electricity
Air Materials
Food Tools
Warmth
Computers &
Sunshine
communications
Clothing
Buildings Vehicles & fuel
Robots
 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’ atmo
O2 from:
CO2
H2O
Fe2O3, 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 toxic
Add some nutrients
Recycle food scraps &
manure (human, chook)
Use earthworms
(they’re also good food
for fish and chooks)
Clothing, etc.

Hemp – ultra-useful plant

Cloth
Canvas for shoes, bags, etc.
Rope
Lubricants, paint, plastics
Hemp oil – nutritional supplement,
skin cream
Later: cotton, synthetics
Eventually: 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 & steel

Need 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 rovers
ATVs (quad bikes)
Gliders, planes,
balloons
Rockets, spaceships
Walking 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 to
bring from Earth?
Life support equipment
Electronics, computers &
communications gear
Robots, machinery, motors,
tools
Solar panels, windmills
Seeds, animals
Cooking equipment
Games, 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,
abseiling
Hang-gliding
Rover racing
Gliding,
ballooning
Flying 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: Titan:

96.5% CO2 98.4% N2

3.5% 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
 Questions?

Email questions to: shaunmoss@yahoo.com.au