Visiting/Colonizing Mars

POSTED BY: KrelleK
UPDATED: Tuesday, November 9, 2010 04:21
VIEWED: 6873
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KRELLEK

Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:24 PM

has anyone, heard or have there own thoughts and/or ideas regarding this subject?:-)

like how to Terraform it.

and a somewhat important question i think, that i know is somewhat farther out in the future, how do earth and mars avoid a possible reenactment of the colonial war that england and its colonies in the land areas that was to become USA ended up fighting against each other

CYBERSNARK

Sunday, August 29, 2010 9:17 PM

Wikipedia comes through again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars

It generally would need added water (not a problem), a thicker atmosphere (difficult, but doable), raising the temperature (again, difficult, but not impossible), and increasing the planet's magnetic field (that's the tough part).

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

KIRKULES

Sunday, August 29, 2010 9:45 PM

I think we have the technology to terraform Mars, the problem is that even using artificial means it will take hundreds of years. If we use a natural approach using bacteria and plant life from earth it will take thousands of years. The first step is to find out if any life already exists on Mars and preserve it for future generations. If there is no native life we could begin by introducing plant life that would grow on the polar ice and absorb sunlight to produce liquid water. If we can't find a Earth organism that will grow on the ice cap, some have suggested covering them with a black dust of some type. Liquid water and water vapor are the first things necessary for the introduction of more advanced life forms. Any way you look at it the first human inhabitants of Mars will need to live underground for protection from harmful radiation from the Sun until a dense atmosphere can be engineered.

ETA: Even with a dense atmosphere the lack of a strong magnetic field on Mars will make dealing with cosmic rays a big problem to overcome.

ALPS2007

Sunday, August 29, 2010 10:55 PM

Have any of you ever played the greatest game ever.....Mass Effect. This is there explanation of Mars.

"Once considered a prospect for terraforming and colonization, the discovery of faster than light travel turned Mars into a quiet backwater. Its southern pole is a historical preserve centered on the Prothean ruins found there. Immigration and development are restricted as the search for Prothean artifacts continues."
http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Mars

Im kind of going with that i hope we find the technology just to even travel at the speed of light to avoid wasting time on mars. The universe never ends so im thinking there should be planets out there that we might be able just to live on. According to me there just has to be different life forms as well.

KRELLEK

Monday, August 30, 2010 4:49 PM

Very nice indeed :-) thanks :-)

ZZETTA13

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 12:57 AM

Well…….since you’re askin, I do have some thoughts on this subject.

First, I don’t think we’ll see visitation or colonization of the Red Planet in our lifetime. Why? Because humankind has become too cautions. Not to say that, that is a bad thing, it’s just to say that the inhabitants of earth have place the bar of not losing a human life out in the blackness of space down to 0 (zero). Which as we all know is impossible!

The old seafarers of yesteryear knew there was always a chance their bodies would never be recovered had they become lost in the vastness of the earth‘s oceans, yet their essence would remain a part of this world. Not so with a victim of space travel. If you’re lost in the void you’re just out there in the nothingness. Sorry about being so morbid but it’s just how I see it and it’s a primal fear that resides in everyone’s soul. Theory of Relativity, you are born of the earth- you are a living soul of the earth- and when you die you will become a part of the earth……unless you exhaust out in the blankness of the universe, where does you essence end up then?

Now, a good way to visit and explore the Red Planet is by robot, and I DO mean Terminator style machines. This is the way I see us exploring the landscape of Mars in the near future, by robot. Robots will become the true Martians until that time when the first human baby is born on that world.

I do think it will happen, but it is a hell of a long way off.

Z

KRELLEK

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 12:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by zzetta13:
Well…….since you’re askin, I do have some thoughts on this subject.

First, I don’t think we’ll see visitation or colonization of the Red Planet in our lifetime. Why? Because humankind has become too cautions. Not to say that, that is a bad thing, it’s just to say that the inhabitants of earth have place the bar of not losing a human life out in the blackness of space down to 0 (zero). Which as we all know is impossible!

The old seafarers of yesteryear knew there was always a chance their bodies would never be recovered had they become lost in the vastness of the earth‘s oceans, yet their essence would remain a part of this world. Not so with a victim of space travel. If you’re lost in the void you’re just out there in the nothingness. Sorry about being so morbid but it’s just how I see it and it’s a primal fear that resides in everyone’s soul. Theory of Relativity, you are born of the earth- you are a living soul of the earth- and when you die you will become a part of the earth……unless you exhaust out in the blankness of the universe, where does you essence end up then?

Now, a good way to visit and explore the Red Planet is by robot, and I DO mean Terminator style machines. This is the way I see us exploring the landscape of Mars in the near future, by robot. Robots will become the true Martians until that time when the first human baby is born on that world.

I do think it will happen, but it is a hell of a long way off.

Z

I see your point, and well not that i am not that spiritual a person, but if there is such a thing as a spirit or soul, I would believe it could find it´s way back to earth, or where it might want to go.
budhism might see in another way. but i am not sure.

AURAPTOR

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 12:31 PM

Since the mood by our politicians is to placate the masses and eschew from endeavors which may ultimately help humanity, governments probably won't be doing much to get this done.

It's going to take a Richard Branson, Bill Gates sort of individual, one who has achieved on so many levels, that they are now driven into other areas, to that ultimate undiscovered country, simply because others say it can't be done.

We've wasted far too long on this rock. I believe we've stumbled and set ourselves back, technologically, for too long. Humanity could have made this step centuries ago, imo, were it not for petty infighting and backwards thinking.

Those sad qualities won't be going away. We're at the point now, technologically speaking, where it's with in our grasp. I say we jump...and make that bold move. If we fritter around for too long, humanity will slide back , and it may very be another 1000 years before we come around and wake up.

ZZETTA13

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 4:06 PM

Krellek, AURaptor

I would really enjoy spending a week or two vacation on Mars. Just think, stepping out on the terrace of the “Giant Face of Mars” hotel, and seeing the wonders of the great canals and Mars pyramids. Totally awesome!!

Anyway, like I said, vacation only. After a couple weeks I’d want to go to the Martian space port so that I could come back to earth. Which ain’t gonna happen in my lifetime.

Still, I think robots are the way to go. They could be constructed to do almost everything, from building a livable human shelter above ground, to digging underground quarters for humans to get away from those harsh Mars wind storms. Even this( robots) seems like a long time from happening.

I agree, it will take the right group on people, with the right attitude and determination to get it done. The private sector will be the ones who succeed in doing this I feel.

Just some thoughts, Z

CYBERSNARK

Friday, September 3, 2010 3:06 PM

Just came across this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11137903

Quote:
A lonely island in the middle of the South Atlantic conceals Charles Darwin's best-kept secret.

Two hundred years ago, Ascension Island was a barren volcanic edifice.

Today, its peaks are covered by lush tropical "cloud forest".

What happened in the interim is the amazing story of how the architect of evolution, Kew Gardens and the Royal Navy conspired to build a fully functioning, but totally artificial ecosystem.

By a bizarre twist, this great imperial experiment may hold the key to the future colonisation of Mars.

[. . .]

"What it tells us is that we can build a fully functioning ecosystem through a series of chance accidents or trial and error."

In effect, what Darwin, Hooker and the Royal Navy achieved was the world's first experiment in "terra-forming". They created a self-sustaining and self-reproducing ecosystem in order to make Ascension Island more habitable.

Wilkinson thinks that the principles that emerge from that experiment could be used to transform future colonies on Mars. In other words, rather than trying to improve an environment by force, the best approach might be to work with life to help it "find its own way".

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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