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Can Humans Live on Mars without wearing space suit?
Introduction
Let see what Terraforming is and then know if there is the possibility of humans to stay on PLANET MARS. Terraforming is the combination of the Latin word Terra meaning earth and forming, it describes the process of converting an alien planet to be more Earth-like.
Terraforming (literally, "Earth-shaping") of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to the environment of Earth to make it habitable by Earth-like life.|source
The idea is to make a planet able to support human life without a space suit. Mars is the best option for Terraformation because it's not too far from the sun and it has a minor atmosphere. Imagine you standing on Mars as you are reading this article, at the equator, at midday in the Martian summer it would be 27oC but in the winter it can get to -128oC at night and mars has no atmosphere pressure, which implies that your blood will boil, organs will rupture and there will be no oxygen until you won't be able to gas. There is no wind, it is a near vacuum atmosphere and it is mostly CO2 with a little nitrogen.
By contrast, the earth is mainly nitrogen and little of CO2 and 20% oxygen, we have enough atmosphere pressure so we can't boil.
Taking for instance terraforming is possible, what do we need to terraform the Red Planet. We need Cut UV, Raise temperature and pressure, introduce water and finally fix the atmosphere to make it more like earth.
It can be achieved by using greenhouse gas producing factory to build an atmosphere. More greenhouse gas equals warmer planet.
The Possibilities
With my analysis above I know you must be contemplating if there is the possibility for humans to leave on Mars or not but let's see.
Mars is one of the most familiar places on the solar system and there has been speculation of there are possibilities of humans going to reside in Mars. It has near 24hours day cycles, mountains, valleys as well as liquid waters so much in common with earth. That is why people feel Mars could be another home for humans but it's not convenient for humans on Mars, Mars is a violent and inhospitable wasteland with nature against you in every aspect.
One thing is know about the Mars which how dry Mars is even if there is water ice like I have state and some flowing water compared to earth, Mars is a global desert and not only that it is dry it also freezing cold, even on the hottest days also and the hottest part of the planet, temperatures can get to 70oF which is not that bad but considering the average temperature of the planet, it is -42oF and winter temperature is about -225oF.
Most of the planet is in a perpetual state of frigid hostility and humans cannot survive in cold climate. Average Antarctica is about -57oF which is cooler than the average temperature of Mars. So it won't be easy to stay warm on the Martian surface, it is technically possible with terraforming but still you have to plan your landing site accordingly, entering Mars introduced a unique problem because the Martian atmosphere is extremely thin which mean air resistance for entering spacecraft have less help to slow down as they descend to the surface but there is almost means that there is little to no oxygen to breath, actually the atmosphere 0.14% oxygen compares to the 21% we have on earth. Also, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Why humans cannot stay in Mars
- Perchlorate
Perchlorate is a chemical with high concentration is doing on the planet Mars called Perchlorate. The molecule contains 1Cl atom and 4O atoms
Part of this oxygen from the Perchlorate can be collected and given the astronaut for possible source of breathable air inside the habitat and also the downside of this Perchlorate is that it is extremely toxic to human, when it is absorbed it interferes with metabolic functions and it leads to poor temperature regulation, sleeping disorder and different kind of blood diseases.
Talking about Radiation Lets compare Mars to earth, the earth has an active iron core, a strong magnetic field is generated. This magnetic field shield earth from harmful radiation not only form sun but also from violent distant activity from the space. 2004 the largest single ray gamma blast impacted earth from a magnetar of about 50,000 light years away. It released more energy in over 10times of a second than the sun has released in 100,000 years and for the case of Mars, it has little or perhaps no magnetic field which means it is completely exposed to the elements from space. During the travel of some astronauts to Mars, the astronauts must have absorbed the same amount of radiation as a nuclear power plant worker will absorb in 15years career. When the astronauts are on the Planet, they will continue to receive a low dose of radiation which increases their risk of cancer.
On earth we have advanced shielding technology and the earth magnetic field, radiation is still a threat for the crew in the internal space station. So until radiation shielding technology advance further, living on Mars would be scaled back to only a short visit.
Conclusion
There is technology to take humans to Mars, and it's a planet that is one and a half time farther away from the sun and earth as well as 225million kilometers from earth, toxic soil, scare water supply and very huge amount dust storms we need to question your stay on Mars if it is worth it. Looking at terraforming there is a possibility for humans to stay on Mars but presently it is too far away and too hostile for a sustainable human colony for the red planet.
References for more information
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