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While a K-T event might eliminate life on Earth, a Mars colony could be wiped out by a long dust storm or broken sewage system.

pfdietz 6y ago
The K-T event obviously didn't eliminate life on Earth.
- giantrobot 6y ago
  For some values of life.
rbanffy 6y ago
Why would a long dust storm wipe out a Martian colony? I don't think plants will be grown using sunlight (which is 25% Earth's sunlight). Nuclear reactors would provide energy for years after deployment, even though sourcing local fuel would require large industrial plants. As for the broken sewage system, that's simple: build more than one. In fact, instead of one large colony, build a couple dozen smaller ones and never tax them to full capacity. It's my assumption Martians will take birth control very seriously.
- giantrobot 6y ago
  So you're assuming a Mars colony would have a nuclear reactor(s). Setting aside for a moment what a Herculean task that would be, how would you expect a nuclear reactor work on Mars? They require massive amounts of cooling, most of a nuclear power plant is essentially the core's cooling system. There's no ready sources of water to use and the atmospheric density is a tiny fraction of Earth's. A Martian cooling tower would have to be enormous. A cooling system might have other configurations but it would still be enormous. Dust storms on Mars can last for months. While the overall wind energy isn't as high as on Earth thanks to much lower atmospheric density, Martian dust still gets everywhere. So your Martian reactors would have their cooling systems constantly covered in insulating dust. While Reactor Cooling Maintenance Technician would be an in-demand job, a long or particularly bad dust storm would doom the colony. Building a second sewage system, or any other infrastructure, isn't always practical or even possible. The problem with infrastructure on Mars is it must always work or people will die. If an infrastructure problem kills or disables enough Reactor Cooling Maintenance Technicians the colony is doomed. A broken sewer line on Earth is inconvenient to dangerous but rarely an existential problem. A broken sewer line anywhere but Earth is an existential threat at best.
  - rbanffy 6y ago
    > So you're assuming a Mars colony would have a nuclear reactor(s). Yes. Or, at least, multiple power sources besides solar. The same reactor designs that work for the Moon would work on Mars. Due to sandstorms, nuclear power is a necessity on Mars. Depending on the location of the colony, carbon dioxide ice deposits can function as heat sinks. Martial dust gets everywhere, and that's why the colony will not place critical infrastructure on the surface. Building redundant life-support infrastructure, however impractical, is a hard requirement for any off-planet colony. That's why any realistic approach will start by launching a massive amount of supplies and equipment before the first human is settled. That means there will always be enough water and food to supply the colony until another supply landing can arrive. Living on a planet where you can't open a window to the atmosphere is hard and dangerous, but also required if we want to survive in the long run.
    - giantrobot 6y ago
      Great plan. I hadn't thought of powering of powering a Martian colony with unicorns instead of basilisks. In retrospect that makes perfect sense.
  - LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
    Ever heard of small modular reactors? [1] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=Small%20modular%20reactor&sort=byDate&type=all https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... As I understand it at least some of them are "walk-away-safe" in case of meltdown, which is conceptually unlikely, and don't need the big cooling towers you speak of. I know they are not there yet because of materials science, regulation, but they are not science-fiction either. Anyways, I don't see any reason to not bury them in mars ground, instead of doing so here on earth. Getting them there would be difficult, but some big effing rockets in their freight configuration should do... Edit: or some Sea Dragons [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Dragon_(rocket) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Dragon_(rocket)
    - giantrobot 6y ago

pfdietz 6y ago

The K-T event obviously didn't eliminate life on Earth.

giantrobot 6y ago
For some values of life.

rbanffy 6y ago

Why would a long dust storm wipe out a Martian colony? I don't think plants will be grown using sunlight (which is 25% Earth's sunlight). Nuclear reactors would provide energy for years after deployment, even though sourcing local fuel would require large industrial plants. As for the broken sewage system, that's simple: build more than one. In fact, instead of one large colony, build a couple dozen smaller ones and never tax them to full capacity. It's my assumption Martians will take birth control very seriously.

giantrobot 6y ago
So you're assuming a Mars colony would have a nuclear reactor(s). Setting aside for a moment what a Herculean task that would be, how would you expect a nuclear reactor work on Mars? They require massive amounts of cooling, most of a nuclear power plant is essentially the core's cooling system. There's no ready sources of water to use and the atmospheric density is a tiny fraction of Earth's. A Martian cooling tower would have to be enormous. A cooling system might have other configurations but it would still be enormous. Dust storms on Mars can last for months. While the overall wind energy isn't as high as on Earth thanks to much lower atmospheric density, Martian dust still gets everywhere. So your Martian reactors would have their cooling systems constantly covered in insulating dust. While Reactor Cooling Maintenance Technician would be an in-demand job, a long or particularly bad dust storm would doom the colony. Building a second sewage system, or any other infrastructure, isn't always practical or even possible. The problem with infrastructure on Mars is it must always work or people will die. If an infrastructure problem kills or disables enough Reactor Cooling Maintenance Technicians the colony is doomed. A broken sewer line on Earth is inconvenient to dangerous but rarely an existential problem. A broken sewer line anywhere but Earth is an existential threat at best.
- rbanffy 6y ago
  > So you're assuming a Mars colony would have a nuclear reactor(s). Yes. Or, at least, multiple power sources besides solar. The same reactor designs that work for the Moon would work on Mars. Due to sandstorms, nuclear power is a necessity on Mars. Depending on the location of the colony, carbon dioxide ice deposits can function as heat sinks. Martial dust gets everywhere, and that's why the colony will not place critical infrastructure on the surface. Building redundant life-support infrastructure, however impractical, is a hard requirement for any off-planet colony. That's why any realistic approach will start by launching a massive amount of supplies and equipment before the first human is settled. That means there will always be enough water and food to supply the colony until another supply landing can arrive. Living on a planet where you can't open a window to the atmosphere is hard and dangerous, but also required if we want to survive in the long run.
  - giantrobot 6y ago
    Great plan. I hadn't thought of powering of powering a Martian colony with unicorns instead of basilisks. In retrospect that makes perfect sense.
- LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
  Ever heard of small modular reactors? [1] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=Small%20modular%20reactor&sort=byDate&type=all https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... As I understand it at least some of them are "walk-away-safe" in case of meltdown, which is conceptually unlikely, and don't need the big cooling towers you speak of. I know they are not there yet because of materials science, regulation, but they are not science-fiction either. Anyways, I don't see any reason to not bury them in mars ground, instead of doing so here on earth. Getting them there would be difficult, but some big effing rockets in their freight configuration should do... Edit: or some Sea Dragons [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Dragon_(rocket) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Dragon_(rocket)
  - giantrobot 6y ago