We are Building Homes on Mars

Building Homes on Mars

Heres a link I found. www.marshome.org...
These MIT students are researching and developing a sustained living on Mars. After reading the website, I think that we aren't too far off from people living on Mars. Figure another 20-40 years, I think allot of people will be living on Mars, as long as they don't mind the 7-10 month trip there in a capsule. Imagine how boring that would be.

[edit on 22-2-2006 by mrjenka]

Originally posted by mrjenka
as long as they don't mind the 7-10 month trip there in a capsule. Imagine how boring that would be.

I don't think it would be that bad at all. Just give me a bunch of video games and i'm set.

Just my opinion, of course, but I think we are way off from moving anywhere off this planet.

If we can't get housing for all of the people here, why start cohabitating another planet?

The way the Space exploration program has stalled here in the USA, I doubt they will offer private flights anytime soon. There will need to be a bigger, sleeker, lighter, more fuel efficient shuttle developed first. This isn't a "oops, I forgot my cat, can we turn around?" sort of situation. Imagine carrying 100 people, and all of their belongings.

Can't see it happening for a long long long time.

Do you think the goverments of the world have acquired UFO technology? With there own flying saucers or 'spaceships', I personally don't think we are to far off. But the video game idea is not bad at all, we would just need about 500+ copies and interchangable thumbs, I think playing video games for 7-10 months would be a tad tiring on the thumbs. Don't you think?

Private explorations are the wave of the future in space flight and manned planetary exploration in this century, and on into the future. Unfortunately, the trips won't be for the sake of seeing whats over the next horizon as we might wish. It'll be strickly a for profit project.

Interesting project reminds me of the older Bio dome projects. As for the mars trip being 7-10 months its does not need to be nearly that long. With proven technology we have now like Ion drives it could be done much quicker. 1-2 months I beleive.

Originally posted by seagull
Private explorations are the wave of the future in space flight

It'll be strickly a for profit project.

I couldn't agree more thats were space travel is really going to take off IMO. Space mining and to a lesser extent space tourism will be what really starts it off.

There are single asteroids out there that have resources in the multi-trillions of dollars massive amounts of Gold, Platinum, Iron you name it. Once companies can make a profit getting these space travel will take off.

Profits is what made men cross the oceans and find the new world and its what will make man cross space in a major way. Tech will get better to increase profits even more and the ball will keep on rolling.

hey Shadow, I totally agree with you about profit. But don't you think crossing the ocean is a bit different than going into space? I mean I understand the technology advancements and I understand we do not live in an age where we think that the Earth is flat and that it is the center of the Universe, but still, a trip into the vast universe is a bit different don't you think?

I have some problems with their assumptions.

They said that they can use collected and treated waste to create soil from Martian "Regolith" (first of all they must not be very well versed in Mars to be calling Martian soil "Regolith" because it's not Regolith for various agreed upon reasons).

But Martian soil is composed of the following as you can see at this website.

This doesn't mean it's uniform across the globe merely that a useful area of Martian soil composed of potassium, nitrogen and phosphorous must be found to do what they are suggesting.

I suggest they stick to the facts; and do what they know how to do...build systems.

They obviously have some understanding of mechanical systems and I think they've done a good job at developing a basic institution where there will be a sustained home environ.

I don't like the idea of Nuclear Power on Mars, it's too complicated to maintain. Solar power and thermal power (as can be created similarly to radiogenic-thermal cells).

I agree with you 100%. I just don't get hung up on terminology. To each is own..

I was listening to a morning radio show this morning in my area where a well respected scientist from NASA stated that " we are going back to the moon and we are going back to, excuse me, going to Mars in the next decade or so". We have the technology to sustain a habitat in the most unhospitable places on earth and in space so why is it hard to believe that we can do so on another planet?

Originally posted by Rouschkateer
Imagine carrying 100 people, and all of their belongings.

They would only take what would be necessary, so that such a problem wouldn't arise. If they had a problem with this, then they simply wouldn't go.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
With proven technology we have now like Ion drives it could be done much quicker. 1-2 months I beleive.

Actually, it would still be about the same time. The only difference would be the efficiency of using an ion engine. They're about 10 times as efficient as chemical rockets. We would still need a chemical rocket to get the craft out of Earth's atmosphere though. Also, it would be easier to break free of Earth's orbit using chemical rockets. With an ion drive you would have to orbit Earth repeatedly to break free. For example, the ESA's Smart 1 probe used an ion drive and it took about 13 months to reach the Moon alone.

Originally posted by Infra_red
We have the technology to sustain a habitat in the most unhospitable places on earth and in space so why is it hard to believe that we can do so on another planet?

Because here on Earth you're never too far from help. We also have two wonderful things protecting us from the hazards of space: a thick atmosphere and a magnetosphere.

Originally posted by mrjenka
hey Shadow, I totally agree with you about profit. But don't you think crossing the ocean is a bit different than going into space?

Im really just talking about small trips into the solar system like the Moon and Mars. Really that is alot like early crossing of the oceans. They take long amounts of time many weeks or even months. They were very dangerous for the crew and required massive investments of the nations doing them.

Those early trips across the Atlantic required Spain to invest massive amounts of money into them. I forgot the exact numbers but it was scary how close a percent of their GDP they need to invest to get these trips working.

But of course they had huge profit incentives for doing this. Be it new trade routes, Spices or mayan gold and emeralds or whatever thats what really drove these missions. Modern space travel doesn't really have any comparable profit potenial right now like that. Really just stuff like national pride which never made anyone rich.

Right now were are better prepared to go to mars then we where to go to the moon in the 1960s, if we use new technology like ion drives. But unless we are going to just set up a flag and bring home some mars rocks it going to cost massive amounts of money.

The only thing I could think up short term to help with the cost would be whoring out to sponsors. A manned Mars mission would attract billions of TV viewers. So why not paint the craft up like a NASCAR charging all the sponsors massive amounts of money for there logo space.

Mars mission 2020

Brought to you in part by Pepsi, Microsoft and the Playstation 5

Originally posted by cmdrkeenkid

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
With proven technology we have now like Ion drives it could be done much quicker. 1-2 months I beleive.

Actually, it would still be about the same time. The only difference would be the efficiency of using an ion engine.

How can they be about the same time when a ion drives can reach far better speeds then any comparable chemical rockets. It pushes its exhaust about 10 times faster than chemical rocket exhaust for a much longer time.

Sure you cant use them to get into orbit it takes longer to get up to top speed then a chemical rocket which burns all its energy at once but once your in space the top speeds are much better.

We have also only just scratched the surface of ion drives

Actually it's Solar Sails that can make a 2 month round trip to mars and back. These sails are disposables though as the propellant expelled as the light hits the sail is finite. What happens is that when the light hits the sail it reacts with a substance impregnating the sail itself and causes mini-explosion to happen amplifying thrust by 10 fold or something like that. I'll try to find the link.

We would still need a chemical rocket to get the craft out of Earth's atmosphere though.

If we try this in the next 15 years true(but that is highly doubtfull, we are only talking about the moon in 15-20 years)

In 40 to 50 years we should have a Space Tether up and running eliminating most of the inefficiencies inherint in chemical rockets.

[edit on 22-2-2006 by sardion2000]

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
How can they be about the same time when a ion drives can reach far better speeds then any comparable chemical rockets. It pushes its exhaust about 10 times faster than chemical rocket exhaust for a much longer time.

This is true, but keep in mind the actual amount of force excerted is about the same as a piece of paper resting on your hand. It takes A LOT of time to build up the high speeds.

We have also only just scratched the surface of ion drives

This is true, so maybe in 5-10 years they'll be A LOT better.

Earth To Mars in a Month With Painted Solar Sail

[edit on 22-2-2006 by sardion2000]

Oh maybe it was the Solar sails I was thinking about for the 1month trip to Mars like Sardion2000 posted. Cant those in theory produce speeds almost a 1/10th that of the speed of light

Though I thought Ion drives were also much faster then chemical rockets of any similar size I might have mixed up theoritical times for a mars mission.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
Oh maybe it was the Solar sails I was thinking about for the 1month trip to Mars like Sardion2000 posted. Cant those in theory produce speeds almost a 1/10th that of the speed of light

Though I thought Ion drives were also much faster then chemical rockets of any similar size I might have mixed up theoritical times for a mars mission.

In theory both of them could do that. With a sail though you would need a laser to produce the thrust, since as you got further from the Sun your power would diminish. Ion drives can reach the same high speeds, but it's just a very, very slow acceleration.

Have you guys ever though beyond solar sails and Ion drives?
Like a Gravitational wave generator utilizing submicroscopic energizable elements propulsion system?Gravitational Propulsion
This is all in the process of being patent by the U.S. And these are recent November 05, these in my eyes would make anything we have now obsolete. I think technology is much more advanced than we are let to believe, there are probably people on Mars now doing experiments.

[edit on 23-2-2006 by mrjenka]

[edit on 23-2-2006 by mrjenka]

[edit on 23-2-2006 by mrjenka]

Here's the link to a vacuum propulsion.

Vacuum Propulsion