The article talks about the possible colonization of Mars, its goals, dangers, technical aspects, and why it is a "one-way ticket".

The beginning of the space age

So terraforming projects without human participation are impossible, and just the first settlers can lay their foundation. Their meaning revolves around the atmosphere of Mars. It consists mainly of carbon dioxide, and is too rarefied for liquid water or normal clouds to exist on the surface. And there are proposals to populate it with bacteria that will produce even more carbon dioxide, as a result of which the planet's gaseous envelope will become denser, the temperature will rise and the polar caps will begin to melt, followed by warm rains.

Mars colonization. Selection of candidates

In 2011, the launch of the Mars One project was announced. Its meaning was that a wide selection of all those wishing to leave the Earth, and not just the already active astronauts, would be carried out to establish a settlement on Mars. A little later, indeed, any person could offer his candidacy via the Internet, and if he successfully passed the test, he was enrolled in the ranks of applicants, received a specialty and waited for an opportunity.

This project is private, and its management planned to transfer all the complex technical work to contractors, and receive its benefits by making a reality show out of the preparation of the colonialists.

By the way, there were a lot of people who wanted to, and they were not even afraid of the fact that this was a one-way flight to Mars. Since in which case it will be impossible to pick up the settlers.

On this moment selection has been completed, but several more are planned in the near future. In general, a lot of people criticize Mars One, and not without reason. Since very little has been done over the 5 years of its existence, and the dates of various events and plans are constantly being postponed. The criteria for selecting participants are also questionable.

Difficulties and dangers

The first difficulty is the direct flight to Mars itself. Colonization is complicated by the fact that even with the maximum proximity of the red planet to us, with current technologies, the flight will take about 7 months. And all this time, the astronauts need to eat something, and there will be a lot of equipment on board anyway. Another danger is To protect against it, you need to develop special means.

Another pressing issue is food on Mars. So far there are no absolutely closed ones, and the colonists will have to rely only on themselves and hydroponic greenhouses. And plus, for all this, you need housing, at least some residential modules that also need to be delivered, lowered, assembled without damage ... After all, if something happens, the astronauts will have to wait at least 7 months for a ship with a package.

Connection

Despite the fact that the speed of radio emission is comparable to at the moments of maximum distance from the earth, "ping" will be about 22 two earth minutes.

gravity

Also, another factor in the danger of such a thing as a project to fly to Mars is that it is low compared to the earth and it is not clear how this will affect children born in such conditions. And the settlers themselves, too.

The main objectives of the colonization of Mars are to design, finance, build and organize the management of the first permanent settlement on Mars. The initial goal for the Mars Homestead project is to identify the core technologies needed for an economical Martian base built primarily using materials available on the planet.

Mars colonization project

Efforts will be focused on model projects that meet modern requirements. Their task is to select existing equipment that could be used on Mars, or build prototypes of new equipment. These steps will lead the Mars Foundation to substantiate an experimental model of a Martian settlement on Earth, which will serve as the basis for research.

Creating an autonomous colony on another planet is one of the most promising tasks for humanity. Although the project requires a huge effort, the goal is to expand the influence of mankind in solar system justifies these costs. This problem has several aspects.

What should be an autonomous colony? the main task- independence from the Earth. Once a colony is built, it provides a habitat for settlers for a long time, preferably forever. The second task is a stable, manageable colony that can use local resources. Unlike the mission with the planned death of the settlers in an autonomous colony, there is a future for them and for their children born on Mars.

Technological problems

Getting colonists from Earth to Mars is a very difficult part of the plan. There are many threats inherent in space travel: solar and cosmic radiation, meteorites, physical and mental illness, etc. Plans should address each of these issues.

The main artificial habitat with houses, storage and equipment for long stays should be built on the surface of Mars, since humans cannot live in the planet's natural atmosphere. Equipment must be technologically sufficient to allow colonists to grow their own food, build new buildings, etc.

There are many uncertainties about the impact of the Martian environment. The equipment must be tested entirely on Earth, but the effects of the Martian atmosphere cannot be fully investigated on Earth. The safest way is the unmanned construction of a colony by automated and controlled mechanisms.

Energy is the most critical resource. It is necessary for lighting and heating greenhouses, for metallurgy and the efficiency of mechanisms. The critical path is to generate enough energy to produce spare parts for power plants and greenhouses. In other words, if power plants and greenhouses cannot be sustained by the energy produced indefinitely, building an autonomous colony loses its meaning.

Organizational Issues

The cost of preparing this mission is enormous. Financial assessment only helps to get a general idea.

Within a small group of colonists, a daily council of all members may be sufficient to decide matters of government, akin to the tradition of New England town hall meetings. In a growing community of some kind, representative democracy may become necessary.

As the number of members in the Martian population grows, so will the number of deaths. There will be a need for burials.

Medical Issues

Quarantine

Before landing on Mars, any crew must be isolated to ensure that its members do not suffer from infectious diseases. As a result, a Martian colony should be more or less free of pathogenic microbes, which would save on medical costs. However, for children born on Mars even more effective program vaccinations will be needed to stimulate the development of the newborn's immune systems.

inbreeding

The population size should not be too small due to the risk of inbreeding.

Increased exposure to radiation can increase the incidence of cancer. The colonists will need protection from radiation during the flight from Earth to Mars and on the surface of Mars due to the rarefied atmosphere and lack of a planetary magnetosphere.

Medical service

Compared to Earth, the limited industrial productivity of an autonomous colony does not allow for the same level of medical care. It is impossible to produce highly sophisticated surgical equipment and a wide variety of medicines.

The semi-autonomous colony on Mars lives mainly on its own production of energy, food and air, using technology imported from Earth. All life systems are low tech and can be kept up and running using local resources.

Additional resources are regularly delivered from Earth:

– Sophisticated medical equipment
- Medications for treatment
— Quality products
– High-tech equipment (e.g. computers)

As part of a strategy, this could be a smart move in a colonization program.

Transport restrictions

Transporting payloads to Mars using today's launch vehicle technology is expensive. If mass transportation becomes a reality, cheaper commercial launch systems must be developed. Since it is a difficult task to bring large loads to the surface, this could be done using new technology, designed specifically for this colony. Restrictions on the transportation of goods, however, mean that the colony is approaching in its properties an autonomous one.

What if support from Earth stops?

However, if the delivery of supplies were to stop, the colony would be able to sustain itself for a long time with low-tech equipment. Some settlers could then return to Earth if space travel continues.

An Earth-supported colony is the simplest of all colony types. As part of a colonization strategy, this could be used to further local exploration and build more advanced colonies on Mars. This may be either a manned one-way flight or a colony with a regularly changing crew.

Requirements

To sustain the existence of settlers, the following basic conditions are necessary:

- Air for breathing
- Food to provide energy for the human metabolism
– Heating of the artificial habitat

There are other conditions necessary for a comfortable stay:

– Equipment for daily exercise in low martian gravity
- Possibility of communication and solitude
– Psychological consultations
— Comparison with other concepts

Compared to an autonomous colony, this concept has the following advantages:

- Fewer new technologies need to be developed
– Less weight and volume of initial transportation
- Support can be adjusted
- Possibly a small group of settlers

and the following inconveniences:

- fixed costs
- Colonists have fewer options for self-government. Management is carried out from the Earth
– Energy and food aid

The colony regularly receives fuel and food from Earth. There is no need for greenhouses. Energy production is needed mainly to heat the dwelling. This may be possible using nuclear power.

Energy support

The colony regularly receives fuel from Earth. Greenhouses or biotechnology are essential for local food production. The amount of energy required is higher due to the fact that the energy efficiency factor of any food production is well below 1. Using outdated methods (artificial greenhouse lighting) the factor is approximately 0.001, which means transporting a huge amount of energy from Earth to Mars to feed the colonists.

The planet Mars, or as the Red Planet is often expressed otherwise, is of great interest to mankind. Scientists have been exploring Mars since 1960 with the help of automatic stations.

And according to researchers, Mars has great prospects in terms of human exploration of the red deserts of the planet by man. It should be noted here that Mars is a terrestrial planet, and as it turned out recently, the rarefied atmosphere of the planet protects the surface of Mars well from cosmic radiation. So the settlers will not have to look for serious shelters from penetrating radiation.

One of the features of the similarity of Mars with our planet is the period of rotation, and the change of seasons, although the climate on the planet is drier than the earth, and much colder. However, according to scientists, this was not always the case. Now on Mars, a rather harsh climatic situation average temperature is -50 °C, fluctuations occur from -153 °C at the pole in winter, and up to over +20 °C at noon at the equator.

As the researchers suggest, once on Mars there was not so cold climate, and there was a time that the surface of Mars was covered with seas, oceans, lakes - that is, there was the presence of water in a liquid state. But that was a billion or more years ago.

Prospects for the colonization of Mars.

As a promising goal for the exploration of Mars, the construction of a permanent research habitable base on the planet is considered first of all. The priority task of the base staff will be to study directly Mars, its satellites Phobos and Deimos. And as the future goal of the research base, the study of the asteroid belt, and the solar system.

Of course, this is the extraction of resources, because Mars can be a rich planet in terms of minerals. However, in this case, the delivery of goods is a serious problem, the high cost of transporting goods will not justify the costs. Unless, according to experts, the colonialists will discover rare earth metals - uranium, gold, diamonds, platinum.

And according to some scientists, the situation on Earth has come to the point where humanity needs to think about solving the demographic issue. And not only the threat of overpopulation, or the depletion of the Earth's resources force us to take a closer look at the issues of planetary colonization.

According to a number of scientists, speaking cautiously about this, there is another need to create colonies on Mars.

The fact is that in the history of the Earth there have already been catastrophes of a global scale. For example, the fall of large space objects, so huge that a wave of destruction destroyed all life on Earth, rebuilding the surface of the planet. When land and water pools changed places.

According to scientists-researchers, it is impossible to exclude the fact that an object of huge mass can fly from deep space and collide with the planet. And the colossal impact force of the space object will "shake" the Earth, so much that all living things will die. But even under a more favorable scenario, human survival will not be easy.

After all, in this case, the entire human civilization is put under the blow of existence. Even with a more favorable scenario, human survival will not be easy. Dust raised by the impact of a huge object, eruptions from active volcanoes - all this dust and ash - cinder suspension, will close the planet from the Sun for many years. The temperature will drop to sub-zero levels for decades - that is, it will be the same as what happened during the death of the dinosaurs.

So, according to scientists, a person should think about what needs to be done so that the entire earthly culture does not perish. And there is only one option, which is seen by scientists-researchers thinking in this direction, the creation of settlements on other planets of our system.

The most favorable, and more accessible in this regard, is Mars. Of course, the Moon is not forgotten, but only in terms of development - a habitable research base, a sort of outpost of humanity, but nothing more. But with regard to Mars, boldly thinking scientists talk about great prospects.

How is it planned to create settlements on Mars.

Initially, it is planned to build a modular research camp. Where the building material will be specially made panels delivered from Earth. On Mars, residential modules and research laboratory modules will be assembled from them.

At the first stage of creating research bases, areas in the equator region are considered. Temperatures are more moderate at the equator. What is more suitable for living, and conducting further geological exploration of Mars, and other research activities.

At the second stage of development - certainly with the success of the primary one - we are already talking about the creation of a colony on Mars. That is, the settlers will start building permanent, basic settlements. But permanent settlements are planned to be built from local materials. These will be capital buildings intended for the colonists and future generations to live.

Some scientists, looking far ahead, also speak of such things as terraforming, when it will be possible to artificially form a landscape on Mars and change the atmosphere. After all, the current atmosphere of Mars is not suitable for human survival without special protective equipment. But with the help of terraforming, the atmosphere of Mars can be filled with breathable air. “However, this is a very distant prospect.

Difficulties in colonizing planets.

At present, the development and creation of research bases on any planetary-satellite object of our system is not an easy task. Difficulties exist not only during the flight phase, when the colonists must be delivered to Mars. Even having rebuilt the residential and laboratory modules of the station, there is a problem that the modules will have a normal environment for life.

Many probably remember, in connection with which it was removed from orbit and flooded space station, - the astronauts did not manage to get rid of the fungus that hit the station. mold in literally beat the station.

And even on Earth, having rebuilt a certain model of a closed base, problems began to arise in it. In early 1990, in the desert near Arizona, a project conceived by billionaire Edward Bass was implemented. The Americans created a huge complex in the desert,

The project lasted about two years, four men and four women kept in touch with the outside world exclusively through a computer. Very quickly, the climate within the group deteriorated, the team broke up into two opposing factions. By the way, even after 20 years, the participants in the experiment avoid meeting each other.

But not only the issues of cohabitation of a small group of people in a confined space disrupted the Biosphere-2 project. A huge complex, designed for people to live in it autonomously, could not exist without outside support. But inside the whole world was closed - trees, bushes, pigsties and chicken coops, goats and pastures for them. Reservoirs with fish, a whole ecosystem isolated from the outside world.

However, the unforeseen happened, microorganisms and insects began to multiply in huge quantities, and the process was impossible to adjust. And this began a few weeks after the start of the Biosphere-2 experiment. In this connection, oxygen consumption has sharply increased, and the destruction of crops.

As a result, the project participants began to suffocate from a lack of oxygen, and the experiment lost its purity - scientists had to supply people with oxygen.

But this can solve the problem on Earth, but how can this issue be solved on Mars? - after all, there will be no one to pour fresh oxygen into the modules. I would like to believe that the current research scientists working in this direction are armed with technologies for solving such problems.

And before the first settlers of Mars, there will be no questions of survival, due to the violation of life support systems. A more careful selection of the first group of colonists, according to psychological compatibility, will reduce the number of conflict situations.

On the 67th International congress in Astronautics, in Guadalajara, Mexico, Elon Musk delivered a speech that was more anticipated than any other speech by the billionaire and inventor. Musk spoke about the fact that humanity is on the verge of its new future - we are waiting for free solar energy, self-driving cars and space travel. The first serious step towards the colonizers of the universe will be Mars - a planet that has attracted people for more than a hundred years. The Mars colonization project according to Musk involves the construction of a self-sustaining station-city there - this will become possible in 50-100 years. Despite the boldness of such statements, projects for the colonization of Mars arose long before Musk - we have collected the most striking of them.

The idea of warming up the Red Planet a bit by targeted nuclear strikes on nitrate deposits is an idea that even predated the nuclear bomb. The term "terraforming" was coined by science fiction writer Jack Williamson - in one of the stories, he described in detail the ways to make a lifeless planet suitable for colonization. It was then that the basic principles of this futuristic science were born, on which scientists, including Elon Musk, are still betting today. His proposal to bomb Mars with thermonuclear charges is nothing more than a primary terraforming that will cause a greenhouse effect and warm the planet to acceptable temperatures.

1950s: Wernher von Braun project

The first detailed vision of an American spaceflight to Mars was the brainchild of Wernher von Braun, a former Nazi scientist who worked for NASA after World War II. His 1952 book The Mars Project was the first widely circulated plan for a colony on Mars. Von Braun imagined that a fleet of 10 massive spaceships, assembled right out of space and orbiting Mars, would carry 70 people, along with food and everything necessary for survival.

1960s: Modular stations on the equator of Mars

The landing party of several spacecraft upon reaching Mars becomes modular dwellings for the crew. At the same time, auxiliary premises with greenhouses and greenhouses are created on the surface of the planet, supplying the pioneers with food. For newcomers, the authors of the project provided for the deployment of inflatable dwellings in the form of tents, designed for 70 people of a permanent contingent.

1980s: The Mars Underground and Mars case

In the late 1970s, after successful manned flights to the Moon, many scientists got excited about the idea of sending the first colonizers to Mars. Mars Underground became the first signs in modern plans to populate the planet. It was within the framework of this project that serious research began on the possibilities of not only technology, but also people. The space exploration project included an interesting scheme for the shuttle transfer of the first settlers - it was supposed to use the Moon as a transshipment spaceport. Scientists do not leave such plans to this day.

1990s: Robert Zubrin and Mars Direct

All the achievements of NASA scientists in the 1980s went down the drain when the first administration of George W. Bush cut funding for the Mars program to almost nothing. Driven by personal enthusiasm, scientist Robert Zubrin began developing a new program that was many times cheaper and abandoned the idea of shuttle transportation. According to Zubrin's plan, the ships of the colonizers went straight to Mars and began the construction of residential blocks on the spot. Key Feature The project was the creation of small settlements of 10-20 people who lived in their own residential modules with everything necessary - a gym and personal rooms were provided in the houses for each settler.

2000s: Mars One

The private project Mars One involves a flight to Mars, followed by the establishment of a colony on its surface and the broadcast of everything that happens on television. The biggest reality show in the history of the planet is scheduled to launch in 2022, but due to insufficient funding, the project is still at the concept stage. In 2013, Mars One began selecting future astronauts to be trained necessary skills, take tests for a long stay in an enclosed space in rocket and colony simulators. The group of astronauts will necessarily include different genders and representatives of different peoples. Aerospace company Lockheed Martin has expressed interest in providing the colonists with a spaceship, but the matter has not yet gone beyond fantasy.

Part of the materials and essentials (primarily oxygen, water, food food) from local resources, this way of conducting research will be generally more cost-effective than sending returning expeditions or creating settlement stations for rotational work. In addition, in the future, Mars can become a convenient testing ground for large-scale scientific and technical experiments that are dangerous for the earth's biosphere.

As for mining, on the one hand, Mars may be quite rich mineral resources, and due to the lack of free oxygen in the atmosphere, it is possible to have rich deposits of native metals on it, on the other hand, at the moment the cost of delivering goods and organizing production in an aggressive environment (a rarefied atmosphere unsuitable for breathing and a large amount of dust) is so high that no the richness of the deposits will not ensure the payback of production.

For solutions demographic problems it will be necessary, firstly, to transfer the population from the Earth on a scale incomparable with the capabilities of modern technology (at least millions of people), and secondly, to ensure the complete autonomy of the colony and the possibility of a more or less comfortable life on the surface of the planet, which will require the creation of her breathable atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and solving the problems of protection from cosmic radiation. Now all this can be considered only speculatively, as a prospect for the distant future.

Suitability for development

similarity to the earth

Differences

The force of gravity on Mars is approximately 2.63 times less than on Earth (0.38 g). It is still unknown if this is enough to avoid the health problems that come with weightlessness.
The surface temperature of Mars is much lower than Earth's. The maximum mark is +30 °C (at noon at the equator), the minimum is -123 °C (in winter at the poles). The temperature of the surface layer of the atmosphere is always below zero.
Due to the fact that Mars is farther from the Sun, the amount of solar energy reaching its surface is about half that on Earth.
The orbit of Mars has a larger eccentricity, which increases the annual fluctuations in temperature and the amount of solar energy.
Atmospheric pressure on Mars is too low for humans to survive without an air suit. Living quarters on Mars will have to be equipped with airlocks, similar to those installed on spacecraft, which could maintain the earth's atmospheric pressure.
The Martian atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide (95%). Therefore, despite its low density, the partial pressure of CO 2 on the surface of Mars is 52 times greater than on Earth, which may allow vegetation to be maintained.
Mars has two natural satellites, Phobos and Deimos. They are much smaller and closer to the planet than the Moon is to the Earth. These satellites may prove useful [ ] when checking the means of colonization asteroids .
Mars' magnetic field is about 800 times weaker than Earth's. Together with a rarefied (by 100-160 times in comparison with the Earth) atmosphere, this significantly increases the amount of ionizing radiation reaching its surface. The magnetic field of Mars is not able to protect living organisms from cosmic radiation, and the atmosphere (subject to its artificial restoration) from scattering by the solar wind.
The discovery by the Phoenix spacecraft, which landed near the North Pole of Mars in 2008, of perchlorates in the soil of Mars casts doubt on the possibility of growing terrestrial plants in the Martian soil without additional experiments or without artificial soil.
The radiation background on Mars is 2.2 times higher than the radiation background at the International Space Station and is approaching the established safety limits for astronauts.
Water, due to low pressure, boils on Mars already at a temperature of +10 °C. In other words, water from ice, almost bypassing the liquid phase, quickly turns into steam.

Principal Reachability

The flight time from Earth to Mars (with current technology) is 259 days in a semi-ellipse and 70 days in a parabola. In principle, the delivery to Mars of the necessary minimum of equipment and supplies on initial period the existence of a small colony does not go beyond the capabilities of modern space technology, taking into account promising developments, the implementation period of which is estimated at one to two decades. At the moment, the fundamental unresolved problem is protection from radiation during the flight; if it is solved, the flight itself (especially if it is carried out "in one direction") is quite real, although it requires huge investments financial resources and solving a number of scientific and technical issues of various scales.

At the same time, it should be noted that the "launch window" for a flight between the planets opens once every 26 months. Taking into account the flight time, even in the most ideal conditions (the successful location of the planets and the availability of a transport system in a state of readiness), it is clear that, unlike near-Earth stations or a lunar base, a Martian colony, in principle, will not be able to receive operational assistance from Earth or evacuate to Land in the event of an emergency situation that cannot be handled on its own. As a consequence of the foregoing, just to survive on Mars, a colony must have a guaranteed period of autonomy of at least three Earth years. Taking into account the possibility of the occurrence during this period of a variety of emergency situations, equipment failures, natural disasters, it is clear that in order to ensure survival, the colony must have a significant reserve of equipment, production capacities in all branches of its own industry and, most importantly, energy generating capacities, since all production and the entire life support of the colony will be acutely dependent on the availability of electricity in sufficient quantities.

living conditions

Without protective equipment, a person will not be able to live on the surface of Mars for even a few minutes. However, compared to the conditions on hot Mercury and Venus, the cold outer planets, and the atmosphereless Moon and asteroids, conditions on Mars are far more livable. There are places on Earth explored by man in which natural conditions in many ways similar to the Martian. Earth's atmospheric pressure at 34,668 meters - the highest point reached by a balloon with a crew on board (May 4) - is approximately twice the maximum pressure on the surface of Mars.

Recent studies show that Mars has significant yet directly accessible deposits of water ice, the soil is in principle suitable for growing plants, and the atmosphere is present in sufficient quantities. in large numbers carbon dioxide . All this together makes it possible to rely (with sufficient energy) on the possibility of producing plant foods, as well as extracting water and oxygen from local resources, which significantly reduces the need for closed-loop life support technologies that would be needed on the Moon, asteroids, or on a remote planet. from Earth to a space station.

Main difficulties

The main dangers that await astronauts during the flight to Mars and stay on the planet are as follows:

Possible physiological problems while on Mars for the crew will be the following:

Ways to Terraform Mars

Main goals

Ways

A controlled collapse on the surface of Mars of a comet, one large or many small icy asteroids from the Main Belt or one of Jupiter's satellites, in order to warm up the atmosphere and replenish it with water and gases.
The launch of a massive body, an asteroid from the Main Belt (for example, Ceres) into the orbit of the satellite of Mars, in order to activate the effect of the planetary "dynamo", and strengthen the own magnetic field of Mars.
Changing the magnetic field with the help of laying a ring around the planet from a conductor or superconductor with a connection to a powerful energy source.
Explosion on several polar caps nuclear bombs. The disadvantage of the method is the radioactive contamination of the released water.
Placing artificial satellites in orbit around Mars capable of collecting and focusing sunlight to the surface of the planet to warm it up.
Surface colonization by archaebacteria (see archaea) and other extremophiles, including genetically modified ones, for isolation required quantities greenhouse gases or obtaining the necessary substances in large volumes from those already available on the planet. In April, the German Center for Aviation and Cosmonautics made a report that in the laboratory conditions of the simulation of the atmosphere of Mars (Mars Simulation Laboratory), some types of lichens and cyanobacteria adapted after 34 days of stay and showed the possibility of photosynthesis.

The methods of influence associated with the launch or fall of an asteroid require thorough calculations aimed at studying such an impact on the planet, its orbit, rotation speed, and much more.

A serious problem in the way of the colonization of Mars is the lack of a magnetic field that protects against solar radiation. For a full-fledged life on Mars, a magnetic field is indispensable.

It should be noted that almost all of the above actions to terraform Mars at the moment are nothing more than "thought experiments", since for the most part they do not rely on any existing in reality and at least minimally proven technologies, and in terms of approximate energy costs many times exceed possibilities of modern humanity. For example, to create pressure sufficient at least for growing in the open ground, without sealing, the most unpretentious plants, it is required to increase the available mass of the Martian atmosphere by 5-10 times, that is, to deliver to Mars or evaporate from its surface a mass of the order of 10 17 - 10 18 kg. It is easy to calculate that, for example, it will take approximately 2.25 10 12 TJ to evaporate such an amount of water, which is more than 4500 times higher than the entire modern annual energy consumption on Earth (see).

Radiation

Manned flight to Mars

Building a spacecraft to fly to Mars is a difficult task. One of the main problems is the protection of astronauts from solar radiation particle flows. Several ways of solving this problem are proposed, for example, the creation of special protective materials for the hull or even the development of a magnetic shield similar in mechanism of action to a planetary one.

Mars One

"Mars One" is a private fundraising project run by Bass Lansdorp that involves flying to Mars, then establishing a colony on its surface and broadcasting everything that happens on television.

Inspiration Mars

The Inspiration Mars Foundation is an American non-profit organization (foundation) founded by Dennis Tito, planning to send a manned expedition to fly around Mars in January 2018.

Centenary spaceship

"Centennial spaceship" (eng. Hundred-Year Starship) - a project, common goal which is preparation for a century for an expedition to one of the neighboring planetary systems. One of the elements of preparation is the implementation of the project of irrevocably sending people to Mars in order to colonize the planet. The project has been developed since 2010 by the Ames Research Center - one of the main scientific laboratories of NASA. The main idea of the project is to send people to Mars in order for them to establish a colony there and continue to live in this colony without returning to Earth. Refusal to return will lead to a significant reduction in the cost of the flight, it will be possible to take more cargo and crew. Further flights will deliver new colonists and replenish their supplies. The possibility of a return flight will appear only when the colony, on its own, can organize the production of a sufficient amount of the necessary items and materials from local resources on the spot (primarily, we are talking about fuel and supplies of oxygen, water and food).

Communication with the Earth

To communicate with potential colonies, radio communication can be used, which has a delay of 3-4 minutes in each direction during the closest approach of the planets (which repeats every 780 days) and about 20 minutes at the maximum removal of the planets; see Configuration (astronomy). The delay of signals from Mars to Earth and vice versa is due to the speed of light. However, the use electromagnetic waves(including light) does not make it possible to communicate with the Earth directly (without a relay satellite) when the planets are at opposite points of their orbits relative to the Sun.

Possible locations for founding colonies

Best Places for a colony, they gravitate towards the equator and lowlands. First of all it is:

Hellas depression - has a depth of 8 km, and at its bottom the pressure is the highest on the planet, due to which in this area the lowest level of background from cosmic rays on Mars [ ] .
Valley Mariner - not as deep as the Hellas depression, but it has the highest minimum temperatures on the planet, which expands the choice construction materials [ ] .

In the case of terraforming, the first open water will appear in the Mariner Valley.

Colony (Forecast)

Although so far the design of the Martian colonies has not gone beyond sketches, for reasons of proximity to the equator and high atmospheric pressure they are usually planned to be based in different places of the Mariner Valley. Whatever heights space transport reaches in the future, the laws of conservation of mechanics determine the high cost of delivering goods between Earth and Mars, and limit the periods of flights, tying them to planetary confrontations.

The high price of delivery and 26-month inter-flight periods determine the requirements:

Guaranteed three-year self-sufficiency of the colony (additional 10 months for flight and ordering). This is possible only if structures and materials are accumulated on the territory of the future colony before the initial arrival of people.
Production in the colony of basic structural and consumable materials from local resources.

This means the need to create cement, brick, reinforced concrete, air and water industries, as well as the deployment of ferrous metallurgy, metalworking and greenhouses. Saving food will require vegetarianism [ ] . The probable absence of coking materials on Mars would require the direct reduction of iron oxides by electrolytic hydrogen - and, accordingly, the production of hydrogen. Martian dust storms can make solar energy unusable for months, which, in the absence of natural fuels and oxidizers, makes the only reliable, at the moment, only nuclear energy. Large-scale production of hydrogen and a five times higher content of deuterium in the ice of Mars compared to Earth's will lead to the cheapness of heavy water, which, when mining uranium on Mars, will make heavy-water nuclear reactors the most efficient and cost-effective.

High scientific or economic productivity of the colony. The similarity of Mars to the Earth determines the great value of Mars for geology, and in the presence of life - for biology. The economic profitability of the colony is possible only when large rich deposits of gold, platinoids or precious stones are discovered.
The first expedition must still explore convenient caves suitable for sealing and pumping air for the mass settlement of cities by builders. The habitation of Mars will begin from under its surface.
Another likely effect of the creation of grotto colonies on Mars may be the consolidation of earthlings, the rise of global awareness on Earth; planetary synchronization.
The physical image of a settler's rebirth man is a body "dried" from triple weight loss, skeleton and muscle mass relief. Change in gait, manner of movement. There is also the danger of gaining excess weight. There is a possibility of changing the diet in the direction of reducing food intake.
The diet of the colonists can shift to lactic acid, products from cows from local hydroponic conveyor pastures arranged in mines.

Criticism

In addition to the main arguments for criticizing the idea of human space colonization (see Space colonization), there are objections specific to Mars:

The colonization of Mars is not effective way solutions to any problems facing humanity that can be considered as the goals of this colonization. Nothing valuable has yet been discovered on Mars that would justify the risk to people and the costs of organizing mining and transportation, and there are still huge uninhabited territories for colonization on Earth, the conditions on which are much more favorable than on Mars, and the development of which will cost much more. cheaper, including Siberia, vast expanses of equatorial deserts, and even the whole mainland - Antarctica. As for the exploration of Mars itself, it is more economical to conduct it using robots.
As one of the main arguments against the colonization of Mars, an argument is made about its extremely small resource of key elements necessary for life (primarily hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon). However, in the light of recent studies that have discovered on Mars, in particular, huge reserves of water ice, at least in terms of hydrogen and oxygen, the question is removed.
Conditions on the surface of Mars require the development of innovative projects of life support systems for life on it. But since on earth's surface If there are no conditions close enough to Martian conditions, then it is not possible to verify them experimentally. This, in some respects, calls into question the practical value of most of them.
Also, the long-term influence of Martian gravity on people has not been studied (all experiments were carried out either in an environment with earth's gravity or in weightlessness). The degree of influence of gravity on human health when it changes from weightlessness to 1g has not been studied. It is planned to conduct an experiment (“Mars Gravity Biosatellite”) on mice in Earth orbit in order to study the effect of the Martian (0.38g) gravity force on life cycle mammals.
The second cosmic speed of Mars - 5 km/s - is quite high, although it is half that of the earth, which, with the current level of space technology, makes it impossible to achieve a breakeven level for the colony due to the export of materials. However, the density of the atmosphere, the shape (the radius of the mountain is about 270 km) and the height (21.2 km from the base) of Mount Olympus make it possible to use various kinds of electromagnetic mass accelerators (an electromagnetic catapult or a maglev, or a Gauss cannon, etc.) to remove cargo into the space. Atmospheric pressure at the top of Mount Olympus is only 2% of the pressure characteristic of the average level of the Martian surface. Considering that the pressure on the surface of Mars is less than 0.01 atmospheres, the rarefaction of the medium at the top of Olympus is almost the same as the vacuum of space.
The psychological factor also causes concern. The duration of the flight to Mars and the further life of people in a confined space on it can become serious obstacles to the development of the planet.
Some are worried about the possible "pollution" of the planet earthly forms life. The question of the existence (at present or in the past) of life on Mars has not yet been resolved.
Until now, there is no technology for obtaining technical silicon without the use of charcoal, as well as a technology for the production of semiconductor silicon without technical. This means huge production difficulties. solar panels on Mars. There is no other technology for obtaining technical silicon, since the technology using charcoal is the cheapest in terms of the cheapness of this material and energy costs. On Mars, it is possible to use the metallothermic reduction of silicon from its magnesium dioxide to magnesium silicide, followed by decomposition of the silicide with hydrochloric or acetic acid to produce gaseous monosilane SiH4, which can be purified from impurities in various ways, and then decomposed into hydrogen and pure silicon.
Recent studies in mice have shown that long stay in conditions of weightlessness (space) causes degenerative changes in the liver, as well as symptoms of diabetes. Humans have experienced similar symptoms after returning from orbit, but the causes of this phenomenon were unknown. But Mars has gravity, the acceleration of free fall at its equator is 3.711 m / s², which is 0.378 of the earth. The journey to Mars can either be accelerated to 69 days, or spend part or all of it under the influence of artificial gravity using centrifuges or rotating compartments.

In art

Soviet song “Apple trees will bloom on Mars” (music by V. Muradeli, lyrics by E. Dolmatovsky).
"Residence - Mars" (Eng. Living on Mars) is a popular science film shot by National Geographic in 2009.
The song by Otto Dix - Utopia also has a reference ("... And apple trees will bloom on Mars, as on Earth ...")
The song of the artist Noize MC - "It's cool on Mars."
IN fantasy movie 1990 "Remember everything" The plot takes place on Mars.
Song by David Bowie - "Life on Mars", also by Ziggy Stardust (Eng. Ziggy Stardust) is a fictional character created by David Bowie and is the centerpiece of his glam rock concept album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars".
Ray Bradbury - The Martian Chronicles.
Isaac Asimov - Lucky Starr series. Book 1 - "David Starr, Space Ranger".
The film "Mission to Mars" tells about the rescue mission to the planet Mars after the disaster that befell the first expedition to the red planet.
On colonized Mars, the OVA Armitage III takes place.
The process of colonization and (in the second case) terraforming of Mars is devoted to the tabletop role-playing games "Mars Colony" and "Mars: New Air".
The terraforming and colonization of Mars is the main backdrop for the events of Kim Stanley Robinson's The Martian Trilogy.
A series of books by Edgar Burroughs about the fantasy world of Mars.
In the British television series Doctor Who in the series Waters of Mars on the surface of Mars, the first colony was developed in the crater Gusev "Bowie Base One".
Harry Harrison's science fiction short story "Training Flight" tells of the first manned mission to Mars. Special attention paid psychological state a person living in a closed uncomfortable environment.
The novel by Andy Weir, The Martian, tells the story of a one and a half year struggle for the life of an astronaut left alone on Mars. In 2015, a film adaptation of this work was released.
John Carter is a fantasy action adventure directed by Andrew Stanton, based on the book Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
The Martian is a film directed by Ridley Scott and released by 20th Century Fox.
"Know the unknown" - American Feature Film 2016 about a solo space flight to Mars.
Applied Terraforming is a fantasy novel by Eduard Cutlas about the colonization of Mars.