Final Frontier by Brian Clegg

Author:Brian Clegg
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781250039446
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

PLENTY OF ROOM OUTSIDE

When we consider Mars as a potential new frontier, it has a lot going for it. In terms of sheer scale, it dwarfs any new region that we have been able to explore before. Although Mars is significantly smaller than the Earth, because of the lack of oceans its surface area is very similar to the entire area of land available on our planet. By taking on Mars, we would effectively be doubling the land available for human habitation overnight. Mars has rich mineral resources and, as we have seen, a near-ideal rotational period. Admittedly it’s a bit chilly with an average surface temperature of −63 degrees Celsius (−81 degrees Fahrenheit), but the maximum temperature can reach a respectable 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) with that cool average primarily reflecting the lack of a decent atmosphere to act as a greenhouse effect blanket.

Along with the temperature issues, the lack of a breathable atmosphere is the other biggest obstacle to putting Mars on a par with a traditional Earth-based frontier. It is difficult to get past the outpost stage if it isn’t possible to survive without expensive and potentially risky life-support technology. To move from an outpost to a long-term colony, the pioneers need to be able to relax a little and enjoy living, not just struggle to exist.

In fact it is arguable that a locale doesn’t move from being a place for pioneers to explore to a true opened frontier where people can make their homes and build their lives until it is accessible without specialist gear. This is why attempts to portray the seas as a new frontier on the Earth have never really caught on. Yes, the oceans offer vast, untouched vistas compared with the often-crowded land, and they remain largely unexplored, but they don’t provide a meaningful frontier because you can’t live there as true colonists. The same will be true on Mars unless something can be done about the atmosphere.

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