Wonder Question
Q: I wonder what the living conditions are on Mars and is it possible to live there?
Mars: 4th planet from the sun. In it’s time Mars might have contained life until its water dried up over the centuries. Now a big desert, it has close-to harsh weather conditions and a neutral amount of water hidden beneath the surface under all the sand which spans the planet. There might be vegetation and creatures on Mars unless they all died of thirst when the water dried up.
Info from Environmental conditions – Marspedia
- Average atmosphere temperature: -63 °C
- Minimum: −125 °C near the poles in winter
- Maximum: 20 °C near the equator
Winds: High wind speeds can occur in large storms or small dust clouds. Wind speeds can sometimes exceed 111 miles per hour. The thin atmosphere on Mars means that the pressure created by wind is weaker than it would be on Earth. High winds will be less a threat with the possible exception of areas where the ground slopes upwards and steeply.
- Summer winds: 2-7 m/s
- Fall winds: 5-10m per second
- Winter winds: 5-10m per second
- Spring winds: 5-10m per second
- Dust storms: 17-30m per second
- Dust clouds: Typically, 10m per second
Dust: Airborne dust presents potential problems for humans. Dust could wear on moving parts if it infiltrates machinery. Dust that enters a habitat could clog air filters. It could build on solar panels, antennas, optical sensors, or radiators. Also, the dust is composed of very small particles which will be especially stressful on moving parts. The dust on Mars is somewhat toxic, they contain perchlorates so efforts may be taken to minimize tracking it into the habitat modules. If water is locally available, showers could be provided in air lock rooms.
Atmosphere: During the southern winter, a significant fraction of the worlds carbon dioxide atmosphere freezes out as dry ice. The atmosphere has one hundredth of Earth’s atmospheric density and seven thousandths of Earth’s atmospheric pressure. The pressure changes randomly from day to day, season to season, and from place to place on Mars.
Electrostatic shock hazards: Humans may need to deal with electrostatic shock hazards. On Earth, soil contains enough moisture to conceal electricity, which means electric charge will not build up in grounded objects. The discharge of built-up static electricity might damage electronics and machines. Equipment and anything running on electricity will need to be designed to avoid shock hazards.
Radiation: Random surface radiation levels and solar storms might occur on Mars. This could damage the human brain.
Info from The resources of Mars for human settlement – PubMed (nih.gov):
The key life-support resources: Dioxide, Dinitride, and water (although under ground) is available on Mars. The soil could be used as radiation shielding and could provide many useful industrial and construction materials. Solar power, and possibly wind power, are also available and practical on Mars.
Info from The Planet Mars (weather.gov):
Mars has highly variable weather and is often cloudy. Similar to Earth, the planet changes throughout the year from being warm and dusty to cloudy and cold.
Quick info:
| Average distance from Sun | 141,000,000 miles |
| Sidereal Rotation | 24.62 Earth hours |
| Length of Day | 24.66 Earth hours |
| 1 Year on Mars | 687 days on Earth |
| Moons | 2 |
| Planet Atmosphere | Carbon Dioxide 95.3%, Nitrogen 2.7%, Argon 1.6% |
| Discovery Date | Prehistoric |
Conclusion: I think if we upgraded our technology, we might have a good chance to live on Mars. According to Nasa humans can live on Mars but in harsh conditions, with it’s Cloudy atmosphere, electro hazards