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posted by cmn32480 on Thursday May 28 2015, @05:22AM   Printer-friendly
from the curiosity-will-get-the-best-of-you dept.

Many hopefuls have signed up for a one-way ticket to the red planet. But if they aren't prepared, the trip may be a short one.

NASA has a plan to land astronauts on its surface by the 2030s. Private spaceflight companies like SpaceX have also expressed interest in starting their own colonies there, while the infamous Mars One project has already enlisted civilians for a one-way trip to our planetary neighbor in 2020.

While many may dream of living their remaining days on Mars, those days may be numbered. The Martian environment poses significant challenges to Earth life, and establishing a Mars habitat will require an extraordinary amount of engineering prowess and technological knowhow to ensure the safety of its residents.

Though we may soon have the launch vehicles needed to transport people to Mars, a lot of the technology required to keep astronauts alive on the planet just isn't ready--and it may not be for many years. For those eager to get to Mars as soon as possible, take caution: A number of tragic outcomes await if you head that way too soon.

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Thursday May 28 2015, @11:36AM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday May 28 2015, @11:36AM (#189047) Journal

    We have already seen examples of drones and 3D printers building structures on Earth. Why not send machines to Mars to do the same thing, and have a nice, viable base all ready and waiting for the humans when they arrive? The machines can use local materials, simply burrowing into the regolith if nothing else. Spray some expanding foam on the walls of the chambers you've excavated, put a pressure lock on the entrance, and the structure of the base would be there.

    There is an 8 minute delay for signals to travel back and forth to Mars, but we've had a pretty good number of years now that we've been working around that with the Mars rovers. I understand it's easier said than done to build a base with robots and telepresence, but it seems much easier to do than having to solve all the problems surrounding sustaining human life on Mars while the humans are there, racing against time and hoping they brought everything they need.

    Just because the astronauts in the Moon program risked their lives to get there doesn't mean we have to do it the same way. We have different tools now and can tackle space exploration and colonization a different way.

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    Washington DC delenda est.
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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @01:38PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @01:38PM (#189070)

    We have already seen examples of drones and 3D printers building structures on Earth. Why not send machines to Mars to do the same thing, and have a nice, viable base all ready and waiting for the humans when they arrive? The machines can use local materials, simply burrowing into the regolith if nothing else. Spray some expanding foam on the walls of the chambers you've excavated, put a pressure lock on the entrance, and the structure of the base would be there.

    Have you seen anything close to this on Earth? I know I haven't heard of any substantial buildings being built purely by stand alone robots outside of a factory. Now imagine they don't have the swathes of refined metals and plastics and everything else available on earth. Now imagine there is that communications delay you describe. Now imagine a single defect would result in an uninhabitable structure due to Mars not having a helpful oxygenated atmosphere.

    If on Earth somebody had managed to create a fully habitable cave with no human hands touching anything prior to the final product I would be impressed enough. I could possibly believe that somebody with the time and money could do that on Earth. I don't think that is possible with present technology on Mars.