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If terraforming Mars were to be successful, wouldn’t the long-term livability of Mars still be hampered by having about a third of Earth’s gravity? I imagine i
by imjasonmiller 7y ago
If terraforming Mars were to be successful, wouldn’t the long-term livability of Mars still be hampered by having about a third of Earth’s gravity?
I imagine it to dramatically affect human physiology, making it perhaps impossible for Martians to ever return to Earth.
- phreeza 7y agoCould people who plan to return to earth live in large centrifuges?
- jacobush 7y agoIt's not known whether Mars gravity would be sufficient to maintain "Earth compatibility".
- FreeFull 7y agoThe whole point of the centrifuges is to increase the force experienced by the people, up to the point where it is comparable to Earth's gravity.
- jacobush 7y agoYes, but we don't have empiric data on people living in a third of Earth gravity, only 0G from space stations. A third may be enough and no centrifuges necessary.
- vixen99 7y ago“My understanding of terraforming is the deliberate addition, by humans, of directly adding gases to the atmosphere on a planetary scale,” Not only adding but also removal of the 700ppm carbon monoxide.
- goatlover 7y agoAlso, the lack of a magnetic field to protect from solar radiation.
- rusk 7y agoI think this is the crucial point. When I heard this I gave up hope.
- garmaine 7y agoWhy? You’re not going to be spending most of your time out on suits anyway. Put some sandbags on the roof.
- jacobush 7y agoBecause the atmosphere will be stripped away by the Sun. But see comment about generating a magnetic field.
- wongarsu 7y agoYes, over billions of years the atmosphere will be stripped away. But the process is way too slow for us to worry about.
- jacobush 7y agohttps://phys.org/news/2017-03-nasa-magnetic-shield-mars-atmosphere.html https://phys.org/news/2017-03-nasa-magnetic-shield-mars-atmo... NASA estimates, given Mars was given a magnetic field, it would only take a century (give or take) to start to melt oceans. So your estimate seems to be off by a bit.
- garmaine 7y agoDid you reply to the wrong comment?
- bufferoverflow 7y agoLong-term livability is a separate issue to the ability to return. The whole point of colonization is to be able to stay... forever. Artificial gravity can be added by rotating cities. Not cheap, nor easy, but possible.
- Symmetry 7y agoJAXA did a 1/6 g (like the Moon) experiment with rats in a centrifuge on the ISS this summer and when that gets published we'll have our first data point on how low gravity effects mammal physiology. But really, we currently have no idea if Mars gravity is just as good as Earth gravity or just as bad as freefall.