Question: Could we ever live on the Mars?

Asked by nicko24 to DJ, Kyler, Mia, Mick, Peter on 26 Aug 2013. This question was also asked by maca01, louiepop.

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  1. Photo: Peter PerryPeter Perry
    answered on 26 Aug 2013:

    Not without life support. I am not an astronomer, (Kyler, in our zone, is) but I understand that the atmosphere on Mars is too low pressure for us to live, and most of the water is ice, and the Sun is rather far away (compared to its distance from Earth) so solar panels would give less energy.
    Yes, I expect that one day we will have a manned station on Mars, but it will not be easy.

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  2. Photo: David JefferyDavid Jeffery
    answered on 26 Aug 2013:

    Probably, but not without some serious help from technology.

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  3. Photo: Mia CobbMia Cobb
    answered on 26 Aug 2013:

    Not in the same way that we live on Earth! If we did, it would be much more like living on a space station on a planet I think… @kylerkuehn might have some more information?

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  4. Photo: Kyler KuehnKyler Kuehn
    answered on 27 Aug 2013:

    As the others have already said, the main problem is the atmosphere — it is too low in pressure and there is not enough oxygen. So whoever goes there would have to live inside pretty much all of the time. It might be tricky to create machines that can make enough oxygen to allow that, but we currently have the technology to do it (though it would be very expensive).
    The lower gravity there would make long-term changes to the Martian atmosphere difficult: if we add oxygen directly, it would eventually just escape into space (so we’d have to constantly replenish it). And the much weaker magnetic field on Mars compared to Earth would allow more dangerous cosmic radiation to reach the surface of the planet, so I suspect there would be more health problems for those living there.
    Having said that, a private organisation is currently trying to arrange for a one-way trip to mars, and already nearly 200,000 people have signed up!

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