Marspedia - User contributions [en]

Space access

2011-09-26T17:25:53Z

IStoltzfus70:

[[Image:TomsRockets.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A child's fantasy of rockets to Mars and another rocket from Mars to farther space]]

'''Space access''' is the ability for persons to leave a planet's surface. This page is an introduction on basic principles and technology of getting from the Martian surface to an [[orbit]] or into free space.

==Motivation==
A human on Mars can be established with or without space access. The fight [http://www.thepiggybackrider.com/ kid carrier] against the strong gravitational pull requires large amounts of . Since the of is smaller than and the is thinner, space access is easier. However, the energy resources of such a colony are limited. Using parts of the available energy for space access reduces other project's progress.

So, why should the colonists spend the effort? Assuming, the colonists went to Mars to stay there and build their own civilization, there still might be some additional tasks to do:

* Trips to Low Mars Orbit and possible space stations residing there for scientific reasons
* Trips to [[Phobos]] and [[Deimos]] for scientific and mining reasons.
* Ferry persons to and from space craft that have arrived from, or are heading for, Earth, or other celestial bodies.
* Possible satellite repair, not a dissimilar task as to what was imagined for the [[space shuttle]] in the 1970's

==Conventional rocket crafts==

The craft should be:
*Reusable
*Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO)
*Use propellants that can be obtained from Mars.
*Able to [[Shared componenting|share components with other machines]]

It has proved very difficult to build an SSTO launcher on Earth, but the lower Martian [[gravity]] would be of assistance to any launching spacecraft. If the craft uses multiple stages, these will all have to be recovered separately, which complicates the process of reuse.

Hydrogen and oxygen propellants can be obtained from Martian ice. The attitude control thrusters could use gaseous oxygen and methane, kept under pressure.

Early landers will probably be non-reusable or only partially reusable. The decent stages of these landers could be dismantled and reused.

The guidance systems on the lander need not be [[hi-tech versus lo-tech|hi-tech]]. The Apollo spacecraft flew to the Moon using less computing power then a pocket calculator. A simple computer, or a [[pneumatics|pneumatic]] system could be used. Although there are advantages with hi-tech systems, lo-tech systems could be included as a backup.

==Speculative concepts==
* [[Supersonic in ground effect]] may be used for a winged shuttle even in the thin Martian atmosphere to help reduce costs.
* A [[space elevator]] is an interesting alternative both for Luna and Mars. Probably, it allows even more cost reduction.
* A [[mass driver]] is powered electrical and requires no chemical fuels. While on Earth this would not work for lifting people to orbit, the conditions of Mars might allow it.

==references==
<references/>

[[Category:Transport]]

Mars-born children

2011-09-26T17:25:05Z

IStoltzfus70:

Adult settlers will start colonization, but eventually '''children''' will be born on , the next generation of a growing of Mars colonists. Either the progeny [http://www.thepiggybackrider.com/ kid carrier] of the first settlers continue the colonization process or, to avoid , embryos with a maximum of genetic diversity are brought up (inspired by '''').

== Effects of gravity on growth ==
Experiments in zero [[gravity]] show that animal embryos do not develop properly in zero-g.
Mars has 0.38 gravity, so, even if the said child was not deformed, that child would develop and grow in 0.38 gravity. So, the child may be extremely healthy by Mars standards, but severely weak by Earth standards.

== Immune systems ==
Children growing up on Mars will not come in to contact with [[microbes]] as Earth children would. Thus, it is important to [[Vaccination|vaccinate]] them to boost their [[Immune system|immune systems]].

[[Category: Human Considerations]]
[[Category: Health]]

Transport from Earth to Mars

2011-09-26T17:24:15Z

IStoltzfus70:

[[Image:BunchOfRockets.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A child's fantasy of rockets to Mars]]

Mars [[:Category:Missions|missions]] require the transport of [[equipment]], [[:Category:Material|material]] and [[population|people]] from [[Earth]] to [[Mars]], and possibly back to Earth. This page wants to clarify the needed transportation volume and the proposed technology.

==Preparatory Explorations==
Some [[Needed explorations|explorations]] are needed prior to the actual start of the colonization. Mostly, this will be probes to collect data, radio-transmitted to Earth. Some may, however, need to bring material from Mars to Earth for deeper analysis.

==Settlement Equipment==
A Martian [[settlement]] requires very much equipment, including [[energy|energy generators]] and construction material for [[habitat]]s and [[greenhouse]]s. There are a few strategies for shipping:

*Large numbers of conventional [[rocket]]s are launched from Earth with destination Mars.
*A few big vessels are assembled in Earth's [[orbit]] and then started towards Mars. This requires a large number of shuttle starts from Earth's surface, too. The advantage is, those vessels can provide some radiation shielding by an arrangement of equipment around an inner cabin for persons.

Since most material is not prone to radiation damage, the trajectory of pure material transport can be optimized to
[[Low energy trajectories|lowest fuel consumption]], helping to save [[costs]].

==People==
For colonization of Mars the colonists are traveling only one way. The journey takes at least about 6 months.

During the journey the astronauts are subject to , which requires means to protect them. and cause DNA damage, which increases [http://www.thepiggybackrider.com/ child carrier] the risk of cancer significantly. The effect of long term space travel in the interplanetary space is unknown, but scientists estimate up to 19% probability for male persons to die of cancer because of the radiation during the journey to Mars and back to Earth. Together with the base probability of 20% for a male person on Earth to die from cancer this gives a probability of 39%. For women the probability is even higher due to their larger glandular tissues.
<ref>[http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/17feb_radiation.htm NASA: Space radiation between Earth and Mars poses a hazard to astronauts.]</ref>

Good radiation shielding means heavy space ships, and heavy space ships can not be lifted from a planet's surface to an orbit. The only possible way to use such a heavy space ship for more than just a handful of people is to keep it on a cyclic trajectory, commuting between Earth' orbit and Mars' orbit. Legacy rocketry can provide lifting and landing.

People need to eat, drink and breath during the journey. With currently known technology only a few persons can be brought to Mars with a single ship.

Artificial [[gravity]] through centrifugal force can be established in order to avoid health damage of the astronauts, although exercise is enough to prevent damage from zero-g.

==Landing on Mars==
[[Aerobreaking]] can be used to decelerate during approach when entering the orbit. Only small probes have touched down on the Martian surface up to now, using parachutes, balloon cushions and rockets.

A [[space elevator]] might be a possible solution for large amounts of material as well as for persons. The technology for building such a cable and vehicles to climb the cable has not yet been fully developed.

==Open Issues==
*How many tonnes per vehicle can be brought to Mars with existing technology?
*How many people per vehicle can be brought to Mars with existing technology?
*What technology is required to land big vessels smoothly on Mars?
*Which technology is good for cargo, which for manned transportation?

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Logistics]]
[[Category:Spaceflight science]]

Economic Systems and their Relation to a Mars Colony

2011-09-26T17:22:47Z

IStoltzfus70:

{{Controversial}}
Economics is about the production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services. Money is included in the study in as far as money is used as a tool in most national economies. Primitive societies had producers mostly consume what they produced or give it to a spouse or child. Community defense as a service was handled by command of respected authority. Money has allowed people to specialize in the goods and services they provide. They can exchange these goods and services without concerning themselves with more than being sure that their customers have money and that their vendors have quality goods.

There are exceptions to money based economic exchanges. It is necessary that children be provide support without being able to pay for it. Military service is often still provided by command of respected authority, and the amount that soldiers are paid for their efforts is often less than what would be required to hire a fully volunteer force. Wealthy societies typically pay to provide food and shelter for those unable to afford to pay for themselves.

There are advantages to the command economy in these instances. For military forces eating G.I. food, wearing, G.I. clothes and fighting with G.I. weapons simplifies supply lines. For the poor ration coupons or their electronic equivalents are not subject to economic vagaries. The whole society is more secure when such distribution systems exist for the poor, especially if contingency plans are made to distribute necessities in this way for the whole population if the for-money distribution system should collapse. Monetary collapse is a definite, if remote, danger for money based economies. A reason money based economies are subject to monetary collapse is that the market system of regulating prices is subject [http://www.thepiggybackrider.com/ kid carrier] to intrinsic chaotic variation. For long times prices can go smoothly up and down as needed to distribute goods efficiently, then suddenly there is a panic and people start hoarding a scarce commodity as its price shoots upward. It is like the weather. People can make limited predictions about the weather but cannot say more than a few days ahead of time when a hurricane will strike. Additionally, since people have more control over money than they do over the weather, they sometimes alter markets in harmful ways because of their ignorance of because of perceived political necessity. For instance, governments sometimes try to make up budget deficits by printing enough money to cause massive inflation.

For a Mars colony in its initial form a command economy is likely. Most people would not be able to pay for their own transportation to Mars and ability to pay for transportation would be a poor criterion by which to select colonists. We should not have the market select who will be the first colonists. When colonization is possible, the colonists are likely to be selected for youth, good health, cooperative attitude, dedication, ability to fill more than one economic niche in the colony and a good evaluation report in years of training. Shipping colonists to Mars will be expensive. Earth will want to pick the best we can get. The goal is a colony that survives. Colonists will be picked to serve that goal. Provision of necessities is likely to be by a command economy on Mars for the same reason as it is in an army at war. The first colonists might expect to have all they want to eat of nutritious meals without paying for them, but a limited selection of kinds of food and meal times. After some time money should come into use. It may start as trading ration coupons or there may be a planned introduction of retail sales. Money is so useful that it is employed in every nation on Earth, so it is likely to be used on Mars. Money is particularly useful when the economic choices to be made become more complicated than a command economy can efficiently handle.

== See also ==
*[[Another Contin(g)ent Concept]]
*[[Talk:Another Contin(g)ent Concept]]

[[Category:Settlements]]

Interplanetary commerce

2011-09-26T17:22:23Z

IStoltzfus70:

[[Image:SpaceShips.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A child's fantasy of rockets to Mars]]

'''Interplanetary commerce''' offers unique benefits and challenges compared to [[inter-settlement commerce]] and [[intra-settlement commerce]]. For the purpose of this article, interplanetary commerce includes moons like [[Moon|Luna]] and dwarf planets like [[Ceres]].

Business ideas including a Martian may help to involve terrestrial companies in the process of making such a settlement . While terrestrial government budgets are usually spent for terrestrial expenditures, [http://www.thepiggybackrider.com/ kid carrier] private companies may be able to spent large amounts of money in a Martian commercial project if large revenues can be expected. The entertainment industry, for example, finances blockbuster movies with more than 100 million US dollars ("The Lord of the Rings" from Peter Jackson: 190,000,000 US dollars). So, with a proper business idea, the private industry is a good focus for fund raising.

==Benefits==
Interplanetary commerce allows for the introduction of ideas, goods and resources that may be unavailable or prohibitively expensive from a native source.

==Challenges==

===Cost of Transportation===
The cost to transport an item will be many times the cost on earth of most items, often orders of magnitude greater. At least initially, only the smaller and more vital goods will be shipped: those that have the highest value per the lowest mass. Non-physical things, such as information, incur only the cost of a [[radio link]].

===Distance===
Distances between the planets an Luna are always changing, requiring precise calculations for accurate transport.
===Time===

==Mercury-Mars Trade==
[[Mercury]] has similar [[gravity]] to Mars, so engeneering solutions developed on Mars may be applicable to Mercurial outposts.

==Venus-Mars Trade==
Trade between [[Venus]] and Mars is unlikely in the forseable future. Commerce will likely be restricted to information and some vital goods.

==Earth-Mars Trade==
::''Main article: [[Earth-Mars Trade]]''
Earth-Mars trade will be the first type of interplanetary commerce established by Martian [[settlement|settlements]].

==Luna-Mars Trade==
::''Main article: [[Luna-Mars Trade]]''
Trade with Earth's moon could involve selling resources such as carbon, nitrogen, and other volatiles which are in short supply on Luna. The cost of transport from Mars is potentially less than from Earth, but potentially more than from Ceres and other asteroids, because of the relative sizes of the gravity fields.

==Ceres-Mars Trade==
[[Ceres]] is a [[dwarf planet]] and the largest object in the [[asteroid belt]]. It is a possible location for a human outpost. It is a possible hub for asteroid mining efforts. Ceres is thought to have significant amounts of volatiles. The escape velocity of both Mars and Ceres are favorable. Commerce between Ceres and Mars may involve information, resources, and martian manufactured goods.

==Jovian Moon-Mars Trade==
By the time the Jovian Moons are settled, Mars will probably be well developed, and in a prime position to supply the Jovian colonies with technology and manufactured goods.

==See Also==
[[lunarp:Business Plans List|Lunarpedia Business Ideaslunarp]] Many of these ideas also apply to a martian settlement.

[[category:logistics]]
[[category:Commerce]]
[[category:solar system]]