Your thoughts on Red Planet aka Mars ~

[Desinishon]

This thread is all about "what do you think about red planet?" Do you think that journey to mars will be possible?

What will be the problems that we have to overcome to make journey to mars possible?

Will we ever colonize on mars?
So state your thoughts....c:

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

I am all against the colonization of Mars due to how that'll make us an invasive species, and we would just destroy the current Mars environment that its micro-organisms have solely adapted for. So because of this, contrary to popular belief, there is life on Mars in the form of bacteria.

 

[Esper]

Mars is a nifty planet and we'll probably at least send humans in orbit of it. Whether we continue to fund space travel in the future is something I'm not sure about, but if we do we'll probably put people on the planet itself, though it'll probably mean living there permanently since getting back up into space, even with Mar's lower gravity, will probably not be possible initially. Probably. I imagine we'd be living underground for some time there because that will help shield against the sun since Mars doesn't have a nice magnetic field like Earth.

I think all of this could be done in under 20 years (maybe sooner) if there is a strong enough desire for it. I just don't think people consider it a priority.

So because of this, contrary to popular belief, there is life on Mars in the form of bacteria.

Do you have some source for this because I haven't heard definitively that there is anything alive there except maybe stuff that hitched a ride on our probes. But if that's the only life we're talking about it's not as if it's native and/or had a chance to establish itself in any meaningful way.

 

[Tsutarja]

Mars is an amazing planet, and I definitely believe it has potential for colonization for sure, especially since there has been recent discovery of water existing on the planet.

One thing I really hope for is that other resources like food can be discovered as well, or at least be able to survive if grown; nutrients are the other necessity to survival and not just water, after all.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

Do you have some source for this because I haven't heard definitively that there is anything alive there except maybe stuff that hitched a ride on our probes. But if that's the only life we're talking about it's not as if it's native and/or had a chance to establish itself in any meaningful way.

Give it a few million years before those stuff will evolve into microbe organisms.

Mars is an amazing planet, and I definitely believe it has potential for colonization for sure, especially since there has been recent discovery of water existing on the planet.

One thing I really hope for is that other resources like food can be discovered as well, or at least be able to survive if grown; nutrients are the other necessity to survival and not just water, after all.

I think it's best to just leave the planet's water system alone because it became a dead planet naturally, so changing it by bringing back the water would considered as artificial selection, which is shunned by environmentalists.

 

[Esper]

I think it's best to just leave the planet's water system alone because it became a dead planet naturally, so changing it by bringing back the water would considered as artificial selection, which is shunned by environmentalists.

I'm pretty sure that environmentalists aren't against the idea of artificial selection in any and every circumstance, but in the way that artificial (human) activity is killing species off that would otherwise not verge on or become extinct. Mars, already a dead planet, is so significantly different a situation that I think it's entirely fair to consider different approaches and attitudes toward it.

 

[gehringgame]

This thread is all about "what do you think about red planet?" Do you think that journey to mars will be possible?

What will be the problems that we have to overcome to make journey to mars possible?

Will we ever colonize on mars?
So state your thoughts....c:

To give my answers to these questions:

1) The journey to Mars absolutely was, is, and will be possible given the right amount of effort. Proposed variants of the Saturn V would have had enough delta-v for a manned Mars journey, and those were being developed back in the 1960s. We have the technology, what we lack is the commitment. If we really wanted to, we could finish NASA's new SLS rocket, and with help from the private sector like United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, we could be on our way to Mars within the decade.

2) The biggest problem in the way of Mars is one of public and political commitment. If people, companies, and nations are not committed to going to Mars then the funding just isn't going to be there.

Most of the problems we'll face during the journey will be related to how the human body deals with long duration space flights. NASA and other space agencies have been doing great work aboard the ISS to learn about this. There's still a lot to learn, but we know enough that the flight would be possible now.

3) Mars is a good target for colonization within our solar system, but I don't see this happening for a very long time. By then, who knows, we might have other ideas.

I am all against the colonization of Mars due to how that'll make us an invasive species, and we would just destroy the current Mars environment that its micro-organisms have solely adapted for. So because of this, contrary to popular belief, there is life on Mars in the form of bacteria.

At the moment we have no evidence to verify the existence of microbial life on Mars. That's not to say it doesn't exist though. Either way, I trust that any human habitation of Mars will be done cautiously, with the goal of thoroughly cataloging and preserving any potential life that is discovered.

I think all of this could be done in under 20 years (maybe sooner) if there is a strong enough desire for it. I just don't think people consider it a priority.

I agree. This is precisely the reason why we aren't flying to Mars today.

One thing I really hope for is that other resources like food can be discovered as well, or at least be able to survive if grown; nutrients are the other necessity to survival and not just water, after all.

In principle, food can be grown in Martian soil, though with difficulty. We might find it necessary to introduce some sort of additive to the soil at first until sustainable growth can be achieved.

 

[Sektor]

I think that colonization, as it's proposed now, will not be viable. Mars is a harsh environment, a massive desert wracked by extremely violent storms and massive heat waves that Earth hasn't seen since Primordial days. It's a nice thought, but I think we'll all die off before this plan every comes to fruition. Through wars and famine, I'm sure it's only a matter of time. It'll take a lot more effort and cooperation on humanity's part to make it even remotely possible and that doesn't include the harrowing journey there.

 

[gehringgame]

Mars is a harsh environment, a massive desert wracked by extremely violent storms and massive heat waves that Earth hasn't seen since Primordial days.

These are actually common misconceptions about Mars.

Mar's dust storms do pose a problem for potential colonists, but not because they are violent like the storms here on earth. Winds in Martian dust storms only blow about half as fast as hurricane force winds on Earth, and since the atmosphere is far thinner you would barely feel the wind against you. The biggest problem with storms is the dust, which is very fine and slightly electrostatic. It will stick to everything, foul up machinery, and reduce the amount of light reaching solar panels.

Many people assume Mars is hot because it's a desert planet. Mars is actually quite cold. The maximum temperature on the surface is about 95 degrees Fahrenheit, no hotter than a summer day on Earth. However, the average temperature is -85 degrees, and the lows can dip to below -200 degrees.

The biggest challenges for the first colonists on Mars will be the cold, the radiation, the lack of atmospheric pressure, and the dust. Oh, and of course those pesky ray-gun wielding Martians ;)

 

[Sektor]

Ohohoho! I stand corrected on the heat aspect! I l always get the planets mixed when it comes to that sort of thing, so I'm lucky I can name all nine of them... wait...

 

[gehringgame]

Ohohoho! I stand corrected on the heat aspect! I l always get the planets mixed when it comes to that sort of thing, so I'm lucky I can name all nine of them... wait...

Oh poor Pluto -_-... but it's possible we'll be back up to 9 planets again soon if Planet 9 turns out to be a thing.

 

[Banz]

From the perspective of someone who just looks at the sky, Mars is just plain and boring. What's interesting is Venus, the brightest "star" you can see in the evening sky.