• Question: If we were to colonize Mars in the next couple of decades, is there a point of creating an atmosphere for mars or we would rather live in domed houses?

    Asked by anon-258065 on 26 Jun 2020.
    • Photo: James Smallcombe

      James Smallcombe answered on 26 Jun 2020:

      If it were possible making an atmosphere on Mars would be great. Not only would it allow you to breath without a sealed suit or building, it would increase the surface temperature to be better for sustaining life and allow farming and crucially an atmosphere provides greater protection from solar radiation which is a serious health risk of long term space/mars exploration.

    • Photo: Namrah Habib

      Namrah Habib answered on 15 Jul 2020:

      Mars has a thin carbon dioxide atmosphere with small amounts of nitrogen and argon. I don’t know what the future will hold, but I think the idea of making a thicker atmosphere on Mars will definitely help with colonization. I do want to say, I also don’t know how feasible it is to change Mar’s atmosphere.

      Currently, since Mar’s atmosphere is thin, there is more radiation that reaches the surface of Mars. Also, the surface pressure and temperature don’t allow for liquid water to present. Both of these factors affect us greatly, and creating a thicker even oxygen based atmosphere would not only let us breathe the air but also protect us from radiation and even allow us to have water out in the open. Many people believe Mars had a thicker atmosphere in the past and even had liquid water on the surface. But Mar’s atmosphere is actually leaking off to space even today/now. So it would actually be really difficult to make an atmosphere for Mars that doesn’t just leak away to space immediately.

Comments