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Query about Mars
I was musing about the following situation, maybe someone can offer
some thoughts? WRT to Mars my current understanding is that the climate is harshly carbon dioxide (is it?). If it is then we know that trees and plants can change carbon dioxide into more friendly climatic gasses for human habitation. So if there were water deposits found on Mars, how viable would it be to engineer some serious vegetation on the planet so that the atmosphere starts to develop more human friendliness? Obviously the vegetation would also need its own life support systems such as insects and so on, so it would generally take rather more than a packet of seeds from the garden centre. I appreciate it's not an overnight change, and it could in fact be hundreds of years (or longer) before the climate was friendly enough to support human life. The question is purely rhetorical as I'm interested to know if this would be a feasible option. Andrew Problems scheduling resources? Check out KazPlan Enterprise and Personal Editions! at http://www.kazmax.co.uk/OurSoftware.asp |
#2
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Query about Mars
The CO2 atmosphere at the surface of Mars has a pressure of around one
hundredth of sea level pressure here on earth. Actually, the CO2 partial pressure on Mars might be similar to that on earth, but the big problem is that liquid water will not hang around for long at this atmospheric pressure, it will be either solid or gaseous depending on temperature. The water in any (earth like) higher plant cell on Mars will either freeze and disrupt the cell contents or it will boil and burst the cell walls. Maybe at some depth below the surface things might be more conducive to plant growth if an alternative to solar input could be found for an energy source. Or maybe plants could one day be grown under pressurised domes. However, my scepticism to most Terraforming ideas arises from the fact that we have a perfectly good Earthlike ecosystem here on Earth, and we can't even maintain that. So what chance do we have of constructing one from nothing? Sally "Andrew McKay" wrote in message ... I was musing about the following situation, maybe someone can offer some thoughts? WRT to Mars my current understanding is that the climate is harshly carbon dioxide (is it?). If it is then we know that trees and plants can change carbon dioxide into more friendly climatic gasses for human habitation. So if there were water deposits found on Mars, how viable would it be to engineer some serious vegetation on the planet so that the atmosphere starts to develop more human friendliness? Obviously the vegetation would also need its own life support systems such as insects and so on, so it would generally take rather more than a packet of seeds from the garden centre. I appreciate it's not an overnight change, and it could in fact be hundreds of years (or longer) before the climate was friendly enough to support human life. The question is purely rhetorical as I'm interested to know if this would be a feasible option. Andrew Problems scheduling resources? Check out KazPlan Enterprise and Personal Editions! at http://www.kazmax.co.uk/OurSoftware.asp |
#3
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Query about Mars
On Sun, 22 Jun 2003 22:09:13 +0100, "Sally"
wrote: However, my scepticism to most Terraforming ideas arises from the fact that we have a perfectly good Earthlike ecosystem here on Earth, and we can't even maintain that. So what chance do we have of constructing one from nothing? With that I have to agree. Thanks for your comments. WRT to the air pressure situation, I understand. Presumably it would be feasible to build some sort of environment which could support life though? Andrew Problems scheduling resources? Check out KazPlan Enterprise and Personal Editions! at http://www.kazmax.co.uk/OurSoftware.asp |
#4
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Query about Mars
Yes, given sufficient willpower and resources I believe that it would be
possible. There are several projects underway around the world attempting to maintain isolated mini-ecosystems. The Eden project was (I think) one of the first. It even had a small crew of people in the dome. Some valuable lessons were learned before things started to go wrong. I think that it had to be abandoned due to excessive CO2 buildup. The crew were also struggling to produce enough food from the system and lost a lot of weight. Sally "Andrew McKay" wrote in message ... Thanks for your comments. WRT to the air pressure situation, I understand. Presumably it would be feasible to build some sort of environment which could support life though? |
#5
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Query about Mars
Hi Sally that is the reason why they have to dig down for those red
Martian clams. Sponges,and clams were the first major structures in the early days of life,They strain bacteria out of water(no teeth) Moby told me this,and added that like man came from the ape octopus came from the clam. Bert |
#6
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Query about Mars
Clams are molluscs, I think. Same group as Moby and garden slugs and snails.
Last octopus I saw was in the wild, peeping at me from under a rock on the sea bed. I wonder about the chances of some local area on Mars having enough pressure/temperature/energy input to support some sort of life? I'm thinking of some sub surface location where a mini-ecosystem could survive, like the communities around black smokers here on earth. I believe that specialised clams have been found around those black smokers. Did you know that octopus eyes are similar to ours? Except their retina is the other way around with the optic nerves at the back. This means they don't have a built-in blind spot like us poor vertebrates. Sally "G=EMC^2 Glazier" wrote in message ... Hi Sally that is the reason why they have to dig down for those red Martian clams. Sponges,and clams were the first major structures in the early days of life,They strain bacteria out of water(no teeth) Moby told me this,and added that like man came from the ape octopus came from the clam. Bert |
#7
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Query about Mars
"Andrew McKay" wrote in message ...
I was musing about the following situation, maybe someone can offer some thoughts? WRT to Mars my current understanding is that the climate is harshly carbon dioxide (is it?). If it is then we know that trees and plants can change carbon dioxide into more friendly climatic gasses for human habitation. So if there were water deposits found on Mars, how viable would it be to engineer some serious vegetation on the planet so that the atmosphere starts to develop more human friendliness? . . . Let's say... some forms of life, we'll call them "luman beings," are searching this section of the galaxy for a new place to live. The lumans come across our Sun and find that the third planet from the star has the best overall rating to support their species. But they just have to make a few... uhm... adjustments to make the planet perfectly suitable for lumans. It's unfortunate that these "adjustments" will eradicate all forms of life presently residing there. But who cares? The lumans are only interested in making a place for themselves. Other life forms are insignificant and can be anhilated. For lumans, it's okay to develop other planets toward more "luman friendliness." Are we human? or luman? Andrew Problems scheduling resources? Check out KazPlan Enterprise and Personal Editions! at http://www.kazmax.co.uk/OurSoftware.asp happy days and... starry starry nights! -- Stardust in the solar wind... all that is or ever been. all we see and all we sin... stardust in the solar wind. Paine Ellsworth |
#8
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Query about Mars
David I'm watching what I say. Let me ask you this does Mars atmosphere
have an ozone layer? A very well received theory put together in 1996 by a German biochemist has the precursors of life may have first formed around volcanic cracks in the ocean floor. His reasoning the earth's atmosphere 3.5 billion years ago had no ozone layer. Without a ozone layer there is no protection against ultraviolet radiation. Not until 3 billion years ago did the earth create an ozone layer and then life took off. I think there has to be oxygen in the atmosphere to create ozone. Has the Martian atmosphere some oxygen? I posted not to long ago that a planet two times bigger than the earth,and lots of surface water heated by the planet's internal heat could be more beneficial to life than a planet near a sun,and no way to block out harmful radiation. Harmful radiation from our sun kills a half million people a year Still I like our sun,but I'm smart enough to stay in the shade. Bert . |
#9
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Query about Mars
Bert posted:
Let me ask you this does Mars atmosphere have an ozone layer? Not like the Earth's. There is a small amount of Ozone in the atmosphere of Mars (about 0.03 ppm at the surface), but its shielding effects are fairly small. Without a ozone layer there is no protection against ultraviolet radiation. Life originating in seas and oceans might also have some protection by being under water. Has the Martian atmosphere some oxygen? Yes, it does, although again, the amount is fairly small (Martian Atmospheric composition at the surface: 95.32% Carbon Dioxide, 2.7% Nitrogen, 1.6% Argon, 0.13% Oxygen (diatomic), 0.03% Water Vapor, ect.). -- David W. Knisely Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/ ********************************************** * Attend the 10th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY * * July 27-Aug. 1st, 2003, Merritt Reservoir * * http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org * ********************************************** |
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