Geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is heat generated inside dense and rocky cosmic bodies. It can be generated by the immense pressure in the core of planets and created by nuclear processes and is constantly available with virtually no limit in time.
On Earth there are a few installations that use geothermal energy for heating and for the production of electricity. On Mars there might be usable geothermal energy as well. It is unknown how deep a Martian settlement would need to drill for practical Geothermal energy.
Availability
Mars Global Surveyor has found relatively fresh signs of flowing water in the Cerberus region near the equator of Mars. This probably happened 10 million years ago, which is geologically an extreme short time. Hopefully, the heat is still there in certain spots. [1] Martian Volcanoes are obvious examples that Mars once had large amounts of geothermal energy available and Mars still has a molten core[2]. Therefore there might be some geothermal energy available. The cost of reaching that energy has to be compared to the cost of other energy sources to know if the use of geothermal energy on Mars is practical.
Open issues
- Are there spots with usable geothermal energy? Additional explorations on Mars are needed to get exact figures.
