Fall has come to the Western Suburbs of Chicago, but it’s still mild enough to sit outside on the patio to enjoy the changing leaves, the birds that over-winter (including the occasional hawk), the late blooming flowers—and the grass that still needs mowing.
On one such day recently, I asked myself: What would it be like to live on Mars where such a simple pleasure, going outside, is not possible? How will we adapt? Can we live inside our whole lives? Even walking on the surface of Mars, you’re still “inside”, in the sense that you’re wearing an environment suit—carrying the life-supporting conditions with you into the harsh, deadly, Martian environment.
Because outside on Mars is not hospitable: essentially a vacuum, no oxygen, freezing cold, harsh radiation, poisonous dust. It makes you wonder why we want to go.
Perhaps that is why so many of the renderings of future cities are pictured as domes, or at least habitats with large windows. One of my favorite science fiction movies (and a favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger movie) is Total Recall (1990, Carolco Pictures). The action spends a lot of time in tunnels, etc., but the vistas are portrayed as spacious, with immense windows.
[Source: OIP.OgoBI0Yvqgw0DFAmpgZZ7AHaD_ (474×255)]
Further, renderings from science fiction artists, even SpaceX, show domed cities, large expansive habitats with open spaces, trees, parks, small buildings, a simulacrum of living outdoors. The cities would be beautiful. Designing them from the ground up would be a unique opportunity, with no existing construction to worry about, lots of open land, etc.
But the technical challenges of protecting the inhabitants would put some constraints on their design. Shielding against radiation, maintaining atmospheric pressure, providing warmth and breathable air, and guarding against the random basketball-sized meteorites that strike Mars daily.
This last issue, I would think, would be of particular concern for a domed city. Now, Mars is a big place with about as much “land area” (no oceans) as the Earth. So, the odds of a large meteorite hitting a city would likely be pretty small. But the results could be catastrophic, so safety protocols will need to be in place.
An alternative would be to move underground. Live in caves or tunnels, natural or constructed. One wonders if we could in fact live without at least some view of the outside. In his classic science fiction/detective novel, The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov portrays the entire population of Earth as having an intense, pathological, agoraphobic fear of “outside” from living inside for generations.
But—living underground provides protection, limits construction requirements, and may provide more freedom of movement. But can humans, in fact, forgo living outdoors? It’s easy to find articles, authoritative and not, on the benefits of finding time to live outdoors: stress relief, peace of mind, restocking our microbiome with beneficial microbes, etc. But are the outdoors essential to our wellbeing?
Some designers are suggesting both: live indoors, but have open access to observe the outside and spend time in simulated outdoor spaces. Basically, both the underground option and the dome option.
[Credit: Amazing Architecture, winners-announced-for-marsception-2024-architecture-competition-1.jpg (1100×777)]
And futurists have depicted a myriad of Martian cities designs. Just Google those keywords and you’ll see amazing vistas and futuristic cities.
For me, these future habitats look like a place I could live—maybe. I think I’d still miss walking outside, watching the birds migrate, enjoying the change of seasons. But for some, it could be a wonderland. And for the future native-born Martians, it might not be an issue at all. But then again, Dr. Asimov sent us a cautionary tale about closing ourselves in.
[Graphics Source: futuristic-building-habitat-mars-settlement-from-scifi-novel_31965-113611.jpg (626×313)]
Time will tell.
Are you ready to move? Let me know what you think about living indoors for the rest of your life, tens of millions of miles from Earth, a glass dome away from an environment that wants to kill you.
If you’d like to learn more about what NASA is doing to get ready to put humans on Mars, check out their long-term habitation project: CHAPEA – NASA
SpaceX has some “easily digestible” information in the Mars and Beyond section of their website that you can find here: SpaceX – Mission: Mars
And finally, an organization I was privileged to help with their habitat last year, The Mars Society, posts interesting articles and information on all things Mars: The Mars Society
Thanks for stopping by.
One comment
Comments are closed.