#1
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Mars Colonization
Hi,
Just some ideas I've grouped from reading around I'd like to have people toss around about Mars Colonization... To live on Mars, we'd need, ordered by necessity to survive, along with a life expectancy being deprived of it: Basic needs: - Oxygen (minutes) - Carbon dioxyde removal (few hours) - Heat (minutes to hours) - Drinking Water (few days) - Food (few weeks) - Radiation absorbtion (few months) Quality of life needs: - Personnal care cleaning substances (Soap, toothpaste, etc) - Clothing - Entertainment (games, DVDs, MP3s/CDs, books) Long term presence and expansion: - Pressurized volumes - Furnishing (beds, matresses, etc) - Births What I have in mind would be an extreme one-way trip. But I'd sure be volunteer to leave my mark in history books, and quite a few people would be I think! And yes, I've been inspired a little by the concept of Zubrin, althought I did not read his book. First step would be to land a probe at the South Pole, and determine water content in Martian polar ice. If it can be done remotely from an orbiting probe well that's ok, but before committing to the plan I have you'd need to be sure there was enough water ice on hand. I read that THEMIS data pointed in that direction, but better be certain before leaving the craddle. Second step, which could be combined with the first one, would be to launch an automated CH4-H20-O2 factory. The robotic lander would be equiped to cut ice into blocks, and doing a spiral pattern from it's point of landing outward, then back to it's landing point carving 10-20 centimeters layers. Power would be provided by a small nuclear reactor, with capacity to be refuelled (this is important for later steps). The factory would take the dry/wet ice mix, and by warming, would cause the CO2 to sublimate. The water part would be kept liquid, filtered and electrolysed to seperate H2 and O2. A partial load of hydrogen would then be reacted with the C02 and produce CH4. I won't elaborate much more since this is almost word-for-word what I heard about Zubrin's Case for Mars, but anyway, it's always good to restate the facts and objectives. Once the supply production is adequate, but not yet up to desirable levels, we launch the housing. What I have in mind would be an inflatable habitat, which really would be 3 inflatable structures imbricked like Russian dolls. Landing would need to be relatively accurate to within a few hundred meters. This has been accomplished in the past with Surveyor on the moon. A rover would then seek out the Power-Hydrogen-Oxygen-Methane Lander (PHOM). 3 lines would be rolled from the Habitat lander, one for each gaseous products, each The Outer structure would be inflated first by reacting methane and oxygen in a fuel cell, providing power for the instruments, as well as pure water vapor and CO2. A second enveloppe, inside the first one, would then be inflated simultanously with O2. A gap of about 30 centimeters would seperate the two inflated enveloppes. This gap, filled with water vapor, would slowly form an ice shell, like an igloo. Gas would be inserted by the center of the bags, the cold Martian air would cause condensation of the water vapor, which would drip to the external sides by gravity. Pressure would be monitored so that liquid water doesn't accumulate at the base of the dome, and fuel cell use would be adjusted accordingly. A tunnel would be pre-built into the bags for access to the innermost enveloppe from the outside, leaving an opening 2 meters wide on a side of the struture. The third enveloppe would only be used later... Once the habitat would be set up, we would launch Human Payload #1, which would consist of 4 men. No women at this stage. You'll see why later... We'd need people with electrical, mechanical and material expertise, along with with a medical and biology background. No need for "one of each", one expert per field would do at this stage. This launch would also include fish eggs, fertilized or not, and seeds Transfer vehicule would have a sleeping compartmend surrounded by a 30 centimeters wide water enveloppe at launch, and hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells would be used to ramp that up over time over the whole pressurized volume. The fuel cells would be used to supplement solar panels, since on board hydroponics (for CO2 and water recycling as well as -some- food) would require some serious power. I won't speculate on an appropriate solar/fuel cell power output ratio, but failure of one should not mean doom-of-crew. This is precious cargo, and there's no way anyone would sign up for a 2/3 failure ratio toward Mars! So our friends land near the polar complex. First duty, outfitting of the habitat. If, for whatever reasons, the gaseous lines could not be connected to the PHOM facility, human intervention would resolve whatever glitch occured. Remember, we know before heading for Mars that essentials are being stocked so maybe terrain prevented the rover from plugging the hoses on it's own. It would be a minor set back. A power line would be connected from the Habitat to the PHOM facility, enabling the pooling of electrical ressources, and gaseous lines would be plugged between the Habitat and the Transfer Lander as well. Baseline consumption would be supported by the PHOM nuclear reactor, peak loads by the Habitat and Transfer Lander's fuel cells. Depending on whether the solar panels were dumped before entry or folded back, they could either be used as a supplemental power source, or even removed and used to power land vehicules. Refuelling of the Lander's methane-oxygen descent engine would begin, enabling return of the crew if a Bad Thing occured. After pooling of ressources, the Habitat would be outfitted primarly as a biology/medical facility, with half of it's space fitted with sleeping accomodations for up to 8 adults. A common airlock, launched along with the Habitat, would be installed midway between the Lander and the Habitat, with ice-covered pressurized tunnels linking them. The gap between the 2nd and 3rd enveloppe would be filled with polyurethane foam brought for insulation. The emulsifying gas could be compressed CO2. The foam would act as an additionnal layer of protection against the cold and the radiations. A concave cavity would be carved in the immediate area of the complex, to a depth of 4 meters at it's center, and a second Habitat-like enveloppe would be installed at it's center, inflated and ice-shelled. However, instead of oxygen, CO2 and water would be used for the innermost enveloppe, like the outer one. Being insulated by the foam layer, water would rise to the surface level. The resulting bassin would be used as a fish hatchery and hydroponic facility but the pure water would first be seeded with CO2 consumming algae. LEDs emitting light of the appropriate wavelenghts would provide illumination. Radiation dosing would be performed to evaluate the living environnment. Until the environnment is radiation-safe, comparable to flux encountered in high-altitude regions on Earth (about 5 km), non-reproducing teams would rotate every 2 years. Once fish and plant production is up to sustainable levels for 12 adults, Human Heritage Expedition #1 would leave Earth, with 4 women and a very precious cargo of frozen human ovuls and semen, from every race. Each woman would be of a different blood type, and the donor's blood type would also be recorded in the database. The plan is to fertilize in-vitro, and check for DNA damage -before- implanting the embryo. I do not know if this is possible, but maybe cultivating a few stem cells while the embryo is in the first trimester, and then deciding if an interruption could be required. By bringing a diverse gene pool, it would be possible to avoid congeniality issues later, as well as provide additionnal shielding for the precious cargo enroute to Mars. For obvious reasons, it would be preferable if the women crew were biologists, pediatricians, psychologists, or similiar professions. Indeed, due to radiation exposure, it would be best for the pregnant women not to go outside, and access to certain areas could be restricted, depending on radiation measurements (ie. The Transfer Landers). There should be no real timeline for pregnancies. Pionners are going to be so busy, let's not add problems by having a baby boom prematurely (no pun intended). But figuring 4 women having each 3 babies over a period of 6 years, every 2 years, the outpost would reach a population of 8 adults and 12 children by Year 6. On year 5, a third Transfer could be set up, this time bringing other living samples, whatever would be required. For example, the biologists would study ways to use Martian soil to grow plants. Maybe after 5 years of research, they'd request for specific strands of bacteria to tinker with, or algae, moss, whatever. First male crew rotation, exposed to more radiation than the women, would be after 4 years on the surface. Among equipement and supplies needed from Earth, those relating to quality of life would be the most needed. Electronics, Soap, etc. Short term industry for such a colony might be the production of fuel for Earth-Mars-Earth round trips. Since Mars as a lower gravity, would it be cheaper to launch heavy loads of water from Mars toward the Moon, via a complex Earth aerobraking manoeuver to put the cargo in Moon's orbit? This would be quite a feat, yet it's possible! Some rough calculations on my part gives me a total delta-v for a Martian Surface to an Earth fly-by of about 8 km/s. The same amount on Earth gets you up only to LEO. There are lots of advantages, since Martian pressure is so low, you can use vacuum-optimized engines. Imports would be nuclear fuel rods, electronics, and other ressources. Water would be "sold" to the Moon colonies, if they exist. I haven't calculated it yet, but I figure that 10 metric tons of water sent from Mars to a Lunar base could cost half the price of launching it from the Earth. Since the maximum mass for a Mars-bound payload is not that different than for a Lunar-bound one, I think it might be best to go back to the Moon, permanently, with this scheme. This way, if dreams were to be made from the Moon, they would be fueled by Mars. Combining the relative abundance of water on Mars, it's low gravity, with the proximity of the Moon and it's ideal platform for heading out there... So, here's my proposed timeline for Leaving the Cradle: 1) Complete remote-sensing of Mars at high-resolution to determine localisations of water concentrations and other useful ressources; 2) Send an automated Polar Ice to Consumables factory; 3) Establish human presence at the Pole to evaluate the feasability of self-sustainment; 4) Equip the settlement to be self-sustaining for water and food requirements, Provide needed ressources to set up accomodations; 5) Return water to Earth orbit with aerobraking on arrival(might be automated and done at step 2); 6) Use the returned water to help in establishing a human presence on the Moon; 7) Establish a space industry on the Moon, aimed at constructing structures, engines and other metal parts needed to assemble other EMEs (Earth-Mars-Earth) ferries. Such space transports would be modular, with a Habitat module, shielded from radiation by Martian water, a Power module (Solar, Nuclear, powersource-of-the-day), and a Propulsion module, with a design such to accommodate relatively easy upgrades or maintenance. 8) Generate exchanges on the Moon-Earth-Mars triangle, with Earth providing living ressources, human ressources, and high-tech components, Mars fuel, and the Moon as a processing/transformation/assembly industry. Enable both Mars and the Moon to be as self-sufficient as possible in the fields of consummables. The whole plan runs in the dozens-billion range, but at least it has the possibility of -some- Return on Investment, which 500-days to Mars plans and month-long stays on the Moon project lacks by themselves. |
#2
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Mars Colonization
I've snipped the lot as it is quite long and I wont refer to much of it...
however it is a great idea... but I think that it would be more viable to shower the landscape with seeds of different kinds of plants and fungus etc that we have here on Earth... how to do this would be perhaps to send about 100 (or maybe 1000) payloads in the form of pressurised bags that fill up with air or whatever upon decent at lets say, 1km above the surface and explode scattering the seedlings and spores onto the surface and into the atmosphere... Then we send down those polution machines and melt that ice away (assuming there is some allthough no solid evidence has been found to suggest that there is any _large_ amount of water in the form of a 'block of ice' or similar) if anything it would be locked among the dust in minute droplets of ice... but for arguments sake lets say that there is a large volume of water which with global warming caused by the poluting machines, there would be 'weather' with wind and maybe even rain if evaporation and precipitation levels are good enough... the seeds and spores will tell us when the planet is ready for life... but it may be some 100 years until we go there... am I quoting Zubrin? As far as i can see, sending a probe to create a small environment for sustaining human life is not the answer... Biodome failed... simply because it wasn't big enough and well, we're humans so I think its best to get the other life going there first... maybe even thow some fish in the seas and some other animals... a real big noahs ark... either way, we would just ruin it because we as humans are so out of touch with nature... let nature's plants and animals make Mars habitable for us before we go there... let them do the hard work... Cheers Niko Holm |
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Mars Colonization
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#5
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Mars Colonization
One problem with Martian poles is that they're cold. You might be better
off at the equator. Eventually, you'll send a truck to the poles for water, but that is a later stage process. Steps: 1. Land a bunch of machinery including digging equipment. 2. Land 4 astronauts with two inflatable habitats than can house 4 astronauts each (total of 8). Send enough food and water to last 4 years. 3. Bury one to provide radiation shielding. 4. Move into that one. 5. Bury the second one. 6. Begin work on making solar cells. You need electricity to do anything you want to do. 7. Build an additional habitat out of local resources. 8. - Two years later - 8a. Send enough food and water to last 20 years. 8b. Send additional machinery and replacement parts. 8c. Send more astronauts. 8d. Send goats to be used as farm animals and guinea pigs. 9. - Later - 10. Build farms out of local resources. In order to make the farms fully functional, you'll need water from Mars. Prior to this, they could live with water from Earth and recycling. |
#6
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Mars Colonization
Mike Rhino wrote:
One problem with Martian poles is that they're cold. You might be better off at the equator. Eventually, you'll send a truck to the poles for water, but that is a later stage process. Steps: 1. Land a bunch of machinery including digging equipment. 2. Land 4 astronauts with two inflatable habitats than can house 4 astronauts each (total of 8). Send enough food and water to last 4 years. 3. Bury one to provide radiation shielding. One of the astronauts??? 8^O -- Scott Lowther, Engineer Remove the obvious (capitalized) anti-spam gibberish from the reply-to e-mail address |
#7
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Mars Colonization
Alex Terrell wrote: 5. Using the Torus colonies as a base, start building Bernel Sphere colonies Why Bernal spheres? How do you illuminate the crop lands on the interior? As you go to higher latitudes on the sphere, "gravity" decreases. The poles have no centrifugal force. It seems to me cylindrical habitats are better. -- Hop David http://clowder.net/hop/index.html |
#8
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Mars Colonization
"Remy Villeneuve" wrote in message om... A second enveloppe, inside the first one, would then be inflated simultanously with O2. A gap of about 30 centimeters would seperate the two inflated enveloppes. This gap, filled with water vapor, would slowly form an ice shell, like an igloo. For me, this was the New Idea - I hadn't seen it before. It sounds very elegant, obvious-in-retrospect - very nice. --- Dave Boll http://www.daveboll.com/ |
#9
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Mars Colonization
Remy Villeneuve wrote: - absence or quasi-absence of water on the Moon, Alex had also mentioned NEOs. Some NEOs are thought to be former main belt asteroids that have been thrown out by Jupiter. Others are thought to be ex-Kuiper Belt Objects tossed out by Neptune. Most are thought to be recent arrivals since they soon become craters on Mars, Luna, Earth, Venus or Mercury. If the NEOs are recent arrivals from colder places, they may still have volatiles within. NEOs don't have the steep gravity wells that make arriving or departing from moons and planets so difficult. Some have earth-like orbits and you can reach them with very little delta vee. I have some comic book pages illustrating my opinions (pages 8 to 11) http://www.clowder.net/hop/railroad/page8.html -- Hop David http://clowder.net/hop/index.html |
#10
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Mars Colonization
Niko Holm wrote:
I've snipped the lot as it is quite long and I wont refer to much of it... however it is a great idea... but I think that it would be more viable to shower the landscape with seeds of different kinds of plants and fungus etc that we have here on Earth... how to do this would be perhaps to send about 100 (or maybe 1000) payloads in the form of pressurised bags that fill up with air or whatever upon decent at lets say, 1km above the surface and explode scattering the seedlings and spores onto the surface and into the atmosphere... all of the seeds would die very fast due to UV and surace chemistry. Then we send down those polution machines and melt that ice away (assuming there is some allthough no solid evidence has been found to suggest that What pollution machines do you have in mind? Cheers Niko Holm -- Sander +++ Out of cheese error +++ |
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