Colonizing Mars — Obstacles, Possibilities And The Future
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Colonizing Mars — Obstacles, Possibilities And The Future
Where our planet will be habitable in the next hundred years due to climate change is the burning question of this century, where we need a lasting solution. The world is our birthplace, we can't leave it if we want to. But science also encourages us to look for alternatives.
Well, to understand those alternatives let's look at the history of hypotheses about different planets and satellites in our solar system.
Most Suitable Planets For Colonization
The 'terrestrial' (Earth-related or Earth-like) planets in our solar system are thought to be the most suitable for globalization. Because they are located close to the sun, they can absorb the necessary energy. In addition, their hard surface is rich in silicate and other minerals, which will be necessary for food production and settlement of any future colonial group. The Jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune), on the other hand, are farther away from the gaseous planets and the Sun, so teraforming is not possible.
Hypothesis Of Colonizing Venus
So, in 1961, Carl Sagan tried to give a scientific idea about the first Venus to be globalized. He assumed that Venus contained warm greenhouse gases, adding that the planet's upper atmosphere could be expanded if special types of genetically modified algae were released into Venus. As a result, they will release oxygen by analyzing carbon dioxide. Gradually the amount of oxygen will increase, organic matter will be created, toxicity in the rain will decrease and in a few hundred years the temperature and pressure of the atmosphere will become moderate, and as a result the way to the human colony on Venus will be easier.
But young Sagan's idea was largely wrong, as Venus's atmospheric pressure is 92 times that of Earth's atmospheric pressure, and because it is so close to the Sun, the surface temperature is about 482 ° Celsius, which is unimaginable for any living thing on Earth. And if it is possible to somehow cool Venus and create a favorable atmosphere, the most adverse effect for humans will be the very slow rotation of the Earth on its own axis (Venus 1 day = 243 days on Earth). So it is clear that globalizing Venus is not an easy task at all.
Hypothesis Of Colonizing Mercury
Many may think what is the state of Mercury, it is also a terrestrial planet! Can't it be globalized? The windless Mercury orbits the Sun closer, so it will be harder to orbit it than Venus. Scientists believe that only some features of Mars are close to Earth, so it is possible to make the same terraformation.
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| Sun, Stars and Planets Concept |
Why Only Mars Are Sutibale For Colonization?
One day on Mars equals 24 hours and 39 minutes on Earth (which is roughly equal to 1 day on Earth). Mars also has a tilt of 25.19° on its axis, which is approximately equal to that of Earth (23.44 °). So Mars has seasons like Earth, although 1 year on Mars is as long as 1.6 years on Earth. And because of these similarities, despite all the adversities against human habitation, people dream of colonizing Mars. And so the astronomers are going with one theory after another on 'Planetary Engineering on Mars'.
The Beginning Of The Idea To Colonizing Mars
In 1877 italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli mistakenly thinks that he has detected some linear structures on the surface of Mars through a telescope. He named it 'Canali'. From the time of the ancient Egyptian astronomers, speculations about the red planet, which has been the object of wonder in the night sky, seem to have increased. People in Italy thought of 'Canali' as 'Canal' in English, meaning that intelligent creatures from Mars created canals.
Since then, with the advancement of technology, extensive research has been done on the planet, one robotic spacecraft after another has been sent to the planet since 1960. Someone in the world has seen the possibility of life, someone has seen the possible second home of man.
Life On Mars
Mars has polar ice caps, indicating that it once had an Earth-like atmosphere that has been lost over time. An analysis of data from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity recently revealed that the arid planet is unlikely to have any direct life other than microorganisms.
Atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars is less than one-tenth of the atmospheric pressure at sea level (0.6%), there is no oxygen needed to live, no liquid water. There is toxic soil, almost lost atmosphere contains a lot of carbon dioxide (98%), nitrogen (2.8%) and argon (2%). Also, the ionized solar and cosmic rays scattered on the surface of the red planet are more than human can bear. So the question may arise, how do we 'humans' make Mars habitable?
How People Will Colonize Mars?
Elon Musk, one of the inventors of the 21st century — SpaceX, Tesla, founder of Neuralink, billionaire engineer wants to transform Mars into a 'terraform'.
Many of us are probably already familiar with the term ‘terraform’, at least those who are fans of science fiction story-movies. The biblical meaning of terraforming is 'globalization'. This means that terraforming is the process of creating an Earth-equivalent environment by improving the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography and ecology of a planet, satellite, or cosmic object. Terraforming is a fictional planetary engineering process.
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| Martian Surface and Dust in The Atmosphere - 3D illustration |
Obstacles To Colonizing Mars
There is so many obstacles for colonizing Mars. Let's take a look at those obstacles.
•Absence Of A Magnetosphere On Mars
An acceptable atmosphere must be created where there is sufficient oxygen, and the atmospheric pressure must be between 30-100 kPa. In the absence of a magnetosphere on Mars, ionized solar and cosmic rays can easily reach its surface, causing cancer in the human body. We also know that in the absence of a magnetosphere, the atmosphere of Mars is slowly lost in space due to solar storms. So we have to create an artificial magnetosphere on Mars that is almost like Earth.
•Low Temperature On Mars
Mars receives only 59% more light than Earth, with an average temperature of -73 ° Celsius, compared to Earth's average temperature of 14 ° Celsius. So, Mars needs to be heated up a bit.
•Toxic Soil On Mars
There are toxins on the soil of Mars. Arrangements have to be made to remove toxins from the soil of Mars.
•Low Gravity On Mars
There is disagreement as to whether the low gravity of Mars (36% of the Earth) is harmful to humans. However, microgravity is known to cause health problems such as muscle wasting and bone loss. So if possible, artificial gravitational acceleration should be created.
•No Liquid Water On Mars
After all, human need to have access to the pure liquid water they need to survive. All the water on Mars is now become ice.
Listening to these, it may seem that with the current technology of man, is it at all possible to globalize Mars?
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| Earth and Mars Concept |
Possibilities To Colonizing Mars
In 2018, a team of NASA researchers suggested that it was not possible to completely terrarize Mars with current technology. Because, even if all the greenhouse gases trapped on the surface of Mars could be released, it would be only 7.9% of the Earth, which is not capable of creating a habitable atmosphere. Even so, many astronomers, including Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, believe that much is possible.
•Release Greenhouse Gas On Mars
In 1991, astronomer Chris McKay and some of his NASA colleagues unveiled a plan to release greenhouse gases trapped in Martian soil and polar ice caps. McKee and his colleagues suggest that if these trapped greenhouse gases could be released into the Martian atmosphere, it would have two effects. The gases (e.g., water vapor and carbon dioxide) will increase the atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars, as well as increase the temperature of the planet, and liquid water will be found on the surface of Mars later due to ice caps. While there are many speculations behind the Mars terra formation, McKay's plan to transform Mars over the past three decades has been the basis for a solution.
•Dropping Thermonuclear Warhead On Mars
Even based on this idea, Elon Musk expressed his desire to terrorize Mars by dropping a thermonuclear warhead on the ice caps of Mars in 2015. Now the question may arise, how will the atomic bomb ‘globalize’ again, where its radiation lasts for hundreds of years? Yes, the question is logical. Many scientists think that it will create a nuclear cold, which in turn will create a more hostile environment. However, Elon Musk said in a tweet in 2019 that his "new Mars" strategy is to create an artificial sun by continuously exploding light nuclear fusion over the atmosphere of Mars, it will not make Mars radioactive.
Alexander Bolshenko, executive director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos in 2020, expressed concern over Elon's hypothesis, saying that the current technology would require 10,000 atomic bombs to implement his plan. Elon, however, has accepted that challenge. He is also considering plans to evaporate icecaps using reflector satellites without creating artificial sun.
•Artificial Magnetic Field On Mars
However, not only will greenhouse gases be exposed, but in the absence of a magnetosphere, the 'atmosphere' will be lost again in solar storms. So two Japanese scientists, Osamu Motozima and Nagato Yanagi, published a paper on the solution. They claim that many 'refrigerated latitudinal superconducting rings' make it possible to create artificial magnetic fields with current technology, where each ring will have a constant flow of uninterrupted electricity.
In another study, NASA scientist Jim Green proposed the installation of a magnetic bipolar at Mars L-1 Lagrange Point, which would create a partial and distant artificial magnetosphere between Mars and the Sun. As a result, it will be able to protect the entire planet Mars from solar storms and ionized solar radiation. So, it is understood that teraforming is no longer a science fiction, but there is a possibility of making it a science-based reality.
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| Spaceship Going To Space |
Future Of Colonizing Mars
Elon Musk plans to send the first man to Mars by 2024 and to build a base of 1 million people on Mars by 2050. Under his direction, SpaceX is already working on a rocket called 'Starship', which will be able to carry 100 metric tons of cargo and crew from Earth to Mars at 6-month intervals and land on Mars and take off again, similar to their Falcon-9 rocket. Will be able to enter the atmosphere repeatedly.
At one time only the most powerful countries could carry out space exploration or various interplanetary missions. There is now a man’s dream, hard work and thoughtfulness that has taken personal space technology to unique heights in the past one era. We humans have never learned to accept rates. Therefore, the courage to solve the risk of the destruction of human civilization is hidden in the people. And so, just as we are trying to tackle the world's climate change through geo-engineering, we are also looking for ways to terraform Mars as an alternative. Yes, we are human, we dream. And because I dream, I know how to make dreams come true.