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Brian Swartz · 07-20-2019, 09:34 PM

Question about the Mars stuff. I know there's like ten thousand things we have to learn before going there; Edward64 and PilotMan made good points that I totally agree with about the moon staging first concept. But I keep hearing a lot of stuff about it's really just a matter of how long it takes to figure out those things and whether or not we want to fund it all along the way.

I think that's an accurate statement when it comes to going there the way we've gone to the moon, or even staying weeks/a few months for experimentation etc. What I don't understand is all the 'we're going to colonize Mars eventually' stuff. I'm not at all sure that's even possible. The fine, everpresent dust could be a major obstacle to the required sensitive equipment, airlocks, etc. And assuming we can get over that hurdle, the far bigger one is gravity. We know microgravity is a problem due to the health issues that have come from astronauts at the space station, etc. But assuming we don't invent Star-Trek level space magic gravity plating, I've never seen any data that indicates we have any good idea that permanent Mars settlements wouldn't have the same issues. Maybe 0.38G is enough, maybe it isn't … but certainly we don't KNOW that it is, and the very limited information I've been able to find indicates it is theoretically more likely than not going to be an obstacle. You can have a ship spin en route for artificial gravity, and you can do that with a station in orbit. But that's not working when you're on the ground.

So how about it, fellow space nerds - what say you on the feasibility of a long-term settlement in Martian gravity?

07-20-2019, 09:34 PM	#138
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Question about the Mars stuff. I know there's like ten thousand things we have to learn before going there; Edward64 and PilotMan made good points that I totally agree with about the moon staging first concept. But I keep hearing a lot of stuff about it's really just a matter of how long it takes to figure out those things and whether or not we want to fund it all along the way. I think that's an accurate statement when it comes to going there the way we've gone to the moon, or even staying weeks/a few months for experimentation etc. What I don't understand is all the 'we're going to colonize Mars eventually' stuff. I'm not at all sure that's even possible. The fine, everpresent dust could be a major obstacle to the required sensitive equipment, airlocks, etc. And assuming we can get over that hurdle, the far bigger one is gravity. We know microgravity is a problem due to the health issues that have come from astronauts at the space station, etc. But assuming we don't invent Star-Trek level space magic gravity plating, I've never seen any data that indicates we have any good idea that permanent Mars settlements wouldn't have the same issues. Maybe 0.38G is enough, maybe it isn't … but certainly we don't KNOW that it is, and the very limited information I've been able to find indicates it is theoretically more likely than not going to be an obstacle. You can have a ship spin en route for artificial gravity, and you can do that with a station in orbit. But that's not working when you're on the ground. So how about it, fellow space nerds - what say you on the feasibility of a long-term settlement in Martian gravity?