Needed explorations

The existing knowledge about Mars is a valuable basis for planning the first settlement, but during the development of the Marspedia project some open issues arise, that require further explorations. This page collects descriptions of those explorations required to find the needed knowledge.

Caves

The actual geometry of the Martian caves is unknown. Only the size of the entrance can be seen on photographs. If the caves are involved in settlement planning we need to know whether they are really usable or not. The exploration can be done by remote controlled machines, e.g. specialized rovers with agents crawling into the caves.

Needed details

size and shape of subsurface parts
geological stability
temperature inside
deposits of water and minerals

Wind

We need more information about the atmospheric movements on Mars. The viability of wind turbines strongly depend on it. Several wind sensors could be brought to the Martian surface, each in a different region. With the additional knowledge we can optimize the construction of wind turbines.

Needed details

strength and duration of wind
global wind pattern
peak wind speed
average wind speed in a Martian year for several regions

Geothermal energy

Signs of liquid water nourish the hope of finding warm spots near below the surface in some regions. A specialized rover can be sent to Mars to drill deep wholes into the ground. The temperature can be measured.