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The Advisability In Space Programs Of Living On Mars
Buzz Aldrin once said, By refocusing our space program on Mars for Americas future, we can restore the sense of wonder and adventure in space exploration that we knew in the summer of 1969. We won the moon race; now its time for us to live and work on Mars, first on its moons and then on its surface. The possibilities and questions about if life on Mars, the red planet in the solar system, have been around for years. With new research, this possibility is becoming a more of a reality every day.
Before understanding the possibilities of living on Mars, it must be understood why humans cannot live on Mars now. The first main reason that humans cannot live on Mars is due to the climate. Mar experiences extreme colds that include temperatures down to-100o C (the freezing point of water is 0oC). Without technology, humans would never be able to live in these extreme temperatures. The air can get so cold on Mars that the carbon dioxide will sometimes freeze into dry ice (Walker). Another main reason humans cannot live on Mars is due to the extremely thin atmosphere. There is so little of an atmosphere on Mars that there might as well not be one at all. Per Robert Walker, The pressure is so low, your saliva and the moisture coating the interior of your lungs would boil. The average Mars surface pressure is well below the 6% Armstrong limit which absolutely is the limit for human survival. the average surface temperature, which is anything but hospitable. While temperatures around the equator at midday can reach a balmy 20 °C, at the Curiosity site the Gale Crater, which is close to the equator typical nighttime temperatures are as low as -70 °C.
The gravity on Mars is also only about 40% of what we experience on Earths, which would make adjusting to it quite difficult. According to a NASA report, the effects of zero-gravity on the human body are quite profound, with a loss of up to 5% muscle mass a week and 1% of bone density a month. And then theres the atmosphere, which is unbreathable. About 95% of the planets atmosphere is carbon dioxide, which means that in addition to producing breathable air for their habitats, settlers would also not be able to go outside without a pressure suit and bottled oxygen.Mars also has no global magnetic field comparable to Earths geomagnetic field. Combined with a thin atmosphere, this means that a significant amount of ionizing radiation can reach the Martian surface.
Another reason humans cannot live on Mars is due to the extreme dust storms. NASA explains that Mars can produce dust storms so intense that the dust can be seen from telescopes on Earth. A planetary scientist at NASA also says, Every year there are some moderately big dust storms that pop up on Mars and they cover continent-sized areas and last for weeks at a time. Besides these common dust storms, global dust storms occur every 3 years (around 5 1/3 Earth years). These global dust storms cover the whole planet and are much more intense than the moderately big dust storms that appear more often (See Figure 1B). The intensity of the wind isnt necessarily what makes these storms, but rather the lack of visibility that is produced from these. The particles that are blown during a dust storm are also slightly electrostatic, which means they stick to almost any surface they touch making it almost impossible to see if one were to encounter a dust storm (Mersmann).
The closest place in the universe where extraterrestrial life might exist is Mars, and human beings are poised to attempt to colonize this planetary neighbor within the next decade. Before that happens, we need to recognize that a very real possibility exists that the first human steps on the Martian surface will lead to a collision between terrestrial life and biota native to Mars.
If the red planet is sterile, a human presence there would create no moral or ethical dilemmas on this front. But if life does exist on Mars, human explorers could easily lead to the extinction of Martian life. Once humans start living on Mars, they will contaminate it with some of the 100 trillion micro-organisms in 10,000 different species that humans are host to. There is no way to avoid this. The rovers that are on Mars are sterilized to prevent contamination. when astronauts are sent to Mars, theyll travel with life support and energy supply systems, habitats, 3D printers, food and tools. None of these materials can be sterilized in the same ways systems associated with robotic spacecraft can. Human colonists will produce waste, try to grow food and use machines to extract water from the ground and atmosphere. Simply by living on Mars, human colonists will contaminate Mars. (Walker).
Life in a Martian colony would be miserable, with people forced to live in artificially lit underground bases, or in thickly protected surface stations with severely minimized access to the outdoors. Life in this closed environment, with limited access to the surface, could result in other health issues related to exclusive indoor living, such as depression, boredom from lack of stimulus, an inability to concentrate, poor eyesight, and high blood pressurenot to mention a complete disconnect from nature. And like the International Space Station, Martian habitats will likely be a microbial desert, hosting only a tiny sample of the bacteria needed to maintain a healthy human microbiome.
Another issue has to do with motivation. As Friedman pointed out earlier, we dont see colonists living in Antarctica or under the sea, so why should we expect troves of people to want to live in a place thats considerably more unpleasant? It seems a poor alternative to living on Earth, and certainly a major step down in terms of quality of life. A strong case could even be made that, for prospective families hoping to spawn future generations of Martian colonists, its borderline cruelty.
And thats assuming humans could even reproduce on Mars, which is an open question. Casting aside the deleterious effects of radiation on the developing fetus, theres the issue of conception to consider in the context of living in a minimal gravity environment. We dont know how sperm and egg will act on Mars, or how the first critical stages of conception will occur. And most of all, we dont know how low gravity will affect the mother and fetus.
Seidler, an expert in human physiology and kinesiology, said the issue of human gestation on Mars is a troublesome unknown. The developing fetus, she said, is likely to sit higher up in the womb owing to the lower gravity, which will press upon the mothers diaphragm, making it hard for the mother to breathe. The low gravity may also confuse the gestational process, delaying or interfering with critical phases of the fetus development, such as the fetus dropping by week 39. On Earth, bones, muscles, the circulatory system, and other aspects of human physiology develop by working against gravity. Its possible that the human body might adapt to the low-gravity situation on Mars, but we simply dont know. An artificial womb might be a possible solution, but again, thats not something well have access to anytime soon, nor does it solve the low-gravity issue as it pertains to fetal development (unless the artificial womb is placed in a centrifuge to simulate gravity).
A strong case can be made that any attempt to procreate on Mars should be forbidden until more is known. Enforcing such a policy on a planet thats 34 million miles away at its closest is another question entirely, though one would hope that Martian societies wont regress to lawlessness and a complete disregard of public safety and established ethical standards.
For other colonists, the minimal gravity on Mars could result in serious health problems over the long term. Studies of astronauts who have participated in long-duration missions lasting about a year exhibit troubling symptoms, including bone and muscle loss, cardiovascular problems, immune and metabolic disorders, visual disorders, balance and sensorimotor problems, among many other health issues. These problems may not be as acute as those experienced on Mars, but again, we simply dont know. Perhaps after five or 10 or 20 years of constant exposure to low gravity, similar gravity-related disorders will set in.
Seidlers research into the effects of microgravity suggests its a distinct possibility. Yes, there would be physiological and neural changes that would occur on Mars due to its partial-gravity environment, she told Gizmodo. Its not clear whether these changes would plateau at some point. My work has shown an upward shift of the brain within the skull in microgravity, some regions of gray matter increases and others that decrease, structural changes within the brains white matter, and fluid shifts towards the top of the head.
Seidler said some of these changes scale with the duration of microgravity exposure, from two weeks up to six months, but she hasnt looked beyond that. Some of these effects would have to eventually plateauthere is a structural limit on the fluid volume that the skull can contain, for example, she said. And, the nervous system is very adaptable. It can learn how to control movements in microgravity despite the altered sensory inputs. But again, its unclear what the upper limits are.
The effects of living in partial gravity compared to microgravity may not be as severe, she said, but in either case, different sensory inputs are going into the brain, as theyre not loaded by weight in the way theyre used to. This can result in a poor sense of balance and compromised motor functions.
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