38 percent of normal earth gravity. Temperature extremes like Antartica. Not enough air pressure to support life without a suit or a dome
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Biodomes are usually inefficient; you need far more than just what can be walled off in such a habitat.
On the other hand, terraforming an entire planet? Also unlikely.
If Mars has sufficient geothermal heat left, cracking open canals and fostering atmosphere in there would probably be best. You'd likely still need breathing gear (if going for realistic), as the atmosphere would probably be toxic for generations. Still, even a toxic-to-humans atmosphere will support bacteria and many simple plants. Artificial flavors would be a prized commodity on Mars.
Yep, that's what I was originally thinking...traveller_bluesSeptember 29 2008, 19:22:42 UTC
...it'd be probably saner to live underground than above ground -- I don't buy the whole 'we can figure out how to make a dome support life and not be susceptible to something landing on it and killing anyone inside.'
Artificial flavor shipping. Now that's something out of left field...
Re: Yep, that's what I was originally thinking...stryckSeptember 29 2008, 19:26:34 UTC
After a few years of eating bacteria cultures and lichen, I imagine it would be a pretty high priority. I could easily see somebody complaining that half their food is cherry flavored (a strong flavor that masks nearly anything).
Mm.. tofu streak...traveller_bluesSeptember 29 2008, 19:35:44 UTC
So I was thinking of maybe firing unmanned shipping containers into a 'dead zone' on Mars every month with durable goods, water ice (maybe with stuff frozen in the ice), and having people go out there and pick it up. But for the most part, it's back to paste, powders and making your own tofu and flavoring it, by your reckoning... hmmmmm...
Thank you, by the way. I didn't figure you to be into the whole space science field...
Re: Mm.. tofu streak...stryckSeptember 29 2008, 19:46:14 UTC
I'm not an expert on the subject and I've never been able to slog through the hardest of hard science fiction, but I'm still very much a geek into exploration themes. Heading out into space has its appeal on those grounds
The guy below commenting that such a colony is unlikely is probably correct. Even if we had the technology, the likelihood that we'd actually do such a thing is pretty low.
On the other hand, fiction is for dreams. Assuming we have the technology and the money to fund it and the will to do it, it's fun to think over the steps likely to happen. 50-75 years? We'd probably have the technology to start a colony. It won't be independent for a long time, though the free iron on Mars is worth mining and might help the debt question.
Re: Mm.. tofu streak...stryckSeptember 29 2008, 19:50:59 UTC
Depending on the government/cultural setup of the colony, the food and goods 'sent over' might be the luxuries that the people at the top get, or they might be heavily rationed to the entire colony.
Or they might form the basis of an economy. Everybody gets the cultured food. Not everybody gets the real grape jam from Earth.
On the other hand, terraforming an entire planet? Also unlikely.
If Mars has sufficient geothermal heat left, cracking open canals and fostering atmosphere in there would probably be best. You'd likely still need breathing gear (if going for realistic), as the atmosphere would probably be toxic for generations. Still, even a toxic-to-humans atmosphere will support bacteria and many simple plants. Artificial flavors would be a prized commodity on Mars.
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Artificial flavor shipping. Now that's something out of left field...
-Traveller
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Thank you, by the way. I didn't figure you to be into the whole space science field...
-Traveller
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The guy below commenting that such a colony is unlikely is probably correct. Even if we had the technology, the likelihood that we'd actually do such a thing is pretty low.
On the other hand, fiction is for dreams. Assuming we have the technology and the money to fund it and the will to do it, it's fun to think over the steps likely to happen. 50-75 years? We'd probably have the technology to start a colony. It won't be independent for a long time, though the free iron on Mars is worth mining and might help the debt question.
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Or they might form the basis of an economy. Everybody gets the cultured food. Not everybody gets the real grape jam from Earth.
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"Tofu streak" was a fun typo I found in a Japanese restaurant once. :) It was a vegetarian beef dish.
-T
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