MarsDrive

[jayl180]

The Mars colonization site Red Colony.com has begun a new project to help bring popularity to Mars colonization:<br /><br />MarsDrive was founded in response to the demand to make Mars more visible in the popular media. In 2005, Frank Stratford suggested forming a committee devoted to announcing the subjects of Mars colonization and terraforming to the general public, through formats such as newspapers, radio, television, and film. Mars could be popularized, he thought, if the public could see (and be inspired by) the possibilities of living and developing another planet.<br /><br />Today the MarsDrive campaign, a proactive public relations group for promoting Red Colony and its mission, welcomes any and all people interested in supporting the global Cause for Mars. If you have no PR experience, that's fine! We're looking for people with the inspiration to make this all possible. Get involved... get inspired... inspire others. <br /><br />http://www.redcolony.com/marsdrive/

 

[kdavis007]

What kind of help do you need???

 

[jayl180]

Well what we need are people to help get involved. Helping is simple. Register for a Red Colony forum name to take part in community discussions in our online message board. There you will find out exactly what it is that you can contribute, and who you can ask for help. Contact Frank Stratford or Alex Moore for more information.

 

[kdavis007]

Ok...

 

[mental_avenger]

I see a big red flag on the Red Colony agenda. When anyone proposes “terraforming” Mars as a serious topic, it is clear that they are not rational. We’ve been around the block on that issue too many times. If you are talking 2000 years and the total GNP of a small country each year, maybe. Otherwise, it is a pipe dream that detracts from both serious science and serious exploration. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2" color="#ff0000"><strong>Our Solar System must be passing through a Non Sequitur area of space.</strong></font></p> </div>

 

[spacefire]

Ice Ice baby...and I mean dropping a lot of icy asteroids on Mars, to thicken the atmosphere, generate a greenhouse effect to increase temperatures overall, and also to increase the percentage of water vapors, free oxygen and hydrogen.<br />Terraforming to a shirtsleeve environment would take more on the order of 2-300 years. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>http://asteroid-invasion.blogspot.com</p><p>http://www.solvengineer.com/asteroid-invasion.html </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[grooble]

Could you bombard Mars with nuclear weapons to heat it up or create other good changes?

 

[spacefire]

you want to keep that heat, and you want a thick atmosphere as well.<br />First, you want a thick atmosphere regardless for greenhouse effect if it's breathable or not, so you'd get as much CO2 as you can from melting one of the polar caps (forgot which one is frozen CO2) and from the soil.<br />The icy asteroids will add water vapor and trace gases and whatnot to the atmosphere, but, like I said, for now all you want is get the place warm enough to support plant life, and you want liquid surface water for that.<br />Once you have plants, they will start transforming all that CO2 into Oxygen through photosynthesis.<br />Meanwhile, man-made installations on the surface will do the same. Nuclear reactors used for settlements will probably discharge a lot of heat into the atmosphere as well<br />A heavy industry, in this case, would actually help with bringing life to the planet, while on Earth it is doing the opposite! <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>http://asteroid-invasion.blogspot.com</p><p>http://www.solvengineer.com/asteroid-invasion.html </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[mental_avenger]

<b>6 billion people</b>, with an enormous infrastructure of industrial complexes and plants, and with of millions and millions of heat and pollution producing devices, are barely making a measurable change in our atmosphere. It is clear that those who advocate “terraforming” Mars have absolutely no concept of the scale. <br /><br />Here are a few facts not generally offered (or even acknowledged by the “terraforming enthusiasts”) Not only would a significant atmosphere require additional <b>billions of TONS</b> of gasses, the light gravity of Mars would (and does) allow the atmosphere to extend out far into space. To put that into perspective, even though the Martian atmosphere is only 6% that of Earth, it extends so far out into space, that the 2001 Odyssey aero-braked at an altitude we consider “space” here on Earth, the same altitude that Spaceship One qualified as having gone into space. Add to that the virtually non-existent magnetic field which allows the Solar Wind to strip away the upper atmosphere, and you would not only have to <i>build</i> the atmosphere, but would have to continually <i>replenish</i> it.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2" color="#ff0000"><strong>Our Solar System must be passing through a Non Sequitur area of space.</strong></font></p> </div>

 

[jayl180]

"I see a big red flag on the Red Colony agenda. When anyone proposes “terraforming” Mars as a serious topic, it is clear that they are not rational. We’ve been around the block on that issue too many times. If you are talking 2000 years and the total GNP of a small country each year, maybe. Otherwise, it is a pipe dream that detracts from both serious science and serious exploration."<br /><br />Well MarsDrive is not exactly about terraforming. Actually it is one of many suggestions that have been brought up. MarsDrive is about <b>getting</b> to Mars. Methods of colonization and living on Mars are long and many, Red Colony tries to present the wide spectrum to people. But don't be dissuaded by the theories of some, the overall goal of MarsDrive is to get public support for actually going to Mars, and the reasons why it is important.

 

[darkenfast]

Perhaps one day, there will be some kind of technology, or more likely, bio-technology to terraform Mars. But in the meantime, there are enough resources on Mars to make the establishment of humanity's first viable off-planet settlements a possibility. That's the thing to focus on.