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Bereta_Eder
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There are plans to mine ore from Mars, completely automated and ready to put into implementation.
But it's not cost/output "correct" yet.
Too expensive.
But I was surprised that they have mande those plans and that they are ready.
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Odin
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Biology Nerd at Minnesota State University Moorhead
Sep 2000
time: 23:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Spiffor
I don't know anything about astrophysics. Can you please explain me why radiation is affected by the magnetic field, and what is the problem with Mars' MF ? Thanks |
Mars has no magnetic field. 
We should have the abillity to terraform Mars after the colonial population reaches several hundred thousand. Even without terraforming, Mars cam be completely self sufficient, it is also the only other planetary body that has an abundance of minerals, the moon is very mineral poor, Mars's crust is 15% Iron by weight, much more than Earth (that is why it is so RED). Aluminium is just as abundant on Mars as it is on Earth. Mars' own colonial government will pay for terraforming, not a terran government. The need for labor on Mars will increase wages and force an "American pioneer" type pragmatism, increasing immigration and making Mars even MORE self-sufficent. As for terraforming, here is how we do it:
Using solar mirrors, the temperature of the higher latatudes is warmed.
Warming of the regolith will cause carbonates to decompose into CO2, warming the planet more, starting a runaway greenhouse effect that will bring thr air pressure to 200 millibars, high enough to go out with only an air supply and warm clothing, in a few decades, and 500 millibars in 300 years.
At the same time you pump halocarbons, super-potent greenhouse gases, to the atmosphere.
Then you introduce Cyanobacteria and lichens to make oxygen and start turning nitrates in the soil into molecular nitrogen and oxygen.
The water will begin to melt out of the regolith and produce a great northern ocean and seas in the Hellas and Argyre impact basins. This distroys the peroxides in the soil (the stuff that gave the false life reading with Viking) and moisturizes the atmosphere.
Bring the level of CO2 down to non-poisinous levels (I didn't know CO2 was poisonous untill I red Red Mars. ) by growing vast forests in the tropical regions.
YIKES!! I'm begining to sound like Sax. 
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Dr Strangelove
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I'd take anyone's hypothetical plans to terraform mars with a grain of salt. Do we know if there really is enough oxygen in the soil to provide sufficient atmospheric oxygen? How about an inert gas to dilute the oxygen? You can't have a purely oxygen atmosphere, it would spontaneously combust. An inert gas like nitrogen would be ideal. Carbon dioxide won't do. Normally we excrete carbon dioxide, a byproduct of energy metabolism from our lungs. If the partial pressure of CO2 is too high in the atmosphere then CO2 will not passively diffuse out of our lungs.
Do we even know if Mars will hold a sufficient atmosphere? It is smaller than the earth, and therefore has a less powerful gravitational field. Surely the gravitational field has some role in determining how much gas a planet can trap as an atmosphere.
The reason that Mars doesn't have a magnetic field is that it doesn't have a dynamic liquid core. Earth's dynamic core generates a magnetic field. The percolation of molten rock through the crust over millions of years also has caused certain metals to become concentrated in mineable pockets. If Mars doesn't have a molten core then not only will it not generate a magnetic field which would repel charged radioactive particles, but also there may be no concentrated pockets of minerals to mine. It's generally not practical to mine minerals that are not concentrated. Certainly Mars will not have coal or oil. There isn't a shortage of mineable iron deposits on Earth. Currently it is often more economical to recycle ferrous alloys. Consequently some iron mines have gone out of business not because they have run out of ore, but because hey can't compete with recycling.
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Willem
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Canada
Dec 2001
time: 00:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
Do we even know if Mars will hold a sufficient atmosphere? It is smaller than the earth, and therefore has a less powerful gravitational field. Surely the gravitational field has some role in determining how much gas a planet can trap as an atmosphere. |
Yes that's a big if, we really can't be certain at this point. Plus there's still the problem of the lack of magnetic field, and the increased radiation that results. Another issue is it's distance from the sun, it simply might not be possible to raise the temperature enough for life to flourish, except perhaps for a narrow region along it's equator. Which probably won't be enough.
quote:
If Mars doesn't have a molten core then not only will it not generate a magnetic field which would repel charged radioactive particles, but also there may be no concentrated pockets of minerals to mine. |
It's pretty much certain that it once did, but that over time it cooled down. So I don't think concentration of minerals will be an issue. The current lack of a magnetic field is though.
There also a good possibility that it might be rich in minerals and elements that are scarce here on Earth, because of the abundance of free water and other factors. An example of this is Helium-3, an isotope that is currently being explored as a source of fuel for fusion reactors. Because of conditions here it's very rare, but it is more abundant on other bodies, including the moon.
Frankly, I don't believe we'll be able to completely terraform Mars to the point that it begins to resemble Earth's environment. I think at best we'll only be able to raise the overall temperature enough that it will require less energy to keep our biodomes and underground complexes warm enough for us, and our plant life, to survive.
The only way I can see us doing so would be to somehow reactivate the core so that it can create a magnetic field to protect us from the radiation. Even then, the lower gravity and the distance from the sun still might not make it possible.
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05-05-2003 03:50
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