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Humanity and Space Theoretical Methodologies for the Colonization of Mars

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Humanity and Space Theoretical Methodologies for the Colonization of Mars PROJECT NUMBER: MH-1501 Humanity and Space Theoretical Methodologies for the Colonization of Mars An Interactive Qualifying Project submitted to the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science by Ahmed Safat Hossain Darien Nate Khea Riley Adam Shoneck Submitted to: Professor Mayer Humi February 28, 2015 This report represents work of WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review. For more information about the projects program at WPI, see http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Projects. Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 2 About the Authors ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Darien Khea ............................................................................................................................................... 4 Ahmed Safat Hossain ................................................................................................................................ 4 Riley Shoneck ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Background ................................................................................................................................................... 9 Possible Solutions ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Terraforming Mars .................................................................................................................................. 15 Underground Colony ............................................................................................................................... 16 Modular Martian Colony ......................................................................................................................... 18 Asteroid Moon – Restarting the Martian Magnetosphere ..................................................................... 19 Terraforming Mars ...................................................................................................................................... 23 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 23 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Detailed Description ............................................................................................................................... 30 Social Aspects .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Underground Colony ................................................................................................................................... 45 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 45 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 45 Advantages and Disadvantages .............................................................................................................. 50 Social Aspects .......................................................................................................................................... 53 Modular Martian Colony ............................................................................................................................. 55 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 55 Breakdown of Modular Colony Phases ................................................................................................... 56 Comprehensive Description .................................................................................................................... 59 Social Aspects .......................................................................................................................................... 68 Asteroid Moon – Restarting the Martian Magnetosphere ......................................................................... 71 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 71 Ideal Asteroid .......................................................................................................................................... 74 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 76 Social Aspects .......................................................................................................................................... 84 Relating Future Technologies ..................................................................................................................... 86 Social Implications ...................................................................................................................................... 96 Why not the Moon .................................................................................................................................... 104 Recommendations for Future Projects ..................................................................................................... 107 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 108 Visual Representation of Work ................................................................................................................. 109 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 110 Picture References .................................................................................................................................... 117 1 Abstract Colonizing Mars is an endeavor that humanity has been looking at for centuries. There have been proposals made on how to colonize Mars, but many fail to be viable or lack funding. This IQP project proposes four theoretical methods that aim to build a sustainable colony on Mars by completely terraforming the planet, tunneling into the Martian depths, sending radiation resistant modules, or restarting Mars’ magnetosphere, in addition to discussing the social aspects and implications associated with each colonization strategy. 2 Executive Summary Humanity stands to gain much from the colonization of a non-Earth entity. The global incentives for colonizing Mars not only lie in the benefits for human society, but also in the survival of humanity as a whole. Many risk factors could lead to the destruction of society and eventual extinction of the human species. The threat of thermonuclear war is of great concern due to various unstable regions slowly gaining nuclear technology. Ignoring all human caused catastrophes, nature itself poses an insurmountable threat to mankind. A large enough asteroid could result in a mass extinction similar to the one that ended the reign of the dinosaurs. The dangers of the macroscopic world aren’t the only ones that pose a threat to all of mankind. Any sufficiently contagious, lethal, and incurable disease could also end human society. The best way to expand the reach of human society and technological prowess while also ensuring that it isn’t prematurely ended would be to colonize another planet, and the easiest planet for humans to colonize at this time is Mars. However, colonizing Mars is not without its drawbacks, as the planet has an atmosphere that is about 1% as dense as that of Earth and is constantly bombarded by radiation due to its patchy, umbrella shaped magnetosphere. Because of this, careful thought needs to be put into deciding what method of colonization is used to accomplish the goal of permanently settling the planet. Four different strategies were devised to colonize Mars, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. The first of these ideas was to fully terraform Mars until the planet resembles Earth. This plan would start by taking Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, and smashing it into Mars. While this would present colonists with ideal living conditions, the terraforming process itself is prohibitively expensive and time consuming. The next strategy would be to tunnel deep below the Martian surface to create a colony where residents wouldn’t 3 need to fear the natural elements present above. However, the colonists
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