Colonizing Mars Is a Terrible Idea

Mars is surprisingly hostile to humans. With global storms, magnetic micro-dust, harmful radiation, freezing temperatures–just to name a few–the surface of Mars is a terrible place to build a human settlement. So why do we want to colonize it? What can humans do that rovers can’t?

Since Galilieo first viewed its mysterious surface in 1610, Mars has tickled our curiosity. Today, 4 rovers, with a 5th on the way, and over a dozen orbiters are exploring its dynamic and ancient terrain. The end goal, among many others, is to send humans to build a sustainable installation. NASA wants to build a colony on Mars by 2030. Elon Musk wants to send a million people there by 2050.

At first glance it seems reasonable. The Martian day is only a little longer than Earth, liquid water exists in the frozen polar ice caps, it’s not that much further from the Sun than Earth is, and it holds untold knowledge about how the solar system formed and possibly the origin of life.

So what’s the problem?

There’s No Magnetic Shield. Some 4.2 billion years ago, Mars’ metallic core went from molten and moving to inert, stripping the planet of its magnetic field and leaving the surface vulnerable to the solar wind.

Earth’s outer core is in constant motion due to convection currents in the molten metal, mainly composed of an iron-nickel alloy. As explained by Faraday, the movement of this metal generates an electrical current, which, in turn, generates a magnetic field. This magnetic field catches the high energy particles released by the sun, resulting in the aurora borealis in the Northern Hemisphere and the aurora australis in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Without a magnetic field protecting it, the surface of Mars is subjected to 2.5 times that on board the International Space Station, as discovered by NASA’s Mars Odyssey probe. Over an extended period of time, this would lead to colonists on Mars having an array of health problems, such as radiation poisoning and much higher rates of cancer. To make matters worse, radiation can be orders of magnitude higher during solar storms, which are largely unpredictable. 

Some ideas to solve this are to build underground, create a frozen carbon dioxide barrier, and use the dust to make specialized ceramics. While all of these could work, they do not protect the astronauts when they leave the enclosures, meaning any field work must be limited. With this in mind, a Mars colony seems overly complicated and risky. 

The Weather Sucks. Because of the intense amount of solar radiation bombarding Mars, thanks to not having a magnetic shield, as well as having a little more than ⅓ the gravity of Earth, the atmosphere was stripped away over several hundred million years. Today, it is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s.

Without much of an atmosphere, heat cannot be trapped, resulting in the Martian surface having an average temperature of -81 F or -63 C. Near the poles temperatures can reach -195 F or -125 C. 

Furthermore, not having a moving core means volcanic and tectonic activity has ceased. This results in the same pieces of dust being blown around for literally billions of years, instead of new crust being created and the old being recycled. Because of this, Martian dust is microfine, meaning it can be kicked up by the wind and become a permanent part of the atmosphere. Because of this, dust storms frequently grow to the size of continents and have been occasionally observed to envelope the entire planet. It’s possible dust storms can be even worse depending on the alignment of the planets. 

The atmosphere is also 95% carbon dioxide, and, in fact, it snows frozen carbon dioxide. Therefore, breathable air must be synthesized by the colonists.

Lastly, with such little atmosphere, the surface pressure is less than 1% of Earth’s. This means that a person’s blood would literally boil if exposed. 

Solving the temperature problem is not going to be easy. Building underground helps, of course, but with no geothermal source of heat, all of it needs to come from energy sources brought by the colonists or from solar. However, dust storms and the fact that the surface of Mars catches only 40% of the sunlight Earth does make solar power infeasible, so nuclear is the only option. The microfine dust poses a serious problem to machinery and ventilation, as it can easily work it’s way inside areas it is not meant to go, causing damage and health risks. Furthermore, NASA is developing a device called MOXIE to turn Martian carbon dioxide into oxygen. And lastly, all structures, vehicles, and suits will have to be strong enough to withstand the extreme pressure differential.

While all of the above solutions can work, a Mars colony is again shown to be not quite all it’s cracked up to be.

The Dust is a Nightmare. Martian regolith is mainly composed of powdered oxidized iron, better known as rust, which is where the planet gets its red color. It is a nightmare for machinery. It is also unsafe for humans to touch and a serious health hazard if inhaled.

As already mentioned the Martian dust is a powder, and to make the situation even worse, it is magnetic due to the presence of magnetite. This will inevitably plague any sort of machine, especially during dust storms. In fact, this is one of the primary concerns for the Mars rovers, such as the Opportunity Rover, which was haunted by Martian dust throughout it’s life, eventually being sidelined by a dust storm. 

Colonists will also inevitably need to grow food. Although the Martian Garden project has demonstrated that plants can be grown in Martian regolith, the dust and the plants grown in it are quite likely dangerous to humans. The Martian regolith contains perchlorates which become dangerous oxidants when activated by the huge amount of radiation bombarding the surface. Likewise, inhalation of Martian dust will be a constant concern, as it can penetrate ventilation systems and clings to virtually every surface. If it enters an enclosure, colonists and sensitive equipment would be at serious risk.

Therefore, machinery will have to be specially designed and serviced regularly by the colonists. They will also need to treat the regolith before attempting to plant anything. Even if they do all of this, the magnetic Martian regolith will be a persistent problem.

Even Martian Gravity Hates Us. The human body evolved in Earth’s gravity, and living in something different can cause complications, especially for the long periods of time Mars colonists will have to endure. 

Mars’ gravity is only 38% of Earth’s, and it’ll will be 0% during the 6-9 months journey to get there. The effect this has on the human body is not really known but it is suspected it could cause 1% bone density loss per month. Also, the fluid in your body will tend to move towards the head, putting pressure on the eyes and creating unknown vision problems. This will also dehydrate the rest of the body. NASA claims “You’re apt to develop kidney stones due to dehydration and increased excretion of calcium from your bones.” Medication as well is expected to work differently in low gravity environments.

Unfortunately for colonists, there is no way to increase gravity. However, NASA believes the problems above can be mitigated by monitoring and constant medical intervention. Therefore, this adds another layer of risk and complexity when ensuring the survival of Mars colonists.

It’s Really, Really Lonely. Mars is 140 million miles from the Earth, on average. Every 26 months, the planets are close enough to make sending a rocket feasible. 

The first problem with this is that Mars colonists are on their own for emergencies. If something unpredictable happens, like a loss of power or a breach in an enclosure, supplies from Earth are unlikely to get there in time. The second problem is that the crew will be subjected to unknown psychological pressure due to being isolated from their loved ones, living in close quarters with a handful of other colonists, and struggling to make the colony work.

The third problem, and by far the most distressing, is the fact that the first colonists are on a one way trip. Look at what it takes to launch a rocket from Earth to Mars. The first colonists will not have the infrastructure or manpower to launch a rocket back to Earth, and it’ll be many decades at best before they do.

Just Send Another Rover. With all of the above in mind, why are so many pushing to build a Martian colony? What are the benefits that outweigh all of the risks and complications?

Well, having humans on the surface will drastically speed up scientific experiments and a colony will be a useful outpost for future missions. However, each new rover is far better than the last, and it’s only a matter of time before they can do what humans can, with far less risk and complications. Also, if we as a species are ready for an outpost, the moon is the natural next step. Most of the risks above are eliminated at a fraction of the cost.

Therefore, a Martian colony may sound interesting, but we are not anywhere near ready to make it work. Instead, we should focus on better rovers and colonizing the Moon.

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