I am fascinated by Mars. While growing up, I looked at Mars using my father’s telescope. All I could see was a red/orange planet, different from the others due to its color. As it turns out, I was just following in the footsteps of so many people fascinated by Mars. There was even speculation that Martians lived there and there were water canals.
These speculations came to an end when we began using powerful telescopes and then sending out space probes to different reaches of the solar system. Like Moon, Mars was immediately a candidate for these early explorations. The quest began with Mariner 4, launched in July 1965 which flew by Mars and sent back photos. This was followed by Mariner 6 and 7. The final spacecraft in the series was Mariner 9 which orbited Mars in 1971. Subsequently, Viking 1 and 2 touched down on Mars in 1976. Both landers collected date about the surface condition of Mars. However, no Martians were found.
Things got interesting when we started sending out rovers. There was whole series of them, beginning with Pathfinder in 1997. It was followed by rovers Spirit and Opportunity in 2004. The next one was Curiosity, in 2012, and finally, Perseverance, in 2021.
We now live in Pasadena, a suburb of Los Angeles that houses Caltech and Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), both leaders in space travels. By being a Pasadena resident, I get to see lectures from interesting people. One recent one was by Ashwin Vasavada, who is Project Scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory at JPL which delivered Curiosity safely to the surface of Mars. He talked about, and showed photographs of, the rover's journey. It was a fascinating lecture because Mars seemed so close, if not in actuality, but emotionally.
This led me to reading a book called “Becoming Martian” by Scott Solomon. As the title says, the book deals with the challenges involved in long term settlement of Mars and how they may be overcome.
Mars is different in many ways than earth. Three major ways are: 1. It is smaller than earth, 2. It is further away from sun than earth, and 3. The soil is different from that of earth. Each of these have major implications for making Mars habitable for humans.
A smaller planet implies lower gravity. This not only means that there is practically no atmosphere surrounding Mars, but also there are major implications on human body over long periods, such as reduced bone density.
Since Mars is further away from sun, it is much colder than earth. This is made worse by the fact that there is hardly any atmosphere to retain heat.
One specific material on Martian soli that would prove challenging is perchlorate, which is toxic to plants, animals, and humans. Although it can serve as rocket fuel (which is good news), the high concentration of the stuff means water collected on Mars will need to be purified and plants will not be suitable for people to eat.
Another challenge in going to Mars and living there would be isolation. A test was done in that regard when eight people spent two years (1991-1993) in a simulated closed system called Biosphere 2 in the desert of Arizona. This test did not go well. The team deteriorated into dysfunctional pair of factions, indicating the need to pay attention to the psychological profile of people who will go to Mars as a team.
Logistically, Mars is quite far, so sending regular shipments to a Martian settlement would not be practical. So, the colonies will have to produce their own material, medicine, and food. This may force people to become Vegans because the livestock will not be around to satisfy non-vegetarian diet.
Interestingly, Solomon mentions that eventually, a separate race may be created to inhabit Mars. The Martians may end up being different from the Earth-bound population. They may be genetically modified humans specifically suited for the low Mars gravity.
Given that, Solomon, believes that we are not yet ready to push for space settlements. He admits that his view is not shared by the space community.
Those writing science fiction books do not have any qualms about humans like us living on Mars in the future, may be less than 100 years from now.
One of the most famous set of books on Mars was written by Kim Stanle Robinson. The three books in the series are: Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars. I have read Rad Mars and now about halfway through the second book. In the first book, a group of humans, one hundred of them, end up going to Mars to establish a colony. The colony was composed of living spaces created underground or in glass domes. An asteroid was made to come to the orbit of Mars, and a space elevator was built to provide launch capabilities.
A lot of it came crashing down because of aa revolt among people on Mars. The main difference among them was that one group wanted to change the Mars using Terraforming technique, while the other wanted to keep it pristine, the way it was. To add to the mix was a group interested in furthering commercial interest and being more in control of earth. Finally, there were some who just wanted anarchy in the form of a stateless, non-capitalist society built on cooperative work.
The second book continues along the same line. The gist of it is that the conquest of Mars does not end with technical advances. We as humans have a hard time establishing a social structure that meets the desires of everyone. Here on earth, there are deep divisions among our population, so there is no need to assume that those inhabiting Mars will be any different.
