• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

NASA: Seasonal Water Flows on Mars

Status
Not open for further replies.
No, an unprotected human would die pretty fast on Mars. If it was an environment someone could walk around comfortably in, it probably would already have trees and stuff. However, it is theoretically possible to make it into an environment that people could comfortably walk around in, with a few centuries worth of planetary engineering. That's probably not worth the effort though. On the other hand, you could build an air-tight shelter on the surface of the planet fairly easily and just live in that. It wouldn't be as difficult or dangerous to live in as a spacecraft, since you would have some gravity and no risk of being sucked into a vacuum.
Understandable, another fun fact is Mars has a very low thermal interia which means the surface heats up really fast when the sun shines on it.
 

MilkyJoe

Member
No, an unprotected human would die pretty fast on Mars. If it was an environment someone could walk around comfortably in, it probably would already have trees and stuff. However, it is theoretically possible to make it into an environment that people could comfortably walk around in, with a few centuries worth of planetary engineering. That's probably not worth the effort though. On the other hand, you could build an air-tight shelter on the surface of the planet fairly easily and just live in that. It wouldn't be as difficult or dangerous to live in as a spacecraft, since you would have some gravity and no risk of being sucked into a vacuum.

People say this, but I am wondering what they expect to do about the magnetic field issue? Mars is a dead planet, all the alien ice-melters on the planet are not going to protect against solar storms.
 
A rover is going to Mars by 2020, if you're talking about a manned mission to Mars then that's up in the air.
Yeah I just edited it. I guess they do want to do a manned flight to Mars around 2023. Didn't know about that.

Boots on the ground won't be until around 2030 unfortantly.
 

Einchy

semen stains the mountaintops
Aw shit, we infected Mars with our germs. I give them ten years before they have a nuclear war.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Even of this was suspected before, having the proof for it is big step forward. I guess being sure about the source of it will be the next step.
 

cameron

Member
From the Q&A, Jim Green said they now know what to search for with MRO/HiRISE due to this science finding. Also,
Emily Lakdawalla ‏@elakdawalla 4m4 minutes ago
2020 rover is specifically not allowed to go to places w/water or water ice http://marsnext.jpl.nasa.gov/scieng_plantary.cfm … because warm RTG
gjCtFj7.png
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Matt Damon will be on Mars this friday at a theater near you.

*points at you, thumbs up. wink*

I seriously doubt we'll go to Mars in any of our lives time. Isn't the travel time like... 2-3 years? Or am I exaggerating the distance?
 
*points at you, thumbs up. wink*

I seriously doubt we'll go to Mars in any of our lives time. Isn't the travel time like... 2-3 years? Or am I exaggerating the distance?

The distance to Mars varies, but trips are planned for when it is closest to Earth. It took 253 days for Curiosity to reach Mars.
 
*points at you, thumbs up. wink*

I seriously doubt we'll go to Mars in any of our lives time. Isn't the travel time like... 2-3 years? Or am I exaggerating the distance?
It will happen in our lifetime. Unless something catastrophic happens in the next 20+ years that would prevent NASA from landing there.
 
*points at you, thumbs up. wink*

I seriously doubt we'll go to Mars in any of our lives time. Isn't the travel time like... 2-3 years? Or am I exaggerating the distance?

It will happen in our lifetime. Unless you're 50+, you'll see a boots on ground manned mission to Mars.
 
*points at you, thumbs up. wink*

I seriously doubt we'll go to Mars in any of our lives time. Isn't the travel time like... 2-3 years? Or am I exaggerating the distance?

Probably not humans, no. It's a drone/robot/android/rover future. We won't go unless we really, really have to.
 

commedieu

Banned
Welp. Thats that then... so we've got the building blocks of life on another planet.

That is significant to the history of mankind. Props to those involved in the discovery.
 

HelloMeow

Member
So what. Water is on Mars. That doesn't mean humans can live there let alone go and survive there.


Does Mars even have an oxygen-based athmosphere? I don't think so.

It's very easy to turn water into oxygen + hydrogen. It's what they do on the ISS.
 

commedieu

Banned
So what. Water is on Mars. That doesn't mean humans can live there let alone go and survive there.


Does Mars even have an oxygen-based athmosphere? I don't think so.

Mars isn't protected against solar radiation that well. Thats another contributor to why life isn't there.

Seems that it would need a magnetic field, and an atmosphere.. but, I wonder if one comes with the other.
 

MilkyJoe

Member
Mars isn't protected against solar radiation that well. Thats another contributor to why life isn't there.

Seems that it would need a magnetic field, and an atmosphere.. but, I wonder if one comes with the other.

The former is never happening, so the buck stops there.

The only use Mars will have in the future is resources and a stop gap.
 

SkyOdin

Member
People say this, but I am wondering what they expect to do about the magnetic field issue? Mars is a dead planet, all the alien ice-melters on the planet are not going to protect against solar storms.

Still better than being on a spacecraft. Besides, for the most part you just need a sufficient amount of mass to block space radiation. An O'Neill cylinder built in space could block the radiation from solar storms just with the mass of its structure. If it is an issue on Mars, they could just live in a sufficiently shielded structure. People won't be out wearing straw hats and farming with a hoe on Mars after all. They will be living indoors.
 

MilkyJoe

Member
Still better than being on a spacecraft. Besides, for the most part you just need a sufficient amount of mass to block space radiation. An O'Neill cylinder built in space could block the radiation from solar storms just with the mass of its structure. If it is an issue on Mars, they could just live in a sufficiently shielded structure. People won't be out wearing straw hats and farming with a hoe on Mars after all. They will be living indoors.

You said people can go for a walk after a few centuries of planetary engineering, I'm saying that's not happening. Mars is a gonner .
 

Neo C.

Member
So what. Water is on Mars. That doesn't mean humans can live there let alone go and survive there.


Does Mars even have an oxygen-based athmosphere? I don't think so.

No worries, Matt Damon is going to science the shit out of this.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom