3 ms·

I know that it's 1/200th of earth sea level but based on how deep those canyons are you might get 1/20 at the deepest parts. Maybe enough for water to not immed

• elihu 5y ago
  Reminds me of Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis, written before anyone had much of a clear idea of what the surface of Mars is really like. There was air and life in the canyons, but everything else was a low-oxygen desert. Realistically, though, I wouldn't expect pressure to vary that much with elevation. Mars' weaker gravity implies that it would vary less than on Earth. However, according to this [1], the pressure does vary a lot by season. That's interesting. > Surface pressure: 6.36 mb at mean radius (variable from 4.0 to 8.7 mb depending on season) Surface water might not be readily available on Mars, but ice is present on the surface at the poles, and probably elsewhere in shadowy craters or underground. (Unfortunately, the places with the best access to ice are not great for solar power.) [1] https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/marsfact.html https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/marsfact.htm...
  • hparadiz 5y ago
    I'd love to see some pressure readings from Hellas Basin. It's a full five miles below what scientists say is the average elevation.
    • elihu 5y ago
      Hmm, according to wikipedia, the pressure in Hellas can sometimes get up to 12.4 mbar, and it looks like there are some significant glaciers. Interesting. Tunneling into the ice could be a plausible way to build a Mars habitat... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellas_Planitia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellas_Planitia