What do humans really need?
Before we go to Mars we need to know what humans need to survive. Make a list in your Everyday Book of the different things that humans need to survive and what problems we might face in getting these to Mars.
Building on Mars:
If a permanent colony of humans are to survive on Mars, they will need to live off the air, sand and rock resources on the surface of Mars.
Imagineering on Mars discusses how engineers and scientists on earth could help the Martian settlers by developing the machines and factories to transform the stuff of Mars into life sustaining materials.
Imagineering on Mars discusses how engineers and scientists on earth could help the Martian settlers by developing the machines and factories to transform the stuff of Mars into life sustaining materials.
Making shelters to live on Mars:
The first Mars pioneers will not build any shelters. They will bring habitats with them from earth. But, after the initial missions, permanent residents will need to make their own homes from the sand and rocks on Mars. After finding the needed key resources, the task of building and maintaining living areas will occupy a large portion of the Martian homesteaders time.
For some of the first missions, hybrid shelter systems might use some materials brought from earth in conjunction with Martian sand. One proposed shelter would be made from thick fabric materials that would be blown up like a balloon. Once fully inflated, they would be stiffened by some support structures and then covered with sand.
Since the average air temperature on Mars is a very cold -62 degrees C, any shelter built above ground would have to use heavily thermal insulation. The thin Martian atmosphere will also require the shelters to be air tight, so a near earth like environment could be maintained inside. Air locks would be needed to prevent the precious oxygen enriched breathable air from escaping into the Martian atmosphere as the Martian workers enter or leave the shelters.
Above Ground Shelters: The thin air of Mars will actually help to reduce the amount of insulation that would otherwise be needed if the air was thicker.
Although the air temperature is low, it is so thin that it will not conduct as much heat or cold as much thicker air would. Above ground thermal insulation could, therefore, be made from multiple layers of plastic films with some low density foam insulation between.
For green house like shelters, multi-layer reflective type plastic films could be used. The films need to be designed so visible sunlight light would pass into the shelter but would block infrared heat light from escaping. This technique is often used in green houses on earth using panes of glass to trap the heat.
But, shelters that are built above ground using thin insulating walls, may not be the best solution for the permanent citizens of Mars. Because the atmosphere of Mars is so thin and since Mars has a very weak magnetic field, Mars may have much higher radiation levels from the sun and space than on earth. The thick atmosphere and strong magnetic field on earth naturally shields the humans from such harmful radiation. Long term exposure to such radiation on Mars may cause genetic damage in humans. One way to lower the radiation levels, is to place the living quarters for the Martian settlers below ground.
Below Ground Shelters: Tunnel boring machines could be sent to Mars from earth. Once assembled, the machines could make miles of deep tunnels beneath the Martian surface. Living rooms, service shafts, air locks and trenches might all be made by robot machines. With a weak gravity, no Mars quakes and no liquid water seepage, Martian tunnels might be stable enough so little or no structural shoring would be needed. The drilling operation should leave the internal tunnel walls smooth, air tight but very cold. To make the tunnels suitable for humans, a lot of thermal insulation will be needed.
Spun glass (fiber glass) insulation might be made by sorting and melting a certain type of Martian sand. A vapor barrier sheet would also need to be installed on the exposed inside of the insulated tunnel walls to prevent valuable water from working it way through the insulation and collecting on the cold tunnel walls. Natural sunlight could be piped into the underground shelters using optical fibers. Water heated by the sun outside might be circulated around the inside of the tunnels to heat the air that is pumped into the tunnel. The crushed rock and rubble that would be generated during the tunneling process would be pushed up to the surface and might be used for other shelter and building applications. The rocks might also be studied to better understand the composition of the crust of Mars. Smaller shelters above ground, might be made by digging holes into large boulders that lay on the surface. Such techniques might be ideal for emergency shelters.
For some of the first missions, hybrid shelter systems might use some materials brought from earth in conjunction with Martian sand. One proposed shelter would be made from thick fabric materials that would be blown up like a balloon. Once fully inflated, they would be stiffened by some support structures and then covered with sand.
Since the average air temperature on Mars is a very cold -62 degrees C, any shelter built above ground would have to use heavily thermal insulation. The thin Martian atmosphere will also require the shelters to be air tight, so a near earth like environment could be maintained inside. Air locks would be needed to prevent the precious oxygen enriched breathable air from escaping into the Martian atmosphere as the Martian workers enter or leave the shelters.
Above Ground Shelters: The thin air of Mars will actually help to reduce the amount of insulation that would otherwise be needed if the air was thicker.
Although the air temperature is low, it is so thin that it will not conduct as much heat or cold as much thicker air would. Above ground thermal insulation could, therefore, be made from multiple layers of plastic films with some low density foam insulation between.
For green house like shelters, multi-layer reflective type plastic films could be used. The films need to be designed so visible sunlight light would pass into the shelter but would block infrared heat light from escaping. This technique is often used in green houses on earth using panes of glass to trap the heat.
But, shelters that are built above ground using thin insulating walls, may not be the best solution for the permanent citizens of Mars. Because the atmosphere of Mars is so thin and since Mars has a very weak magnetic field, Mars may have much higher radiation levels from the sun and space than on earth. The thick atmosphere and strong magnetic field on earth naturally shields the humans from such harmful radiation. Long term exposure to such radiation on Mars may cause genetic damage in humans. One way to lower the radiation levels, is to place the living quarters for the Martian settlers below ground.
Below Ground Shelters: Tunnel boring machines could be sent to Mars from earth. Once assembled, the machines could make miles of deep tunnels beneath the Martian surface. Living rooms, service shafts, air locks and trenches might all be made by robot machines. With a weak gravity, no Mars quakes and no liquid water seepage, Martian tunnels might be stable enough so little or no structural shoring would be needed. The drilling operation should leave the internal tunnel walls smooth, air tight but very cold. To make the tunnels suitable for humans, a lot of thermal insulation will be needed.
Spun glass (fiber glass) insulation might be made by sorting and melting a certain type of Martian sand. A vapor barrier sheet would also need to be installed on the exposed inside of the insulated tunnel walls to prevent valuable water from working it way through the insulation and collecting on the cold tunnel walls. Natural sunlight could be piped into the underground shelters using optical fibers. Water heated by the sun outside might be circulated around the inside of the tunnels to heat the air that is pumped into the tunnel. The crushed rock and rubble that would be generated during the tunneling process would be pushed up to the surface and might be used for other shelter and building applications. The rocks might also be studied to better understand the composition of the crust of Mars. Smaller shelters above ground, might be made by digging holes into large boulders that lay on the surface. Such techniques might be ideal for emergency shelters.
Heating Shelters:
It is cold on Mars. The temperature of the rocks below ground will be close to the average above ground temperature of -80F. If Martians are to live below ground, they will need to heat their homes. Lots of insulation will be needed. Heating systems that use solar energy would make the most sense. The Martian day is nearly the same as on earth. Although the sun on Mars is only one half as bright as on earth (50 watts per square foot), there are no clouds to interrupt the daytime sunlight. Therefore, there should be plenty of heat energy available by collecting sunlight. Long cylinder type solar collectors would be ideal, since they would not need to track the sun's movement across the sky. These systems would use thin channel shaped mirrors which would concentrate the sunlight onto a center glass heat pipe. A fluid, perhaps a water and antifreeze mixture, would be pumped through the pipe to collect the heat and transfer it into a large thermally insulated tank. The tank would act as a large heat energy storage device that would stay warm during the Martian night. The liquid from the tank could then be piped into shelters to heat them. Similar systems might also be used to melt ice, mined below the surface. If geothermal sources could be found, that heat energy could also be used to keep shelters warm and to melt underground ice for water recovery.
Making Electricity:
Settlements on Mars will need lots of electricity. The electricity would be used for a variety of applications including lighting, oxygen and rocket fuel generation, pumping water, shelter tunnel boring, shelter ventilation and food production.
Some of the initial exploration missions might bring small nuclear power plants with them that they will leave on the surface. Such power plants have the advantage of being compact and can produce power continuously for 15 years or more. But, after those missions, the permanent citizens of Mars may wish to use more environmentally friendly methods to produce electricity.
The most likely method would be with solar electrical photovoltaic panels. Large solar energy farms would be needed to sustain a settlement. Some of the latest photovoltaic panels are made by depositing thin metal films onto flexible plastic sheets. The sheets can then be rolled into tight tubes. A 12 inch diameter by 6 foot long tube could contain as much as 1,800 square feet of panel material. Once unrolled, such rolls could be spread out onto the Martian surface to produce as much as 15,000 watts of electricity. Multiple panels would be wired together to form a sizable electrical power plant.
To minimize spacecraft payload weight for later earth to Mars missions, machines and materials could be brought from earth that would allow the colonists to make energy producing solar panels from the rocks and sand of Mars. Perhaps the machines would use the sand to make glass plates that would be turned into solar panels.
Since the solar panels would only generate electricity when the sun was shining, some battery or fuel cell technology would be needed to store the excess generated during the day, for later use at night. One suggested non-chemical energy storage method would use underground wells to store compressed Martian air. Compressors would pump the carbon dioxide down the well to high pressures during the day. At night, the gas would be diverted to a high speed turbine, that would drive a generator to produce electricity.
Heat engines might also be used. The large temperature difference between concentrated sun light and the cold Martian ground would boost the engine's efficiency. The waste heat of such a system might also be used to heat shelters. The engine could drive electrical generators, pump water and run air compressors.
Ultimately, perhaps some time in the future, engineers on earth will develop compact nuclear fusion power generation plants that could be assembled near Martian settlements. The rocks, air and sand of Mars might be processed to extract Deuterium and Tritium hydrogen isotopes that would be fused inside a nuclear furnace. Heat from the nuclear reaction would be used to produce electricity and keep the Martian shelters warm.
Some of the initial exploration missions might bring small nuclear power plants with them that they will leave on the surface. Such power plants have the advantage of being compact and can produce power continuously for 15 years or more. But, after those missions, the permanent citizens of Mars may wish to use more environmentally friendly methods to produce electricity.
The most likely method would be with solar electrical photovoltaic panels. Large solar energy farms would be needed to sustain a settlement. Some of the latest photovoltaic panels are made by depositing thin metal films onto flexible plastic sheets. The sheets can then be rolled into tight tubes. A 12 inch diameter by 6 foot long tube could contain as much as 1,800 square feet of panel material. Once unrolled, such rolls could be spread out onto the Martian surface to produce as much as 15,000 watts of electricity. Multiple panels would be wired together to form a sizable electrical power plant.
To minimize spacecraft payload weight for later earth to Mars missions, machines and materials could be brought from earth that would allow the colonists to make energy producing solar panels from the rocks and sand of Mars. Perhaps the machines would use the sand to make glass plates that would be turned into solar panels.
Since the solar panels would only generate electricity when the sun was shining, some battery or fuel cell technology would be needed to store the excess generated during the day, for later use at night. One suggested non-chemical energy storage method would use underground wells to store compressed Martian air. Compressors would pump the carbon dioxide down the well to high pressures during the day. At night, the gas would be diverted to a high speed turbine, that would drive a generator to produce electricity.
Heat engines might also be used. The large temperature difference between concentrated sun light and the cold Martian ground would boost the engine's efficiency. The waste heat of such a system might also be used to heat shelters. The engine could drive electrical generators, pump water and run air compressors.
Ultimately, perhaps some time in the future, engineers on earth will develop compact nuclear fusion power generation plants that could be assembled near Martian settlements. The rocks, air and sand of Mars might be processed to extract Deuterium and Tritium hydrogen isotopes that would be fused inside a nuclear furnace. Heat from the nuclear reaction would be used to produce electricity and keep the Martian shelters warm.
Space Station (ISS)
How do astronauts use the space station as a place to shelter and survive in space?