Autonomous Martian Colony: A Pipe Dream or Future Reality? – Sputnik International

The colonization ofMars is one ofthe most daring and audacious human endeavors the greatest minds ofour time are trying tobring intoreality. The Mars Society, established in1998, has now become the world's largest and most influential space advocacy organization dedicated tothe human exploration and settlement ofthe planet Mars, withmore than6,000 members from50 countries aroundthe world. People voluntarily live ina desert, conduct experiments and exploration campaigns, improve needed skills and strategies and leave their station only wearing space suits this is how a human Martian colony has modeled inUtah.

Another station, which is NASA's Mars project, is located beyondthe Arctic Circle, inthe Haughton impact crater onDevon Island, Canada. Geological and glacial features ofthis island are close tothe Martian ones, and its daytime temperatures are similar tothe "summer" temperatures onthe Red Planet.

But could people create an autonomous colony onMars now, using only the technologies mankind has atthe moment? Would those pioneers be able tolive inthe proper conditions?

"To establish the colony, which would be entirely self-contained, would be very difficult right now. In the first decades, such a colony would entirely depend onsupplies fromEarth. They will be inneed offood, spare parts forsophisticated equipment and building materials," said Aleksandr Smoleevsky, a researcher atthe Institute ofBiomedical Problems ofthe Russian Academy ofSciences, who was a member ofthe Mars-500 program in2010-2011 duringa 520-day psychosocial isolation experiment conducted bythe Russian space agency Roscosmos, the European ESA and China.

"Almost all scientific experiments onthe creation ofa ground-based autonomous colony have failed one way or another. Only two ofthem were more or less successful: BIOS-3, a Soviet experiment ofthe 1970s, when a crew ofthree managed tosurvive six months, offsetting upto 50 percent oftheir demand forfood bytheir own forces; and Lunar Palace 1 carried outby China in2014," Smoleevsky told Sputnik.

Sputnik/ A. Belonogov

Five-month experiment at "Bios-3" station, conducted by the Krasnoyarsk Institute of Biophysics, USSR Academy of Sciences, during which research in space biophysics was carried out

STR

Student volunteers are seen inside the Lunar Palace 1, a laboratory simulating a lunar-like environment, in Beijing on May 10, 2017.

Another large-scale experiment, American Biosphere 2, which simulated a closed ecological system, has practically failed. It was a massive structure built bySpace Biosphere Ventures and Texas billionaire Edward Bass inthe Arizona desert. The construction occupied an area ofone and a half hectare (15,000 square meters), withseven climate zones arranged there: they had their own mountains, a savanna, a desert, a swamp and even a little ocean upto 10 meters in-depth, witha living coral reef.

AP Photo/ John Miller

This 1991 picture shows the Biosphere 2 complex in the desert near Oracle, Ariz.

However, they failed tocalculate all the possible scenarios. For example, the experimentalists hadn't considered the uncontrolled growth ofmicroorganisms. As a result, bacteria and fungi multiplied, absorbed too much oxygen, so that an additional portion ofgas had tobe pumped forother organisms tosurvive. Ants and cockroaches also bred inlarge numbers. In addition, water condensed onthe glass roof inthe morning, and an artificial rain was pouring. Moreover, the researchers did not take intoconsideration such a phenomenon asthe wind: it turned outthat trees become fragile and break withoutregular swinging.

Biosphere 2 from the inside

Aleksandr Smoleevsky also highlighted some other very important problems that hinder the creation ofan autonomous colony onMars. "The colony has tobe provided withspecialists invarious spheres, such asengineers, technicians and doctors, aslong asa great number ofproblems will have tobe solved. But it is impossible toforesee what professionals will be necessary most ofall. Moreover, there may be some loss duringa long flight. And another problem is the compatibility ofthe first colonists withthose who will arrive onMars later," he explained.

"Women's issues" is likely torise inthe first Martian settlement, too, Bozhko believes. "Perhaps the first colonies must be formed exclusively bymen, and women should be sent later. Female colonizers will have tosacrifice their procreation fora lifetime. Several generations ofwomen will be forced tobecome likemen and just work. Children could be sent toMars asteenagers, butit will be impossible tobring them upwith very small amounts ofwater, the dangers ofbacteriological contamination and a lack ofthe right atmosphere. This situation may last fordecades or even centuries," he said.

"I think the first woman, who will successfully give birth onMars, will become history forstarting new kinds of 'protein bodies' inthe universe," Bozhko concluded.

Follow this link:
Autonomous Martian Colony: A Pipe Dream or Future Reality? - Sputnik International