Long term I would expect deep shafts drilled down into the crust. Mars is for the most part geologically dead, so drilling down even for miles should be safe in suitable spots. Put a domed roof with windows over the shaft and mount aluminum mirrors around it to allow for daylight (and natural day/night cycles) down there. Grow some suitable plants (vines etc.) on the walls. Carve spiral stairways and terraces into the walls, so our colonists get natural exercise while moving around during the day instead of having to waste time and willpower on exercising with machines two hours a day. Carve horizontal tunnels and caves from the main shaft for living space, workshops and greenhouses (with racks of vegetables) as well as pools with water for growing fish and for swimming.
Quote from: uhuznaa on 10/16/2016 07:52 pmLong term I would expect deep shafts drilled down into the crust. Mars is for the most part geologically dead, so drilling down even for miles should be safe in suitable spots. Put a domed roof with windows over the shaft and mount aluminum mirrors around it to allow for daylight (and natural day/night cycles) down there. Grow some suitable plants (vines etc.) on the walls. Carve spiral stairways and terraces into the walls, so our colonists get natural exercise while moving around during the day instead of having to waste time and willpower on exercising with machines two hours a day. Carve horizontal tunnels and caves from the main shaft for living space, workshops and greenhouses (with racks of vegetables) as well as pools with water for growing fish and for swimming. Why drill vertically when you can drill horizontally? Moving stuff via horizontal roads is notably easier than in vertical ones.
If we drill deep enough, a real long term effort, how deep would we have to go to have enough atmospheric pressure to live in? I think someone has already done the calculation. It would be so deep that we would have to entirely use artificial lighting and energy production to support it. But it should be quite safe without pressure seals.
Mars has no global magnetic field. But I have heard it has localized magnetic fields. I would like to see research on these. Do they locally reduce radiation?If yes it would be good to put settlements there. Not having to plan for heavy radiation shielding would make many things easier.
Quote from: guckyfan on 10/17/2016 07:14 amIf we drill deep enough, a real long term effort, how deep would we have to go to have enough atmospheric pressure to live in? I think someone has already done the calculation. It would be so deep that we would have to entirely use artificial lighting and energy production to support it. But it should be quite safe without pressure seals.I've had this thought before. It turns out, due to the thermal gradient, the temperature becomes unmanageably high before you get any useful amount of pressure.
As far as stairs are concerned, would it be possible with 8 foot ceiling heights to just jump from one floor to the next?Matthew
In the short term this just means you do not think of yourself as building on a hard surface. Your base should to evolve towards being a buoyant roof in a non-catastrophic fashion.
Just found something relevant to a previous post:Quote from: KelvinZero on 10/15/2016 03:21 amIn the short term this just means you do not think of yourself as building on a hard surface. Your base should to evolve towards being a buoyant roof in a non-catastrophic fashion.I wondered how we deal with unstable soil on earth and found this "concrete raft" concept. It also specifically mentions mining as a cause of unstable ground.http://civilconstructiontips.blogspot.co.nz/2011/06/unstable-ground-soils.html
Quote from: guckyfan on 10/15/2016 11:07 amMars has no global magnetic field. But I have heard it has localized magnetic fields. I would like to see research on these. Do they locally reduce radiation?If yes it would be good to put settlements there. Not having to plan for heavy radiation shielding would make many things easier.Magnetic shielding saves mass, but Martian regolith is a lot easier to come by than superconducting coils.For example here:http://www.orionsarm.com/fm_store/RadiationShields.pdfTo reach 0.5 rem/year in a toroidal habitat with 900m diameter and 60m thickness the mass of a magnetic shield is 12x10^6kg while the mass of a passive shield is 12x10^9kg.So we're talking thousands of tons of superconducting coil vs. millions of tons of readily available regolith.I don't see how putting a few meters of regolith on top of a habitat is that much of a problem. If the hab itself can withstand the internal pressure you won't actually need much on top, only for shielding.
Quote from: KelvinZero on 10/19/2016 11:30 amJust found something relevant to a previous post:Quote from: KelvinZero on 10/15/2016 03:21 amIn the short term this just means you do not think of yourself as building on a hard surface. Your base should to evolve towards being a buoyant roof in a non-catastrophic fashion.I wondered how we deal with unstable soil on earth and found this "concrete raft" concept. It also specifically mentions mining as a cause of unstable ground.http://civilconstructiontips.blogspot.co.nz/2011/06/unstable-ground-soils.htmlAll of the MIT buildings in cambridge ma are built on fill. They are 4 to 6 story buildings with 2 basements. They are designed to float on the fill. This was common knowledge at MIT 40 years ago.Also of note.One of the skyscrapers of boston has 3 piers on bedrock but the fourth is in fill and they freeze the soil around it to keep it stable. I thought it was the pru of the hancock but haven't found any references yet.
Melting permafrost is a pain. Again seems unlikely to happen on Mars in the first few centuries. But the food production might run fairly hot, and nuclear reactors as well. Wouldn't want them to sink...
build a tunnel boring machine on Mars