Merry Christmas from Mars

[Ming the Merciless]

Just been ice skating across this beauty.

https://news.sky.com/story/christma...of-giant-82km-wide-ice-filled-crater-11587767

Masses of ice found on Mars.

 

[Drago]

It's absolutely astonishing. Suddenly, the feasibility of colonising Mars has just cranked up a notch or two.

 

[colly]

It's absolutely astonishing. Suddenly, the feasibility of colonising Mars has just cranked up a notch or two.

Pity the poor bloody Martians then.

 

[postman]

Form a queue behind me,i'll go i fancy a bit of colonising.

and anything to get away from Brexit.

 

[C R]

It's absolutely astonishing. Suddenly, the feasibility of colonising Mars has just cranked up a notch or two.

Lack of water is only one of the problems.

Lack of a magnetic field means that cosmic radiation and solar wind particles reach the surface, so radiation levels are higher than on earths surface.

The thin atmosphere and lack of ozone means there is no shield against solar UV radiation.

The soil is full of perchlorates, which are highly toxic, so groing crops on martian soil would require much more than just mixing manure.

That just off the top of my head.

I would love to see a permanent colony in Mars within my lifetime, but the technological advances needed are yet to take place.

 

[Drago]

Water (or ice) can be used as a radiation shield, and an effective one at that at the levels experienced on the Martial surface.

Water means air and fuel. Air means fertiliser as well as something to breathe. The consequential benefits are staggering. My undergrad is in Planetary Studies, and just thinking about the consequences for manned Martian exploration make my head spin.

None of the other issues are remotely insurmountable. The real issue is paying for the technology to meet those challenges, rather than the challenges themselves.

 

[Threevok]

Quaid - Start the reactor !!!!

 

[C R]

None of the other issues are remotely insurmountable. The real issue is paying for the technology to meet those challenges, rather than the challenges themselves.

Getting all that mass off of earth's surface and onto mars is the biggest technological challenge at the moment.

 

[pawl]

It's absolutely astonishing. Suddenly, the feasibility of colonising Mars has just cranked up a notch or two.

Don’t bother it’s full of gigantic pot holes.

 

[Bazzer]

Some flat earthers will consider the pictures are just part of the NASA/ESA/Spacex conspiracy.

 

[Levo-Lon]

I actually think thats the Martian city that's twinned with Mexico city?
Could be wrong

 

[C R]

Don’t bother it’s full of gigantic pot holes.

And frozen at that, make sure you take your ice tires.

 

[pawl]

And frozen at that, make sure you take your ice tires.

Yummy frozen Mars

 

[C R]

Yummy frozen Mars

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Who here, given the chance would take a one way flight to Mars?