Mars

Future oceans on a terraformed Mars

Mars has been the subject of more speculation than any other planet in the Solar System. There is also a wealth of information on the web regarding all aspects of this planet. Rather than regurgitate what may have been better expressed elsewhere, the bottom of this web page points the way to the best of these resources. 

The focus of this Mars web page will be two topics of possible significance for Mars' future: caves and terraforming. Establishment of initial human bases on the planet will be greatly facilitated by the use of natural voids that may be remodeled for habitation. A permanent human presence requires some sort of terraforming of the planet. 

Tubes and Caves

On the terraformed globe image above, Arsia Mons is the last volcano to the southwest in the straight row of three. Olympus Mons, Mars' highest mountain, is the separate volcano to the northwest of the trio. The closeup to the right of the four volcanoes brings out greater detail.

The seven openings on the right were discovered on the slopes of Arsia Mons. A detailed scan of the martian surface could probably find a lot more such openings in volcanic regions of the planet. 

Evidence that the holes may be openings to cavernous spaces comes from the temperature differences detected from infrared images taken in the afternoon vs. the pre-dawn morning. "Whether these are just deep vertical shafts or openings into spacious caverns, they are entries to the subsurface of Mars," said co-author Tim Titus of the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff. "Somewhere on Mars, caves might provide a protected niche for past or current life, or shelter for humans in the future."

Lava caves can be quite large. A closeup of one of the seven, 150 meters in diameter, clearly shows a vertical shaft. 

Openings to the Martian underground on the slopes of Arsia Mons

Gravity on Mars is about 38% that of Earth, allowing Martian lava tubes to be much larger in comparison. Lava caves (with surface irregularities removed) could provide sufficient space for Mars base activity after humans first land on the planet. They could provide an environment naturally sheltered from radiation and thermal extremes. Well designed entrances would keep out the Mars dust with its oxidants.

The Caves of Mars project has evaluated the feasibility of the use of caves for the initial human habitation of the planet. One approach to remodeling the caves for human habitation would be the "cured in place" technology used on earth to rehabilitate old drainage pipes. They are re-lined with a cooled, resin filled liner which hardens when heated. A similar approach could provide an air tight lining for Mars lava tubes or manmade tunnels. Unlined caves could serve as unpressurized hangars or garages. 

Once created, some sort of hardening would avoid any tube collapse, possibly a spray-on concrete-like substance made from available materials. A more porous insulating material also made in situ could then be applied. Air tight flexible lining or inflatable self-sealing fabric habitats could retain air. The habitat would be protected from solar radiation, micrometeorites, extreme temperature fluctuations (ambient temperature is believed to be stable in lava tubes), winds, and dust storms which could pose a threat to human health and technology. These natural shelters would also reduce the landed payload mass for manned missions which would be economically advantageous.^[1]

Terraforming

Hypothetical Terraformed Mars, Wikipedia

Beyond human missions to Mars in the next 25 years, what future can we expect on the red planet in 2200? Will man have altered the planet to create an environment more conducive to a successful human society, perhaps even enabling people to flourish? 

Regarding human alteration of the planet, Robert Zubrin and Christopher McKay have set forth the technological requirements for terraforming Mars. Modified Mars, an add-on to Google Mars by Frans Blok, is a detailed and vivid vision of such a future Mars.

Terraforming of Mars has been imagined or discussed on a number of websites. How Stuff Works proposes three methods to terraform Mars.  This National Academy of Sciences article proposes keeping Mars warm with new super greenhouse gases. 

One wonders if fiction, whether books or virtual worlds, can herald a future terraformed Mars reality? The Red, Green and Blue Mars trilogy is probably the most extensive literary effort to portray the eventual terraforming of the planet. The trilogy is a tale by Kim Stanley Robinson of the exploration and settlement of Mars--riven by both personal and ideological conflicts--in the early 21st century.

Image of a future Martian terraformed location beneath Olympus Mons from Modified Mars mentioned above

Other personal sites have been created to advance the concept of terraforming Mars. Martyn Fogg has created a website containing a compendium of studies regarding terraforming, primarily related to Mars. Mars Reborn is a portrait of a possible Mars one thousand years in the future. 

Martian Overview

An overview of what we know about the red planet can be found at Wikipedia. A NASA perspective on Mars has planetary facts and figures and a gallery of images of the planet. The ESA has a great portfolio of Martian images and videos. Marsnews.com provides current news articles respecting Mars.

Google Mars is the best place to start looking for maps of the Martian surface. It is comprehensive and provides an intuitive way to find various planetary features and information regarding their origin.  

Updated presentations of Martian scientific findings are provided by NASA's JPL. Other science findings (including maps and images) may be found at MOLA and Marsoweb, both NASA sites, and this ESA Mars Express scientific findings site.

Advocates of the human exploration of Mars include the Mars Society, MarsDrive, the Mars Foundation, Red Colony and the Mars Institute. A forum for Mars enthusiasts is provided by the Mars Society.