Is it actually possible to colonize Mars??
Elon Musk seems to think so and many people are trying to volunteer to be the first ones
on the red planet!!
On the other hand, here are 5 reasons why it is so hard to colonize Mars!
5.
It's Far Pop Quiz.
How far is it from the Earth to the Moon?
The answer is 238,900 miles.
Now, how far is it from the Earth to Mars?
The answer is 33.9 million miles.
That's over 138 times the distance from the Earth to the moon.
Now, as space programs like NASA have noted, it's possible to launch something into space
and send it to Mars.
Numerous rovers, probes, satellites and more have done it over the years of the space program.
The catch though, is that this has never happened with humans outside of movies, TV shows, cartoons,
you get the idea...
There's lot of work that goes into making a launch, and for a trip to Mars, it's not
just about having the right kind of equipment, it's also about timing it so that the astronauts
make the shortest trip possible.
The Earth and Mars rotate around the Sun at different rates.
Mars goes around the sun almost twice as fast as the Earth does, so despite being "next
to each other" in terms of the order of planets, they don't line up very well for a perfect
launch as much as you might think it would.
In fact, it takes around two years for the smallest distance for Earth and Mars to occur,
and that's very likely the point in which NASA, or Elon Musk, or some other program,
would want to launch the colonization craft.
And that's still not talking about one of the biggest problems.
At best, a craft containing a crew and equipment for colonization on Mars would have to be
on that craft for 150 days, if not more, depending on how much fuel they decide to use as well
as when they launch as previously noted.
So it could actually be a trip of 300 days or more, nearly a year in space just to reach
Mars.
The time itself isn't the problem, but that's 150-300 days to prepare for one craft.
They'll have to live there, eat there, sleep there, get exercise, and more.
Unless everyone is in a forced sleep state like in the movie Passengers!!
A typical space shuttle craft wouldn't work for a mission like this.
If you've ever seen the film, The Martian, you'll remember that the ship they used to
go to Mars twice was massive, had kitchens, workout areas, and more.
If we're truly to colonize Mars, that's about what we'll need, because whoever is going
there might need to live on the ship for a while even after they arrive!
We're nowhere near that yet.
NASA and other programs still have issues sending a small group of people to the moon,
let alone across the stars to the next planet.
Testing for this kind of craft would take years, and possibly big jumps in technology
to make it work.
It's not impossible, but as of right now, it's very problematic.
And now for number 4, but first, what do you think about colonizing Mars??
Would you want to be on the team of people sent there?
Let me know in the comments!!
And if you are new here, be sure to subscribe and click the bell to join the notification
squad!!
4.
Adjusting To Mars For argument's sake, let's say that NASA gets
a ship with an ability to travel to Mars with a group of around 30 people, and they make
it to the planet.
The question now becomes, what's next?
Well, that would be living on Mars, and that delivers a whole new set of issues that we
may not be prepared for.
First and foremost, the gravity on Mars is around 60% less than Earth.
So, if you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, and then you go to Mars, you actually weigh about
40 pounds.
Nice!!
To be fair, the gravity on the moon is even less than that, and we've sent people to moon.
But, we've never sent them to live there.
And if you talk to any of the astronauts who have been on the moon, you'll find out that
it's actually extremely hard to move around and perform tasks there, as your body is used
to a different form of gravity.
Why does this matter?
Because it means that if we're going to try and live there, we'll need a way to help make
gravity more like on Earth.
We will need spacesuits and living areas with their own regulated gravity.
Impossible?
No.
Hard?
Yes.
While it's true that it isn't a requirement, you want whoever is living on the planet to
be comfortable, and it could take a long while to get used to the gravity of Mars if there's
no way of adjusting it.
Just as problematic, is that Mars has a serious problem with its atmosphere.
Well, it is what it is, but WE have a problem with its atmosphere!!
It has one, but, it's lost its magnetic field.
On Earth, the magnetic field not only helps lock in the various gases we use to breathe
(more on that in a sec), but it makes sure that harmful radiation doesn't bombard our
planet.
Mars lost its magnetic field, so it's possible that radiation could come down and attack
the planet like it did before.
So any and all spacesuits for the colonists, as well as living quarters, would need to
be tested against all kinds of radiation to assure them that living there doesn't kill
them simply by being there.
Not to mention, that because of the loss of the magnetic field, Mars has no breathable
air, so anytime a person goes out into the expanse, they have to wear a suit, and every
time they go into a potential habitat zone, it needs to be pressurized so that they can
take off their helmet.
That's a lot of moving parts.
Then of course, you’ll need to eat and grow things!
3.
What Does It Take To Colonize A Planet?
Colonization has a lot of different meanings, from "dominating" the local area, to simply
inhabiting it.
But one of the more pure definitions is to actually grow something in an area that did
not grow things before.
There is dirt on Mars, and potentially, stuff could be grown there, but not without great
struggle.
Going back to The Martian film, Matt Damon's character had to figure out how to grow plants
on a world without water!
As he showed, it is possible.
You need dirt with minerals, which Mars technically has.
You need a fertilizer, which as Damon showed, can be as simple as using your own dung.
You need oxygen, which a bio-dome area could have.
Finally, you need water, which any colony area would have in spades.
The trick here is that while all the materials would be theoretically present, to truly colonize
Mars, and make it a place that people can thrive in, you need to make a lot of food,
and have a lot of variety.
While there's no doubt that NASA or another program would outfit the place with all kinds
of seeds of various plants, it's going to take time to grow, and just as importantly,
they'll need to make sure there are backup stores of food in case plants die or something
happens to the biodome you’re growing things in.
Impossible?
No.
Hard?
Yes.
Whoever is a part of that Mars colonization mission (not me!) is going to have a hard
time making things work.
Even if you had botanists there, there's going to be a lot of issues and unforeseen problems
that all the tests and simulations on Earth won't account for, or help with.
In short, it's easy to make a colony, but it's hard to make that colony last.
2.
Life on Mars One of the biggest questions in the history
of Earth is, "Are there other lifeforms out there?"
And in our quest to colonize Mars, we've studied the planet endlessly to see if there is life
on the planet.
But, despite what movies and TV shows would have people believe, there isn't...we think.
This conclusion was based on numerous probes and studies, but a recent discovery found
what is believed to be a salt water lake about 20 kilometers beneath Mars’ southern polar
ice cap.
Water on Mars has long been a dream of scientists, and because of that, they done numerous studies
to find this water.
For if a sustainable source of water could be found, it could lead to colonization on
a simpler, and grander, scale.
To be clear, this water has yet to be fully studied, but early indications are that's
full of things like calcium, magnesium, and more.
Which actually lends to it being at around -75 degrees Celsius at current guess.
So it's not drinkable, but it's there and there might be microbes in it.
. The discovery of water leads to a bigger question,
one of life.
If water can be on a planet like Mars, why not life?
It's true that the lack of a magnetic field would've let the radiation of space kill pretty
much every living thing on the planet, but that doesn't mean life hasn't evolved since
then to resist the new condition of Mars.
And IF there is life on Mars, even the smallest of lifeforms, that could be a problem for
humans.
Why?
Because we wouldn't know how these potential organisms would affect our bodies.
So any program would want to find these potential lifeforms, study them in every way possible,
and not send anyone to Mars until it's clear they won't be harmed.
If a single harmful lifeform is missed, it could kill everyone on the colony, and billions,
or maybe even trillions of dollars would have been wasted because of it.
It could take many years before Mars is fully and truly cleared for launch, and though time
could help, as technology would evolve during that time, it could also kill any interest
in such a project.
1.
Nothing Can Go Wrong, At All By and large, the biggest risk of trying to
colonize Mars is the fact that if something significant goes wrong, the colonists are
on their own.
Think about the Apollo 13 mission.
Three astronauts had a catastrophic incident happen to them in space, and they had to figure
out how to survive so that they could get home.
For the colonists on Mars?
That's not an option.
Communications between Earth and Mars would be very delayed because of the distance between
them.
So any issue that would occur, they'd have to figure it out on their own, and well before
anyone on Earth could send a response to them.
Furthermore, because of the dangers of Mars' atmosphere, a lot of precise mechanical devices
would be required, such as a pressurization chamber.
If that blows?
It could wipe out the entire colony.
If something goes wrong with the food supply?
They would likely starve before NASA could send another ship full of supplies to them.
If the oxygen filter goes out, they'll suffocate.
Sure, there's no doubt going to be backups and replacement parts to ensure that they
can be fixed quickly.
But, what happens when those backups are all used up?
Or there's no replacement parts left?
And all of this is assuming that they get to the planet in the first place.
Remember, they're going to be taking a 150-300 day trip in space.
As numerous launches have shown, something can easily go wrong with the ship, and they'd
have no way of getting help depending on what the issue is.
Or there could be an issue with entering the atmosphere of Mars as they land.
For such an odyssey like this, a thousand things have to go right for it to work, but
only one thing has to go wrong for it to all fall apart.
So while many people dream of going to Mars and colonizing a new world, it might be something
that is just plain out of reach where humanity is right now.
Thanks for watching!
Do you think we'll ever colonize Mars??
Let me know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you next time!