Table of Contents
Abstract
A Mars colony is integral for further research into space and our universe, so a permanent, self-sustaining colony is needed for Mars. The ideal place for such a colony is in the northern lowlands of the Medusae Fossae Formation. This offers several advantages including a large deposit of water in the form of water ice or hydrated minerals below the surface, along with warmer temperatures. Rocket launches also require less fuel on the equatorial regions, so materials could be sent back to Earth more easily. An initial colony will be set up on the surface, and members of that colony will set up a main base underground.
An underground colony is needed for long-term safety, since it will protect people completely from radiation. The surface colony will consist of a communications center, mining operations, observatories, and the collection of Martian soil samples while the underground colony will harbor agricultural facilities along with research labs. The underground colony will utilize the communications center in the surface colony. The main goals of this colony are to conduct research, enable comfortable living, and extract resources. To do research, scientists will collect geological samples, astronomers will work in observatories, and biologists will study how humans and plants function on Mars. To enable comfortable living, sophisticated life support systems will be used.
To extract resources, mining operations will take place, with metal being extracted from the Martian soil. The personnel will initially consist of mostly engineers. Doctors, agricultural specialists, and researchers will follow. The colony will be an international effort, and not be used for military purposes. Local leaders will manage the colony, and members of the colony will be able to vote on major decisions as the colony grows more independent from Earth. A colony on Mars is integral to the future of space exploration.
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Introduction
As humans explore further into the solar system, colonies on other planets eventually need to be developed. The first planet that we will colonize is Mars, due to its close proximity and similarity to Earth. Mars has resources that a colony can utilize, like water and various metals, and presents unique research opportunities, namely, the possibility of finding life on another planet. These resources and research opportunities make a Mars colony very beneficial to Earth, so one must be developed.
Location
The location of the Martian colony will have to satisfy its goals of conducting scientific research, allowing survival, and allowing resource extraction. One of the best locations for a long-term Martian colony is in the northern lowlands of the Medusae Fossae Formation, which is in Mars’s equatorial region (“A Fresh Look at Older Data Yields a Surprise Near the Martian Equator,” 2017). This location is suitable for both a surface colony and an underground colony in a drilled cave. A surface colony is needed to set up the underground colony and also conduct scientific research on the surface of Mars, while an underground colony facilitates long-term stays.
The northern lowlands of the Medusae Fossae Formation region offer several advantages to a colony built there. The main advantage is the abundance of water in this region. A re-analysis of data from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft’s neutron spectrometer instrument found that there is an abundance of hydrogen underground in levels typically found in water (“A Fresh Look at Older Data Yields a Surprise Near the Martian Equator,” 2017). This suggests the presence of either water ice or hydrated minerals. Water can be extracted in either case, which would supply the colony and reduce the amount of water that astronauts need to bring from Earth to Mars. This water would be used for survival or for rocket fuel for returning astronauts back to Earth during crew rotations.
If the hydrogen is in the form of water ice, this presents a great research interests to scientists, because water ice is not thought to be stable in the equatorial regions (“A Fresh Look at Older Data Yields a Surprise Near the Martian Equator,” 2017). If the water is present in hydrated minerals, this also presents a research interest because it is not yet known why there would be an abundance of these minerals near the equator (“A Fresh Look at Older Data Yields a Surprise Near the Martian Equator,” 2017). The location of Medusae Fossae in Mars’s equatorial region also offers benefits over the polar regions, which contain more water. One major benefit is the temperature.
The temperature at the equator can go up to 20C during the day, while in polar regions the temperature can drop down to -153C during the winter, when it is dark for extensive periods of time (Sharp, 2017). This higher temperature would reduce the power needed by astronauts to heat their suits and the habitat. It would allow researchers to travel farther from the main colony to do geological research, because they would need less power for heating. The equator also offers another benefit in that it is much easier to launch rockets from there, since the rocket could utilize the planet’s rotational velocity during launch (“Why is it better to launch a spaceship near the equator?”). This would allow rockets launched from Mars to use less fuel.
However, a surface colony in this region would still face the problem of temperature fluctuations, Martian dust, and radiation from solar winds and galactic cosmic rays at this location. In the Martian equatorial region, temperatures can be from 20C in the day to -73C at night (Sharp, 2017). Habitats would be built with flexible metals that can expand and contract with the temperature change without damage to the habitat. Martian regolith would also be compacted around the habitats to insulate them from this extreme temperature change. Martian dust could damage electronics and equipment, so adaptations are needed. Habitats will be completely sealed off, to not allow dust.
Spacesuits would also be attached to the walls of the habitat. Astronauts would enter the spacesuit and detach from the habitat, then reattach to the habitat and re-enter. This way, spacesuits would never actually enter the habitat, which would bring less Martian dust in (“Suitport Concept,” 2016). To combat the radiation, habitats would have to be shielded. Water, which has radiation blocking properties, would be stored in the walls of the habitats, providing a shield (“Materials Used In Radiation Shielding,” 2019). The Martian regolith used as temperature insulation would also shield against radiation, as it too has radiation blocking properties (“Digging in and Taking Cover,” 2019)..
However, current shielding technologies using these resources do not block radiation completely. For long-term stays, to prevent extensive harm from radiation, an underground colony must be built after the initial surface colony. In an underground cave, astronauts would be completely protected from radiation by the thick layer of Martian regolith all around them (“Digging in and Taking Cover,” 2019). They would also not have to face the problem of the fine dust in the Martian soil, since this dust is not present underground (Davis, 2013). In addition, the temperature underneath the surface of Mars is fairly stable because of the insulating soil, so astronauts would face a minor temperature change between night and day. However, it is still cold underground so astronauts would need heaters. The underground colony would be drilled near the initial surface colony in the Medusae Fossae Formation. It could utilize the infrastructure of the surface colony to communicate with Earth via radio waves using communication satellites, and have access to the hydrated minerals or water ice under the surface.
In both the surface and underground colony, astronauts would have to deal with the extremely low air pressure and lower gravity of Mars, along with the different day length of the Martian day. Mars’s air pressure is extremely low, because Mars has 1% of the atmosphere of Earth, so habitats and spacesuits would be pressurized in order to allow astronauts to survive there (“Mars Facts”). Mars’s gravity is also one-third of Earth’s, which would cause bone and muscle damage over time. This damage can be mitigated through exercise, so both the surface colony and underground colony would have treadmills and weights to help astronauts stay healthy. Because of the different Martian day-night cycle, the members of the mission control center on Earth would live according to this cycle. This would allow the colony to be in constant contact with a team on Earth if there were an emergency.
The colony would also have to adapt to the weakness of solar power on Mars and the small travel window between Earth and Mars. Because of Mars’s distance from the sun, solar power there is only 40% as efficient as it is on Earth (Landis et al., 2004). Periodic global dust storms also reduce the efficiency of solar panels (“Mars Facts”). Due to this, the colony would primarily use nuclear power, with solar power as a supplement. Materials used for nuclear power would be shipped to the colony from Earth, as no material that could be used as fuel for a nuclear reactor has been found on Mars. As the colony grows more independent from Earth, it will utilize solar power more, but will still require shipments of radioactive materials from Earth. Launches from Earth to Mars can only take place every two years (Grush, 2017). Because of this, abundant supplies would have to be sent to the colony so it could last for two years at a time with no help from Earth. Rockets consisting only of cargo including water, soil, robots, and frozen food would be sent to the colony’s location before humans arrive, so they would have enough resources to survive.
Operational Concepts
The colony’s goals are to do research, enable comfortable living on Mars, and enable resource extraction. The organization, machines, and buildings in the colony would fulfill these purposes.
The colony would be organized to meet its goals. Both the surface colony and underground colony would consist of many interconnected habitation modules. They would be connected so astronauts could move quickly throughout the colony without having to put on a spacesuit. There would be roads between the sections of the colony, to allow astronauts to travel to far away buildings without having to walk through many buildings, which could be slower. There would also be a road going through the entrance tunnel of the underground colony to the surface colony, to allow ease of travel between the two. This way, researchers and miners doing work on the surface could decrease their radiation exposure by sleeping underground, improving safety.
The habitation modules would be organized into different sections. Modules for sleeping would be close together, to foster a sense of community as astronauts would live next to each other. Research, agricultural, and soil processing modules would also be close together to allow ease of communication and management over these divisions. For communication with Earth, cables would run from the surface colony down to the underground colony, and there would be a communications center on the surface that would meet the colony’s communication needs, through sending signals to a Mars satellite that exchanges signals with communication satellites orbiting Earth. The surface colony would also incorporate rocket landing pads and service stations to enable the transportation of supplies from Earth to Mars, and to enable refueling of rockets for eventual transportation back to Earth.
The colony would also use machinery and technology to carry out its goals. Large drilling machines would be used to create the underground colony, with concrete sealant ensuring its structural integrity. Martian vehicles would be made, using battery powered motors and wire-mesh wheels to protect against debris on the surface, similar to the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle (“The Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle,” 2016). These vehicles would have pressurized compartments, allowing astronauts to take off spacesuits inside, increasing their comfort during long rides. These vehicles would allow geologists to travel far to collect soil samples. Samples would also be collected by remote-controlled rovers.
These would be built similarly to current Mars rovers, but with larger soil storages to take bigger soil samples back to the colony. Advanced labs would be built to analyze Martian soil, advancing our knowledge of its composition and potentially leading to the discovery of life on Mars. However, to utilize the most advanced technology available to us, soil samples would need to be sent back to Earth to be fully analyzed (“Sample Returns”). To send samples back to Earth, rocket fuel would need to be manufactured on Mars. This can be done by separating water into hydrogen and oxygen, using electrolysis (Dunnill and Phillips, 2017).
If future rockets use methane fuel, methane could be manufactured using carbon dioxide from the atmosphere along with hydrogen gas obtained through electrolysis, using the Sabatier process (Shaw, 2005). Water would be extracted from the ground using a distillation process, heating up the soil containing ice, or heating up the hydrated minerals, until water evaporates. Most metals on the Martian surface are in the form of oxides (“Extraction of Resources from Regolith,” 2012). Because of this, the metals would be separated using chemical reduction (“Reactions of Metals,” 2019).
Ovens would be needed in the distillation and chemical reaction processes, and they would be either solar or nuclear powered. Robots would also aid in medical tasks, performing surgeries on patients. In addition, radio telescope technology would be implemented on Mars. Other observatories would also be built in the surface colony. Technology would be needed to remove perchlorates, toxic to humans, from the Martian soil (Carlisle, 2018). To do this, bacteria that feed on perchlorates would be put into the soil. They would release oxygen and decrease the toxicity of the soil (Carlisle, 2018). Soil treatment plants would use this process to convert Martian soil into soil suitable for crops.
The buildings within the colony would also fulfill its goals. Habitation modules would be interconnected and could perform various functions like housing labs and greenhouses. They would be inflatable in the colony’s initial stages, to reduce cargo volume as they are brought from Earth. As the colony becomes more self-sufficient, these habitats would be made from aluminum, iron, steel, or compacted regolith, and would not need to be inflatable. All habitats above the surface would incorporate radiation shields to allow comfortable living. The habitats would be double layered, with water in between the inside wall and outside wall. They would also have regolith compacted around them.
The buildings would have spacesuits attached to the outside so they would never truly enter the habitat and bring in dust, as mentioned in the location section. There would be four main functions for the habitation modules: living, research, agriculture, and soil/metal processing. Habitation modules would be designed to incorporate these functions. LED’s would be used to grow crops underground, and ovens would be utilized within soil/metal processing units in order to extract resources. All buildings would be pressurized to allow habitability.
Personnel
The makeup of the personnel will change throughout the colony’s development. In the initial stages, when resources are being delivered to Mars, the colony will consist only of robots, that setup initial habitats and lay out resources that humans who arrive later will use. The first humans to arrive will consist of a group of ten engineers that will finish the setup of the habitats started by robots and set up more infrastructure for the colony, such as assembling lunar rovers, robots, and setting up power sources. One doctor will also be in the first crew to handle any medical emergencies. On the first crew rotation, after the colony has been operational for two years, more engineers will arrive, along with agricultural specialists and medical workers.
They will set up more greenhouses and medical units, along with more habitation modules. They will also start the drilling process. On the second crew rotation, more engineers that will drill the cave for the underground colony will arrive, along with more agricultural specialists. After the first few crew rotations, more astronauts will stay in the colony longer than two years as the underground colony will be partially set up. Researchers will arrive as time goes on, primarily geologists studying the history of Mars and biologists studying how life functions in reduced gravity, along with astronomers working in the observatories. When the underground colony is finished, the total population of the colony will number around 500.
The personnel of the colony will be selected based on their skills and experience. In the initial stages of the colony, they will be selected based on engineering experience, and all personnel will have previous spaceflight experience. Later engineers and researchers will not need previous spaceflight experience, and they will be selected based on research experience and education. Those involved in the drilling operations will need experience in civil engineering and mining. Personnel will initially be chosen by governments, but as the colony grows in size private companies will increase their presence more in resource extraction, as useful resources like aluminum, iron, and titanium can be extracted from the Martial soil for a profit.
No personnel would be younger than the age of 25, as they would not have enough experience or education to be useful to the colony, and none would be older than 70, as this would present increased medical risks. They would be from a variety of countries, as the colony would be an international effort. All members of the colony will have been thoroughly psychologically tested to ensure that they can withstand the stresses brought about by living in the Martian colony, such as tight spaces and feelings of homesickness.
The members of the colony would have their psychological and medical needs met. Psychological needs would be met through communal bonds and constant communication with Earth. Astronauts would have personal devices that would allow them to communicate with Earth, enabling them to contact their families and talk to friends. The colony would also have community events, increasing morale. In addition, crops grown would be varied, enabling a diverse diet and increasing the happiness of those in the colony. The location of the colony in the equatorial region also enables it to have regular day-night cycles, unlike the periods of constant darkness at the poles, which would increase morale.
They will also not be overworked, having 6-10 hours of work per day. Their medical needs will be met through the medical professionals in the colony, assisted by robots, working in the hospital units. In the event of a medical emergency, travelling back to Earth will not be feasible so the hospital units would have to be advanced. In the unlikely event any member of the colony develops a long-term disease, they would be transported back to Earth at the next travel window to allow them the most advanced treatment.
Activities
The colony’s daily activities will help it meet its goals of research, enabling comfortable living, and resource extraction along with manufacturing.
The colony will engage in a great deal of research. The primary topics of research for the colony are geological science, biology, and astronomy, but there will be research in other fields as well. Geologists in the colony will collect soil samples and analyze them in labs to determine soil composition and possibly detect life. They will also used soils obtained during the drilling of the underground colony. They will study ancient rocks to determine the history of Mars and will drill deep into the ground to study the soil. Biologists will investigate the effects of lessened gravity on life. The medical staff will regularly evaluate their patients and record any bone or muscle loss that takes place. They will also examine for any damage to the heart caused by reduced gravity.
Biologists will also research how plants are affected by lessened gravity, and how they grow in the treated Martian soil. They will work on finding new and better ways to grow plants on different planets. Astronomers will use telescopes and the data that geologists collect to improve theories on the history of the solar system and the planets. Telescopes on the surface of Mars will aid in their research. All three disciplines will investigate the question of whether Mars ever harbored life in the past, or currently has life. There will also be research in other areas. Private companies will likely pay for research that investigates more efficient ways of extracting metal from soil, and more efficient ways of mining on Mars, taking advantage of the reduced gravity while also having to combat the large amount of dust that mining would create.
Daily activities will also enable comfortable living. A sophisticated life support system like the International Space Station’s system will be implemented. This will recycle nearly all the waste that astronauts use, saving water in the process. The water from urine would be recycled through distillation, and excess water vapor from the air would be collected Like the ISS, water would be converted to hydrogen and oxygen gas through electrolysis, with excess hydrogen being converted into methane in the Sabatier process for rocket fuel (Shaw, 2005). This oxygen would be used for breathing.
Additional oxygen would be provided through plant growth and the removal of perchlorates from the soil. Carbon dioxide would be collected from the air to keep its composition to normal levels using a system like the ISS’s air revitalization system. Carbon dioxide would be collected using sorbent beds (ElSherif and Knox, 2005). Additional carbon dioxide would be collected by plants. To power this life support, along with all machinery and vehicles, a nuclear reactor would be used. This would provide power to the colony for several years, with radioactive material being sent from Earth. Solar panels will be used as a supplement to this, but they cannot replace nuclear power.
Communication will also enable comfortable living, and this will be carried out through maintaining the communications center on the surface, which is connected to the underground colony. To promote morale, astronauts will not be overworked, and they will have daily schedules that incorporate leisure time. They will have access to Earth media through the communications center, and they will be able to communicate with their families. Community events will also take place like sports and games that will increase morale.
The colony’s activities will also enable resource extraction and manufacturing. Soil processing plants will be operated to remove metal from its oxides within the soil using chemical reduction. This metal will then be heated and molded into whatever shape it needs to be in. Daily operation of robots will allow the collection of Martian soil. This metal will be used to make tools and robots in manufacturing plants. Rocket fuel will also be manufactured from water using electrolysis. If future rockets use methane fuel, then it will be manufactured using hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide in the Sabatier process, as mentioned above. Eventually, this will facilitate the transport of resources mined on Mars back to Earth to make profit. Vehicles on Mars, featuring pressurized compartments and using roads as mentioned above will provide transportation needed for mining or collecting soil samples from distant regions.
Governance
The colony will be an international effort, as this is needed to obtain enough funding for the mission. With many nations contributing, there will be enough resources available to construct the base, and little funding issues. Private companies will also contribute as they can gain profit from the extraction of Martian resources. It will be managed by an international mission control center on Earth in its initial stages, but as the base grows more independent it will not depend on this center. In the colony’s final stages, it will be run by local leaders, incorporating an electronic voting system for any major decisions. Election of representatives will not be needed, as the colony will not be large enough to require that, except in the far future. The colony will always work with a team on Earth to coordinate research, supply deliveries, and shipment of resources to Earth.
The colony will also obey international law. The colony will be completely non-military. A military base in space is illegal according to the Outer Space Treaty (Williams-Alvarez, 2015). However, obtaining resources is allowed, as long as the environment of Mars is conserved. Mining operations, except in the far future, will not be large enough to disfigure Mars, so the colony will be in compliance with international law.
Conclusion
A colony on Mars, made up of a small surface settlement and a main underground colony, that conducts scientific research and extracts resources is integral to the future of space exploration and humanity. Researchers on Mars will advance scientific progress, and mined resources could be sent back to Earth. This international effort will establish humanity as an interplanetary civilization and will be a huge step forward for humanity.
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