QUEENS UNIVERSITY

MECH 424: Project #3

Colonization of Mars
Marco Ciallella 06305323

Contents
Scope.......................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction................................................................................................................ 3
Sustainability Approach.............................................................................................. 4
Fundamental Requirements for Survival the Resources needed and how to create a
Sustainable system.................................................................................................... 4
Energy..................................................................................................................... 4
Water....................................................................................................................... 5
Oxygen.................................................................................................................... 5
Food........................................................................................................................ 5
Shelter..................................................................................................................... 6
LCA............................................................................................................................. 6
Definition and Scope............................................................................................... 6
Production and Manufacturing.................................................................................6
Product Life and Sustainability................................................................................ 7
End of Life Decision................................................................................................. 8
Conclusion and Discussion......................................................................................... 8
References.................................................................................................................. 9

Scope
The scope of this project is to create a sustainable colony for survival on the planet
Mars. Assuming the planet Earth is still in well being, this colonization is just an
attempt to see how far human can explore the vastness of space. To have manned
bases on other planetary bodies have been a dream to many people. This project
will focus on creating a small colony of under 50 people and how they will be able to
achieve sustainability on Mars. This will avoid attempts to terra-forming Mars as this
would be a lengthy process involving several thousand years and would be
considered the biggest scientific breakthrough that mankind would ever have
achieved. This will focus more on how to get a small group on people into space,
land on Mars and what are the basic needs of survival for this small colony such as
energy, water, food, shelter.

Introduction
Mars is the he only planet in our solar system that colonizing would be possible. This
is due to the similarities that it shares with Earth. The length of one Martian day is
very similar to 1 day on Earth at 24 hours 39 minutes 35.244 seconds. This is
necessary for humans to have this similarity because it will ease the colony in
habitation. The humans biological clock would not be disrupted and this is vital for
humans to function in a regular manner. Another similarity is the axial tilt which is
approximately 25 degrees on Mars, opposed to the 23.44 degrees on Earth. This
results in Mars having seasons much like Earth. The only difference is that one
Martian year is 1.88 Earth years therefore each season would be just under double
in length [1].
There are some major differences that Mars has with Earth and these must be
accounted for before colonization occurs. One problem with Mars is the surface
gravity which is 0.38 percent that of Earth. Microgravity is a known cause of muscle
loss and bone demineralization so special precautions would need to be taken for
humans to survive on Mars [2]. Mars is also much colder than Earth with an average
surface temperature of approximately -80 to 5 degrees Celsius. Although Earth
has experiences these temperatures in its coldest regions, the thought of
attempting to live on this surface permanently is deemed impractical. Finally, two
major problems with colonization on Mars are the lack of water and the lack of an
atmosphere. All the bodies of water on Mars are frozen due to the cold
temperatures. Mars atmosphere is very thin and due to the lack of a
magnetosphere it has an extreme amount of ultra violet radiation which would be

unhealthy for humans to live on the surface. The atmosphere also has a partial
pressure of CO2 that is toxic for humans and for any plants to grow [3] .

Sustainability Approach
A sustainable society is truly required to maintain a colony on Mars indefinitely. It's
not feasible to send water, oxygen and food from Earth to the astronauts: they will
produce those on Mars. To live off the land ambitious exploration efforts must be
taken. This would take several years to measure environmental changes on the
planet and surface fluctuations. To have a manned outpost will need to be
financially supported first by governments and foundations, but over the long term
the colonist would need to eventually come up with a way to support itself and pay
for imports.

Fundamental Requirements for Survival the Resources

needed and how to create a Sustainable system
The basic requirements for sustainability on Mars will be energy, water, oxygen,
food, and shelter. Each of these requirements will be broken down further to explain
how the colonist will be able to attain them from the naturally occurring resources
on Mars.

Energy
To live on Mars will require a massive amount of power. For initial power when first
arriving on Mars, the colonist will need to set-up solar panels and windmills. These
will obviously need to be brought from Earth. The solar panels will need to be
specially designed to accept the greatest solar radiation that the planet will receive.
The problem with the sustainability of the solar panels is due to the massive dust
storms that happen on Mars. This dust storms coat the solar panels in a thin film of
dust which greatly reduces the efficiency of these solar panels. Rovers could be
used then to clean of the solar panels. To compliment this, windmills will be used
when there are month long dust storms. The wind patterns on Mars are very
different than the ones on Earth. Since there air is so much thinner than the air on
Earth a traditional windmill will only be able to operate when the dust storms occur
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[4]. This idea is known as a wind-solar hybrid system and would seem very
applicable for Martian life.
Although these technologies can help in the first step in pioneering Mars a long
lasting society on Mars it would need an even more powerful power source. This
leads into geothermal technologies. There are many volcanoes on Mars and this
leads to believe that there is heat underground. This heat could be harnessed and
used to run steam turbines. This is also a good option because it will create a water
supply that will be underground.

Water
Water is the most necessary resources needed for humans to survive. Mostly all of
the water on Mars is frozen due to the low temperatures that exist. There are two
techniques that could be used to harness the water on Mars. First thing to do would
be to survey the underground area around the volcanic activity. It is believed this is
where there is a large amount of heat even if the volcano is not active. The ice
layers below could contain actual flowing water. This could be brought to the
surface through extraction and then be used among the colony. Another method to
harness water would be from the soil. Rovers could travel around the surface and
heat the soil. This would evaporate the water and could be condensed, stored, and
brought back to the colonist [5]. Preserving water will be a very crucial step. A water
recycler will be needed to convert all the waste water back into usable water. Any
unrecyclable water can they be dispelled back into the soil.

Oxygen
There is very limited oxygen in the air on Mars so techniques must be implemented
to collect and store the oxygen. Two methods could be implemented. First water
could split into its constituent parts of hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen could then
be collected and stored in tanks to be used later. The second method would be with
the use of biological oxygen creators. Plants and bacterium could be put in a
greenhouse and be fed a very high carbon dioxide rich air source. It would then
convert the carbon dioxide into breathable air [6]. Hopefully though adaptive
capability the plants could evolve to take in more carbon dioxide then it is use to
thus producing even more oxygen.

Food
When the colonists first arrive they will need to have some supply of food from
Earth that will at least last them enough time to create their own food. A caloric
dense food will need to be brought. This will need to be in the form of a product
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such as Soylent which has all the basics micro and macro nutritional values human
needs to survive. A highly efficient plant growing method will need to be created.
This will allow for more food production in a smaller environment. Mostly all food
production will occur indoors. It will need an alternate light source that will provide
the plants with the necessary light spectra for proper growth.
Another sophisticated method of creating food to eat would be with the use of stem
cells. Scientists have created a method of using stem cells to grown meat [7]. This
could be implemented in Mars so that the colonist is able to have a balanced
nutrition. This method reduces the need of farming animals and the greenhouse
gases associated with them. A great saving of space with also result because there
will be no animals that need to graze.

Shelter
The first colonist will not have the opportunity to build their own shelters when they
arrive. They will to bring their own shelters from Earth and set-up a base camp.
From there exploration would take place to find a suitable shelter.
Lava tubes hold the key to shelter on Mars. These are basically caves that are left
over from volcanic eruptions. These will be underground to protect the inhabitants
from the radiation on the surface. The first thing the settlers will need to do is
identify likely candidate for lava tubes. Once suitable tubes are located a crew must
go in and clean the cabin of minor debris. The next step would be to insert a
deflated shelter balloon made on tough insulated material. This would then be
inflated in the chamber. Other features would need to be added to the shelter such
as skylights and an airtight seal. Communications would also need to be set-up in
the form of antennas and power cables would need to be brought from any power
generation station on the planet [8]. The inside could be set-up into several rooms
that would house each guest properly. One very key feature that the shelter would
need would be an exercise area. Due to the low gravity the colonist would need to
exercise for some time of the day in order to keep the muscles and bone structures
from weakening. This design is very suitable for sustainability because it would be
able to be moved if more shelter was needed.

LCA
Definition and Scope
A life cycle analysis was completed on the wooden framed windows that will be
used on the lava tube shelters. Windows play an important role in buildings because
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they incorporate daylight and maintain interior comfort. The environmental impact
of windows has to be determined. This overlay has the following factors: energy
consumption, natural resources depletion and environmental factors associated with
its service life. The type of window being analyzed will be the timber framed
window. These windows provide the least amount of environmental harm.

Production and Manufacturing

Timber is a traditional window frame material. It has a high availability and ease of
processing. The following figure shows a visual representation of a LCA for a timber
window.

Figure 1: LCA of timber window

Product Life and Sustainability

The durability and service life of a window is very important. The windows used on
Mars will not have to have great aesthetic quality, but they will need to be durable
and have a good product life. The average service life of a timber window is
approximately 40 years. One problem in Timber windows is maintenance needed.
Every 5 years the windows must be painted in order to maintain their appearance
and durability. The colony of Mars will have to ensure proper service of the windows
to maintain a good life span. One good aspect in choosing timber windows is the
energy needed to manufacture them. They require the least amount of energy to
manufacture when comparing to other window types.

End of Life Decision

As seen in figure one the end of life decision results in 2 pathways. First the wood
will be recycled again to make more wood frames. The wood could also be made
into many other products that are needed. Wood can be transformed into wood
chips which have many applications such as pressure forming into boards or walls.
Wood chips also serve the purpose for heating buildings. This could be another
energy options for the Mars colonies. The glass from the window can also be
recycled. Glass is a very good material because it can be continually recycled
without losing its strength or quality. The glass can be recycled into more glass
windows or it can be used to make many other products.

Conclusion and Discussion

Through the following investigation for the sustainability of the Mars expedition
many conclusions have resulted. The LCA performed on timber windows shows that
a sustainable environment can be attained with a few tweaks to our regular Earth
life style. Further LCAs would need to be conducted to determine sustainabilitys of
more complex systems.
This expedition to Mars has a lot of relevance in referring to Spaceship Earth.
Spaceship Earth is a concern over the limiting recourses available on Earth. It calls
on the people to act together and be resourceful to create a truly sustainable life.
When humans arrive on Mars the sustainable way of life is the only way they will be
able to survive.
So one way this project is supposed to help us understand, that we do not need to
be shipped to a different planet with harsh conditions and an impossible method of
living normally, to change the way we live. All these methods that have been
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researched for the sustainability on Mars need to be implemented on Earth right

now. All the technology has been developed on Earth and for Earth and that why we
as humans need to act homogeneously and become a better colony of plant Earth.

References
[1] C. Q. Choi, "http://www.space.com/47-mars-the-red-planet-fourth-planet-fromthe-sun.html," 31 July 2012. [Online]. [Accessed 28 February 2014].
[2] E. Howell, "http://www.space.com/23017-weightlessness.html," 30 September
2013. [Online]. [Accessed 28 February 2014].
[3] J. Coffey, "http://www.universetoday.com/22587/atmosphere-of-mars/," 19
December 2008. [Online]. [Accessed 28 February 2014].
[4] J. Bluck,
"http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2001/01_72AR.html," 10
October 2001. [Online]. [Accessed 27 February 2014].
[5] N. T. Redd, "http://www.space.com/17048-water-on-mars.html," 26 September
2013. [Online]. [Accessed 26 February 2014 ].
[6] J. Hsu, "http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/3610/how-microbes-could-helpcolonize-mars," 9 September 2010. [Online]. [Accessed 28 February 2014].
[7] A. Jha, "http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/05/synthetic-meatburger-stem-cells," 5 August 2013. [Online]. [Accessed 26 February 2014].
[8] G. Frederick, "http://www.oregonl5.org/mist/ltube96.html," 1996. [Online].
[Accessed 27 February 2014].

[9] I. Klotz, "http://news.discovery.com/space/private-spaceflight/nasa-to-prospectmoon-and-mars-for-resources-140128.htm," 29 January 2014. [Online].

[Accessed 27 February 2014].
[10 M. Asif, "http://www.cibse.org/pdfs/Masif.pdf," [Online]. [Accessed 1 March
]
2014].

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