Ice Deposits cover Mars South Pole

[warpus]

Pshhh.. What the humans need, the Lord provideth

 

[El_Machinae]

High density asteroids! Amen.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Pshhh.. What the humans need, the Lord provideth

Indeed. Now, do we need large amounts of iron, oil, coal, (the classics) or do we want them?

 

[warpus]

Indeed. Now, do we need large amounts of iron, oil, coal, (the classics) or do we want them?

All you need is love.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Indeed. Now, do we need large amounts of iron, oil, coal, (the classics) or do we want them?

Oil and coal? Might as well need horses and saltpeter. The Martian settlements would be established in the mid to late 21st century, not the early 20th.

All you need is love.

Under the rovers lies a heart made of ground but the humans will give no love.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Hence why I said "the classics".

We do need saltpeter these days, though, for making fertilizer. Or was that the other way around? I am forgetting my Chemistry classes.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

I think saltpeter forms under manure piles.

 

[ArneHD]

Indeed. Now, do we need large amounts of iron, oil, coal, (the classics) or do we want them?

Iron, aluminium, titanium etc. are metals that humanity as a whole needs to be able to expand. Beyond this, I predict thatm unless the earth is entierly converted into a gigantic farm, we are going to see orbital farms cropping up to supply food, if not for earth, then at least for other near by planets.

 

[Chandrasekhar]

If we have humans living semi-independently on two planets, then it'll be a lot tougher for us to kill ourselves off. Completely aside from that, we should be able to support a higher population, which I believe to be a good thing.

 

[Mercenary82]

What about the fact that Mars gravity is only .38 that of Earths? That problem still needs to be solved before Mars could have any permanent settlements.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

What about the fact that Mars gravity is only .38 that of Earths? That problem still needs to be solved before Mars could have any permanent settlements.

Its not a problem, and it cant be 'solved' anyway. Why do you think the gravity is too low for there to be settlements?

 

[Mercenary82]

Its not a problem, and it cant be 'solved' anyway. Why do you think the gravity is too low for there to be settlements?

How do you know that it isn't a problem? Nobody has lived in .38 gravity long enough for us to know that their isn't any harmful effects from low gravity.
We know that living in 0g for long periods of time does cause muscular atrophy, causing up to 40% strength loss, and decreases bone mass 10 times faster than osteoperosis. People that are living in low gravity for long periods of time might experience similar effects, at a slower rate.

 

[Babbler]

High density asteroids! Amen.

I with you there. I imagine future Martian colonization to limited to a few small town, if that.

 

[Chandrasekhar]

How do you know that it isn't a problem? Nobody has lived in .38 gravity long enough for us to know that their isn't any harmful effects from low gravity.
We know that living in 0g for long periods of time does cause muscular atrophy, causing up to 40% strength loss, and decreases bone mass 10 times faster than osteoperosis. People that are living in low gravity for long periods of time might experience similar effects, at a slower rate.

Well, if the people living there for any great period of time don't have any plans for coming back to Earth, I don't know what the problem is.

 

[Bill3000]

How do you know that it isn't a problem? Nobody has lived in .38 gravity long enough for us to know that their isn't any harmful effects from low gravity.
We know that living in 0g for long periods of time does cause muscular atrophy, causing up to 40% strength loss, and decreases bone mass 10 times faster than osteoperosis. People that are living in low gravity for long periods of time might experience similar effects, at a slower rate.

And that's precisely why we do research on the effects of microgravity and ways on how to allievate the damage.

 

[Mercenary82]

Well, if the people living there for any great period of time don't have any plans for coming back to Earth, I don't know what the problem is.

So suffering from rapid bone loss and muscular atrophy isn't a problem?

And that's precisely why we do research on the effects of microgravity and ways on how to allievate the damage.

These experiments have yet to yield any long term solution to this problem.

 

[Chandrasekhar]

So suffering from rapid bone loss and muscular atrophy isn't a problem?

If you're spend the rest of your life in .38G? No, I wouldn't call it much of a problem.

 

[Mercenary82]

It would still be a problem in .38g, even with lower gravity, there's still this thing called mass you have to worry about. Humans living there would be more likley to get injured or kill each other playing contact sports, cars can still hit you just as hard there as on Earth, meaning you're more likely to die from a car accident that might not have killed you on Earth.

 

[El_Machinae]

Yeah, Merc's right. There are lots of reasons why a constant low-gravity environment could be bad for you. Of course, more research will tell us more ...

 

[Bozo Erectus]

How do you know that it isn't a problem? Nobody has lived in .38 gravity long enough for us to know that their isn't any harmful effects from low gravity.
We know that living in 0g for long periods of time does cause muscular atrophy, causing up to 40% strength loss, and decreases bone mass 10 times faster than osteoperosis. People that are living in low gravity for long periods of time might experience similar effects, at a slower rate.

The things you cite as problems are actually the body adapting to its new environment, which is a good thing. As others have mentioned they only become problems if you plan on returning to Earth. Humans are extremely adaptable. Just as other former land mammals were able to adapt to the low gee environment in the ocean, we'll do just fine in the low gee environment in space and other planets.