• Forum Moderator applications are now open! If you're interested in joining an active team of moderators for one of the biggest Pokémon forums on the internet, click here for info.

Mars: Now Made With 95% Water

Status
Not open for further replies.
Rayne

Rayne

Hi
Joined
Sep 3, 2004
Messages
4,135
Reaction score
20
Well at it's North Pole at least.

Source

Universe Today said:
Planum Boreum, Mars' north polar cap contains water ice "of a very high degree of purity," according to an international study. Using radar data from the SHARAD (SHAllow RADar) instrument on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), French researchers say the data point to 95 percent purity in the polar ice cap. The north polar cap is a dome of layered, icy materials, similar to the large ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica, consisting of layered deposits, with mostly ice and a small amount of dust. Combined, the north and south polar ice caps are believed to hold the equivalent of two to three million cubic kilometers (0.47-0.72 million cu. miles) of ice, making it roughly 100 times more than the total volume of North America's Great Lakes, which is 22,684 cu. kms (5,439 miles).
Click to expand...

Now all we need is more pressure, a bit more oxygen, a touch of mass and then cook for about a few million years and you've got one fine looking planet.
 
Last edited:
Hmmm....meteor impacts wiping all life on Mars, similar to dinosaurs.
 
No, people shouldn't terraform Mars. It's probably going to be expensive, and we could use the money to solve problems here on Earth. Besides, I don't think it's right to mess with other planets. Of course, that's just my opinion. It would take a long time, anyway.
 
The Apocalypse seems progressively more and more inevitable. I think we should prepare for it. But how are we going to crispy-fry Mars?
 
What happened there? Did it rain on Mars? Hmmm. No, it could not have. It only rains on the Earth. Since Mars is so far from the sun, it had to have some ice that just melted into that 95% water you're talking about, Rayne. My hypothesis is that it just must have been awful hot on there for a planet that's farther away from the sun than the Earth. Earth is just composed of 70% water consisting of oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers to be precise.
 
The ice sublimated into what it is now. In Mars's current state, the surface pressure is too 'light' to form water. Water Vapor (gas) will go straight to ice (solid) without ever becoming water so you will never actually see the water. While we can't see it, there are conditions that may help prove its existence. Current observations of 'flows' or streamlines of water through trenches and gullies are predicted to be coming from an underground water source. Maybe under the crust, the pressure is sufficient enough for water to form, but as it reaches the surface, it will flow shortly, but it evaporates quickly and that's why you don't see water or rain for that matter.

Khom?s said:
The Apocalypse seems progressively more and more inevitable. I think we should prepare for it. But how are we going to crispy-fry Mars?
Click to expand...

Some initial ideas say to take society underground. Current surface conditions aren't exactly beneficial for instruments since the surface debris is really fine and abrasive. I've also heard it's slightly acidic, but don't recall where I heard that one.

Any surface changing operations are definitely going to take some time. No doubt there.

If you want to warm the surface, there's a concept floating around of sending up a mirror array to concentrate heat to the surface. Planetary scale arrays are probably not practical, but focus on concentrated zones (like 5-10 square miles) could possibly make surface temperatures a bit more close to home and at the least, more practical.


domesticshorthair said:
No, people shouldn't terraform Mars. It's probably going to be expensive, and we could use the money to solve problems here on Earth. Besides, I don't think it's right to mess with other planets. Of course, that's just my opinion. It would take a long time, anyway.
Click to expand...

What's the problem with terraforming? We're going to need to do it eventually. Mars probably wouldn't be the best candidate for terraforming in the short term, but late in the Sun's lifespan, Mars may be ripe for living while earth would become a burning inferno.

The reason we look to the stars and beyond is to see if there's any possible way to extend human reach and prolong our race for survival (and before we destroy ourselves). If you're concerned about doing it at the expense of other beings, then yes that would be wrong, but as far as I can tell, there are no other beings, save for extremeophiles, in our solar system apart from here on earth. If those organisms can survive the deepest and most radiated regions of space, they can survive interactions with us.
 
Last edited:
But no one knows what the effects of terraforming. The closest to such a thing was when Trevize, Pelorat, and Bliss were looking for Earth, and came across three of the Spacer Worlds, which were basically unterraforming themselves. Besides, you'd probably have to maintain the ecosystem as well. That can be a pretty big job.

Anyway, humans would probably destroy themselves. Before people look to anywhere, they should solve their own problems here, on Earth. People can barely handle their taking care of their own planet, it'd probably be much harder on one which was terraformed in the first place. It wouldn't solve the problem.
 
Rayne said:
Current surface conditions aren't exactly beneficial for instruments since the surface debris is really fine and abrasive.
Click to expand...

But haven't the rovers been getting cleaned through that process and that's one of the reasons they're still going?

The reason we look to the stars and beyond is to see if there's any possible way to extend human reach and prolong our race for survival (and before we destroy ourselves).
Click to expand...

It's not just us destroying us. Think of the number of cataclysmic disasters that are, supposedly, going to happen any day now. If we don't find a way to set up a sustainable human population off-world...the human race goes bye-bye. By starting with Mars, we can get an idea for what colonization of other planets will be like (and start to get an idea of what traversing huge interstellar distances will be like. Admittedly...it'll still be nothing like going to another galaxy, but...one step at a time).

Besides, terraforming Mars would be awesome.
 
GrnMarvl13 said:
But haven't the rovers been getting cleaned through that process and that's one of the reasons they're still going?
Click to expand...

True, that is a phenomenon that worked better than expected for the mission [which honestly, they didn't expect at all] and it's great those storms happen to keep those panels clean enough. Still, there's concern over habitat equipment getting clogged [like air filters] because the particulate matter is extremely fine. Maybe I made the mistake of putting the emphasis on equipment as the concern is not so much our instruments as it is our health.

If we did 'Mars Walks' there is concern that debris will cling to the space suits and will be unable to be fully decontaminated. And when it gets on everything, scientists predict it will get on everything [see aluminum powder]. Any stray particles will be released as free agents in the air and over time accumulate and become hazardous. I think there was a similar problem with 'moon dust' when we went to the moon. [Except that moon soil isn't acidic and as abrasive]. Now I'm sure we'll work out a solution before we arrived there, but you can see the hazards of working around this stuff for long periods of time.

GrnMarvl13 said:
By starting with Mars, we can get an idea for what colonization of other planets will be like (and start to get an idea of what traversing huge interstellar distances will be like. Admittedly...it'll still be nothing like going to another galaxy, but...one step at a time).
Click to expand...

Speaking within realistic means, even if we could create ships that run at .5c, .25c even, we could reach the nearest stars in our neighborhood within a lifetime, of course those would all be one way trips, but still feasible. That would be great.

I have a feeling space station living will be the primary means of deep space habitation before we start colonizing or developing habitable planet surfaces. But starting the process isn't going to hurt us, nor anything. If anything this planet would be much better off without us (or at least less of us) on it.

domesticshorthair said:
Before people look to anywhere, they should solve their own problems here, on Earth. People can barely handle their taking care of their own planet, it'd probably be much harder on one which was terraformed in the first place. It wouldn't solve the problem.
Click to expand...


Problems are going to arise regardless of where we are. It's human nature.

If or when humans are gathering resources from other planets, or other debris (like asteroids and comets) that will mean there are more resources to go around on Earth. The rising lack of natural resources are a good chunk of why there are problems on Earth. In order to quell that fighting we either need to reduce the population so everyone can get a share of those resources or expand outward. It's not like there are many more choices.
 
Last edited:
Rayne said:
Still, there's concern over habitat equipment getting clogged [like air filters] because the particulate matter is extremely fine.
Click to expand...

Ah, yeah. Why do I NEVER think about air filters (probably not a good thing to forget about...)?

I have a feeling space station living will be the primary means of deep space habitation before we start colonizing or developing habitable planet surfaces. But starting the process isn't going to hurt us, nor anything. If anything this planet would be much better off without us (or at least less of us) on it.
Click to expand...

Of course. It's very interesting to see the concerns they have over the psychological effects long-term habitation off-world would have (from anger issues to sex).

And, certainly, we need to relieve ourselves of some of our populace (of course, it seems that everything we colonize gets fucked up, but we HAVE shown a penchant for uprooting ourselves and going someplace wholly different with...eventual success).

In order to quell that fighting we either need to reduce the population so everyone can get a share of those resources or expand outward
Click to expand...

And, if I recall correctly, Mars is abundant in resources we could use. Of course we're QUITE a ways off from harvesting them.
 
Rayne said:
Speaking within realistic means, even if we could create ships that run at .5c, .25c even, we could reach the nearest stars in our neighborhood within a lifetime, of course those would all be one way trips, but still feasible. That would be great.

I have a feeling space station living will be the primary means of deep space habitation before we start colonizing or developing habitable planet surfaces. But starting the process isn't going to hurt us, nor anything. If anything this planet would be much better off without us (or at least less of us) on it.
Click to expand...


But they'd have to choose VERY carefully who goes and who stays on those trips. I mean, not just anybody could go. Some people just...wouldn't be able to make it, you know what I mean.

And living in an...alien environment, on an alien planet, with radiation from an alien star...maybe even the smallest difference in the environment could, er, cause certain mutations, problems? I know I've probably been reading too much science fiction, especially Mother Earth and the Robot and Foundation novels, and Isis Trilogy but still...it could be possible, even if slightly. After all, it IS an alien planet, different elements, in different quantities, even if it's another G2V type star. Or a planet orbitting a star of a different type, but further or closer to its star to make up for it.

Besides, imo, it's a question of ethics, as well. I just don't feel it's right to mess with other planets. Maybe people could live in space stations if they wanted to, but you'd probably have to be claustropilic to stand that.
 
Will it really matter if we go there? By the time our planet becomes so polluted that its unlivable the sun will probably be a red giant and wipe out all the planets including mars.
 
ultradude2k said:
Hard part is getting the mass for Mars.
Click to expand...

Oh, I think I can find what the mass for Mars is. Hold on! *me opens up Starry Night Program to get info on Mars* *didn't work, now goes to Astronomy Book instead*

In fact, I didn't find it on either of the two so I just looked online to finally obtain the information on what the mass of Mars is. Since you want to know the mass, I'll give you it. I can be very helpful when it comes to the planets of the Solar System. Mars's Northern Hemisphere is 10,600 kilometers long by 8,500 kilometers wide. I think someone could probably calculate that for me. I'm out of a calculator and I'm too lazy or barely able to find a paper myself to do it because I got other stuff to do. However, it is slightly larger than that of Mercury's which only contains a mass of 0.11 while Earth has the mass of 1. Details are listed on this site: http://library.thinkquest.org/29033/solarsystem/mars.htm

You can go to that site if you like and look up some cool interesting stuff there to make you feel so knowledgeable and happy that I provided the link for you guys.
 
Flapjack said:
Oh, I think I can find what the mass for Mars is. Hold on! *me opens up Starry Night Program to get info on Mars* *didn't work, now goes to Astronomy Book instead*

In fact, I didn't find it on either of the two so I just looked online to finally obtain the information on what the mass of Mars is. Since you want to know the mass, I'll give you it. I can be very helpful when it comes to the planets of the Solar System. Mars's Northern Hemisphere is 10,600 kilometers long by 8,500 kilometers wide. I think someone could probably calculate that for me. I'm out of a calculator and I'm too lazy or barely able to find a paper myself to do it because I got other stuff to do. However, it is slightly larger than that of Mercury's which only contains a mass of 0.11 while Earth has the mass of 1. Details are listed on this site: http://library.thinkquest.org/29033/solarsystem/mars.htm

You can go to that site if you like and look up some cool interesting stuff there to make you feel so knowledgeable and happy that I provided the link for you guys.
Click to expand...

No, I meant the extra mass that Mars would need to have enough gravity to have a thicker atmosphere than it currently has. Right now, as you know, Mars is a small planet, only 6.4185 × 10^23 kg, compared to Earth's 5.9736 × 10^24 kg (trust me, I know this stuff, that website got the figures wrong). Assuming humans can create gravity generators of some kind, whether it's by simulating mass or whatnot, then Mars would definitely be habitable.
 
Lol, judging the title I was thinking that they made a Mars candy bar with 95% water xD

Well, I'm not that fond of astrophysics, but I read some time ago a book written by Isaac Asimov, Extraterrestrial Civilizations, that provided a complete look on the possibility that other intelligent species can exist in the space, and even a short coverage about humans' colonization of other planets. It's a very good book, but some informations are really outdated (we're talking about a 1989 work).

Asimov states that planets like Mars, albeit very promising, aren't the way to begin our colonization of the space. He rather counts on human artifacts, sorts of "little worlds", which are meant to exist in two special points called "libration points" (i.e. a point that is equally distant from the Earth and the Moon, but not placed in the straight line that unites the two- rather, if you imagine an equilateral triangle, the Moon would be placed in one of its corners, the Earth in another and one of the libration points in another one). Humans can build these "little worlds", which can be comfortable enough for normal living, at these point, and at a later time can travel the space in these "worlds" in search of a planet that is more Earth-like.

But that's just speculation :P
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom