The Colonization of Mars

Scientists have come to accept that our planet Earth will not be habitable forever and for the sake of the survival of the human race; we have to look for a new home. Scientists have also come to believe that no planet within our solar system is as habitable or perfect as planet Earth. However, this is no reason to give up.

To get somewhere, people need to start at point A and end at point B. For this you need a will and a way. But A) People from planet Earth to B) Mars inhabitation is a bit difficult than your normal A) Leave home around 8 to B) Reach the office by 8:30. Currently, SpaceX has taken this initiative and will do so affordably. The CEO, Elon Musk, makes us understand by stating: -

There has to be an intersection of sets of people who wish to go to Mars and people who can afford to go to Mars, and if that intersection of sets equals a number of people necessary to make Mars self-sustaining, that’s the critical solution.

By drawing out a Venn diagram, you could actually estimate that around one million come in the overlap. However, we are very far from lift off. To get from A to B in this case, 3 things need to be looked at.

1. Figure how to put things in space2. Revolutionizing the cost of space travel3. Colonization of Mars.

Figuring how to put things in space

The aim of each space shuttle or if you are a kid, spaceship, is to carry stuff into space. The thing the shuttle

carries is called a payload. To survive the rigors of space travel, a shell known as fairing protects it. The next component is the rocket. It has powerful bell shaped engines at the bottom that provides enough thrust to carry thousands of tones into space. Sometimes the shuttle is made up of smaller rockets called stages.

The Apollo missions went to space on a rocket called Saturn V. It weighed 3,000 tons, which is equivalent to 7 Boeing 747’s and was tall as a 35-story building. When SpaceX decided to build their own rocket, they had a small 70 feet rocket and the engine was a creation of its own called the Merlin.

Fig. The Saturn V and its components (NASA)

Despite Falcon X’s modest size and capability, it was full of new technology. It was cheaper than the other

spacecraft’s made. Elon Musk highlights two reasons why the cost of space travel has remained high: -

Lack of vertical integration – mostly relying on sub-contractors instead of developing technology within.

Big companies are risk-averse – they would still prefer Soviet engines made in the 60s somewhere in Siberia because they have been known to work.

When SpaceX started, they only had the money for 4 launches. The lack of investment was understandable. Who will invest in this sort of venture? However, Musk invested 100 million$ that he had earned through the sale of PayPal. All first three launches failed and everything hinged on the success of the 4th launch. Well, like the story of legends, the last one was a success! At 7.4 million dollars, it cost NASA one third of its earlier cost. NASA took notice and awarded SpaceX a 1.6 billion dollars contract to make 12 trips to the International Space Station. SpaceX had revolutionized space travel…

Revolutionizing the cost of space travel

The aim of bringing the ticket to Mars to 500,000 dollars was far from finished. The next step in going towards that goal was to develop on the rocket and build the proper thing.

Meet Falcon 9:

Fig. Falcon 9. Standing 224 feet and able to carry 14 tons of payload. (SpaceX)

The rocket has a three-stage launch. The first stage is a 3-minute job. It has to blast the second stage and the payload up to an altitude of 100 km and then die out by falling into the ocean. It is basically a fuel tank. It has fuel grade kerosene and frozen oxygen that acts a propellants. One thing that fascinated me was Space X’s very own engine Merlin. It packed a thrust of 73 tons. It is easily on the most efficient and advanced engines in the world. Its thrust to weight ratio (165:1) is phenomenal.

Fig. The Merlin Engine (SpaceX)

Fig. 9 Merlin engines under the Falcon 9. Configuration is known octaweb. (SpaceX)

After the first stage falls back to Earth, the responsibility is handed over to the second stage whose life range can range from a few minutes to a few hours. Its engines can be turned on and off and can be maneuvered to any direction. Once it gets the payload to its exact velocity and direction, it then detaches and drops off. And the spacecraft that is left is called the Dragon. It is a pressurized capsule and the only thing that returns to Earth. It has a heat shield facilitating the travel back home. It has mini thruster engines and is the likely candidate for the capsule that would be used for the travel of Mars.

Fig. The Dragon capsule in its orbit. (SpaceX)

Given the unbelievable bargain and utter quality, Space X has orders of over 5 billion dollars and it is trying to ramp up production 40 falcons per year. Obviously, there are other companies that are undermining it like the ULA. Like in my article of Electric Cars, the same can be applied here. However, Elon Musk is on the ascendancy and plans to have more satellites, better versions of the rockets and manned space travel. All of this at a reasonable cost!

Colonize Mars In one simple line, putting 1 million people on Mars through the Mars Colonial Transporter. In Pakistan, no one is talking about Mars and very few people think it as a plan for future. India on the other hand has already taken an unmanned

satellite there. If someone is following the developments of NASA and the developed world, living on Mars in the next 10 or 20 years is quite a probability. Crazy things are happening! I am pretty sure all of us are in for big surprises in the coming decade. We should broaden our minds to it.

Every 26 months, Mars laps the Earth’s orbit and that is the time for commute. Mars is still very far. At best, the closest it can get is 55 million kilometers. Musk predicts 2025 or 2027 will be the time when a person will take a ‘small step for a man and huge leap for mankind.’ The MCT aircraft will be ready to take people onboard when the planets are in place and will take off for Mars. 3 to 6 months later, they will arrive at Mars. About two years later, the next colonial fleet will be getting ready from Earth while the MCT spacecraft will go back to Earth and land. It will undergo repairs and by the time planets realign themselves. They will be ready for another trip.

Mars is a hostile planet and the early settlers would need: -

Energy – from solar panels. Nuclear is the other option. Oxygen- there will be an oxygen producing plant.

Atmospheric CO2 and underground H2O are available. Water- there is water at the poles of Mars. They would

probably devise a system to get liquid water to the community through a series of pipes.

Food- botanists and farmers. Fertilizers with a pressurized green house.

Homes- In the first few decades, there will be huge domes.

Internet- Satellites are being developed. There are just the fundamental things that I have just covered but as more and more people start inhabiting Mars, the more we’ll learn. It will be exciting to see another human

civilization on planet Mars. There is another foundation called the MarsOne that wants to inhabit Mars but so far I have not been able to see any serious developments from them.

Then there is Plan B: The challenge is to turn Mars into our home. This would need Terraforming. Change the condition of Mars to match Earth’s.

1. Melt the poles. An ocean of around 36 feet will be formed. CO2 dioxide will be released and trap the sun’s energy thus making the atmosphere warmer and setting off a chain reaction.

2. Pump greenhouse gases.3. Plant stuff. Once the land gets enough warm and

the air, microbes and seeds will be able to grow.4. Make the air breathable. This will happen if the

processes described above do happen.

Maybe after 1000 years, Mars would look like Earth. The key is to make the Mars project work. We will be to colonize the solar system. We just need that little push. Although the limitations of light and time, would make humans in parts of solar system completely different species but everyone would remember this Great Leap. The Earth is dying and during 2080 the Middle East will be so hot that humanity will not be able to survive. We need changes here as well.

Fig. Imagine hiking in Mars and seeing Jupiter on the horizon. (Waitbutwhy.com)