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Mars atmosphere



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 14th 10, 05:21 AM posted to sci.space.history
[email protected]
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Posts: 82
Default Mars atmosphere

Please forgive a stupid question, but my curiosity got the better ofme. I was
reading that duing a Mars summer, the temperature hits around 70 degrees. Would
it theoretically be possible for a human to venture onto the Mars surface in
these temperatures, in more or less shirtsleeves, using only an oxygen mask?
Just for a short term, or maybe not. Like I said, a stupid question, but given
the Earthlike temperature, it got me wondering. Thanks.
  #2  
Old February 14th 10, 12:04 PM posted to sci.space.history
Val Kraut
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Posts: 329
Default Mars atmosphere

It's not just temperature - it's also atmospheric pressure that requires a
suit


wrote in message
...
Please forgive a stupid question, but my curiosity got the better ofme. I
was
reading that duing a Mars summer, the temperature hits around 70 degrees.
Would
it theoretically be possible for a human to venture onto the Mars surface
in
these temperatures, in more or less shirtsleeves, using only an oxygen
mask?
Just for a short term, or maybe not. Like I said, a stupid question, but
given
the Earthlike temperature, it got me wondering. Thanks.



  #3  
Old February 14th 10, 10:31 PM posted to sci.space.history
Damien Valentine
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Posts: 273
Default Mars atmosphere

I think you also have to consider where you are. It wouldn't get that
hot unless you were in the Martian tropics on the hottest day of the
year.
  #4  
Old February 14th 10, 11:54 PM posted to sci.space.history
BradGuth
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Posts: 21,544
Default Mars atmosphere

On Feb 13, 8:21*pm, wrote:
Please forgive a stupid question, but my curiosity got the better ofme. I was
reading that duing a Mars summer, the temperature hits around 70 degrees. Would
it theoretically be possible for a human to venture onto the Mars surface in
these temperatures, in more or less shirtsleeves, using only an oxygen mask?
Just for a short term, or maybe not. Like I said, a stupid question, but given
the Earthlike temperature, it got me wondering. Thanks.


At best it's nearly a vacuum out there on Mars, so no matter what the
temperature your hot human blood would likely start to boil within
seconds.

Now if the human species could only become cold blooded, you might
stand a chance with that O2 mask. However, lots of pressure is not a
human physiology adaptation problem for surviving on Venus.

~ BG
  #6  
Old February 15th 10, 11:35 PM posted to sci.space.history
[email protected]
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Posts: 209
Default Mars atmosphere

If I recall correctly, the average pressure (0.01 bar= 1/100th of
Earth's average at sea level) on the surface of Mars is equivelent to
about 20 miles above sea level in Earth's atmosphere. Realize that the
pressure is so low that liquid water does not exist at the surface- it
sublimes directly from ice to steam. Only in the Hellas basin (maybe
also some of the deeper craters?) is the pressure high enough for
liquid water to remain.
  #7  
Old February 17th 10, 06:09 PM posted to sci.space.history
John[_3_]
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Posts: 373
Default Mars atmosphere

On Feb 15, 12:45*pm, wrote:
On Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:21:58 -0500, wrote:
Please forgive a stupid question, but my curiosity got the better ofme. I was
reading that duing a Mars summer, the temperature hits around 70 degrees.. Would
it theoretically be possible for a human to venture onto the Mars surface in
these temperatures, in more or less shirtsleeves, using only an oxygen mask?
Just for a short term, or maybe not. Like I said, a stupid question, but given
the Earthlike temperature, it got me wondering. Thanks.


Thanks for the replies. I knew ut was a stupid question. I didn't consider the
air pressure problem. Guess that's why I'm not a rocket scientist.Thanks again.


So long as it is honest, there is no such thing as a stupid question.
Stupidity only enters the fray when someone refuses to accept
reasonable answers.

Take care all . . .

John
  #9  
Old April 11th 10, 11:59 AM posted to sci.space.history
Pat Flannery
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Posts: 18,465
Default Mars atmosphere

On 4/10/2010 4:59 PM, Greg D. Moore (Strider) wrote:

Been meaning to reply. Google research on skinsuits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_activity_suit


The problem I can see with that concept is keeping the temperature right.
Whereas keeping the pressure right inside the suit would be pretty easy,
making something that thin that wouldn't conduct the heat or cold of the
exterior environment to the person wearing it wouldn't be easy at all.
In the Apollo suits not only did you have the problem of getting rid of
the body heat of the astronauts into a vacuum, like a thermos bottle's
ability to hold in heat, but the solar irradiation meant that the
exterior of the suit was over the boiling temperature of water.
Mars would be better in this regard, but unless you were in the depths
of the Hellas Basin at noon in summer it would be difficult to keep the
whole body at the same temperature without some means of circulating
body heat throughout the whole suit.
God help you if you went out in the Martian night wearing something like
that with no temperature-balancing ability throughout the whole suit, as
although the total amount of calories generated by body heat could be
easily enough to keep one warm - with proper insulation in the near
vacuum of the Martian atmosphere - getting it to your arms and legs
without some form of heat transfer throughout the whole skin-tight suit
other than blood circulation would leave your extremities frostbitten in
a matter of a few minutes.

Pat
  #10  
Old April 12th 10, 12:36 AM posted to sci.space.history
Brad Guth[_3_]
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Posts: 15,175
Default Mars atmosphere

On Feb 13, 9:21*pm, wrote:
Please forgive a stupid question, but my curiosity got the better ofme. I was
reading that duing a Mars summer, the temperature hits around 70 degrees. Would
it theoretically be possible for a human to venture onto the Mars surface in
these temperatures, in more or less shirtsleeves, using only an oxygen mask?
Just for a short term, or maybe not. Like I said, a stupid question, but given
the Earthlike temperature, it got me wondering. Thanks.


Humans as well as most biodiversity can more quickly adjust to
pressure better than vacuum. However, with extended conditioning and
getting used to breathing nearly pure O2 (as well as rebreathing
O2+CO2), whereas perhaps Mars is technically doable without a pressure
suit. This gradual environment conditioning might take some time,
such as a few weeks at most in order to eventually get all the human
cells pressure equalized at 8 mb.

The next most certainly lethal potential problem is how the solar and
cosmic radiation is mutating and/or killing off your vital DNA, as
fast or faster than cells that contain your frail DNA can be
replaced. This one could prove insurmountable, with or w/o a pressure
suit. The last form of excruciating trauma you want to die from is
radiation, because it’s your own body rejecting itself, and there’s
never a good outcome unless you’re packing enough protected bone
marrow and/or stem cells to feed an army.

What these Usenet/newsgroup jokers are not saying about extensive
public funded biodiversity testing (local as well as mostly foreign)
and of their favorable results, is what I call obfuscating or
excluding vital public funded science information, and otherwise you
might call this lying their socks off through their public funded
keyboards.

Obviously it’s going to take considerable time just for getting your
death defying butt to Mars, not to mention the trillion in hard earned
loot if it’s a round-trip ticket (or a hundred billion one-way),
whereas along that trek of getting yourself there is where these
minimal pressure conditions can be gradually phased in. This is not
saying there will be no long-term consequences or undesirable
surprises. At least for the moment I can’t think of any desirable
surprises outside of the reduced gravity that should prove rather
nifty.

~ BG
 




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