Everyday life of the space colonizer
The post was inspired by talks about the colonization of Mars and the cosmos in general. It's about the current state of things. Without my favorite beloved fiction and vague predictions. It is as if tomorrow it will be necessary to develop a plan and prepare for the move.
Logic dictates that a colony on Mars can be either autonomous or non-autonomous. Yes, the degree of autonomy can vary, but in general, these are the two main types of colonies. Let's try to figure out the purpose for which colonies are created.
One of the main arguments in favor of colonization is protection against extinction in the event of impending cataclysms on Earth. From this point of view, a non-autonomous colony, in the event of problems on Earth, will also experience the consequences of these problems and may die if supplies cease. Thus, we come to the need to create a completely autonomous colony, at least in the future, because otherwise, the game is not worth the candle.
Let's look at what should be part of an autonomous colony, and what difficulties will be faced. At least on the example of Mars.
First of all, for a full-fledged life in its modern form, we need a variety of materials, both for the construction of housing itself, and for everything else. A huge part of what we use, one way or another tied to the minerals. To assess the scope, you can trace the chain of several products to the source of raw materials.
So, what do we need "for happiness"?
Metals: iron, aluminum, copper, titanium, gold, platinum, silver, lead, lithium, tin, mercury, and this is not a complete list. Of course, the need for each particular metal will be greatly discredited, but the need will be in each of them. Separate item uranium. He, to put it mildly, is also useful.
What about non-metals? And almost all non-metals are needed. We are not talking about a tree, we will have to forget about it as a building material. Oil is needed, methane is useful. Not even for use as a fuel, but for plastic synthesis, without which our life will become much more difficult. I am not a great specialist in chemistry and will not undertake to vouch for everything, but as far as I know, many plastics are synthesized from ethylene or benzene, or other derivatives of petroleum, or methane, or coal. From hydrocarbons do not leave. Or, if there is no need, you will need to invent or use other methods of synthesis from what is available.
Mine production will require mines, wells, installations, quarrying equipment. Moreover, it should be noted that the developments that we use on Earth for many years, most likely either do not fit at all, or require significant changes and adaptation to the conditions of Mars.
Roughly speaking, ideally, we will need to mine everything that we mine the Earth. With some adjustments for quantity. Since, for example, so much coal and gas will not be necessary for us, power plants on this type of fuel will not be able to work, as well as blast furnaces, for example, which otherwise would require very significant costs for oxygen.
Let me remind you that all this diversity will need to be found on the colonized planet, and to establish not only production, but also processing. With mining, everything seems to be clear, our mining is quite developed. Yes, first you need to bring a lot of equipment, very heavy equipment. Which, for example, has already been adapted to the Martian working conditions. Further, we will be able to expand the base due to the already mined and processed resources, but this will require not only raw materials, even processed ones, but also a lot of additional equipment that will be required in the manufacture of parts, components, etc.
Under this section, we put a fat tick in front of energy consumption and draw a decent figure in the field of the minimum population of the colony to provide all this with labor. Do not forget about the minimum throw weight. And you will need to start on a grand scale. Progressing with stone axes will not work - axes are generally unnecessary there.
Kohl, we started talking about the fact that everything necessary should be made in the colony itself, we need to talk about industry. It will be necessary, both light and heavy. Machines, from small to huge, furnaces, rolling mills, processing plants, with their centrifuges and everything else, and so on. I think that it is not necessary to explain what industry is. All this should be built from the very raw materials that we extracted in the previous section. The paradox is that for the production of many tools these same tools are needed. And technological chains for the production of only one screw in any machine can be so complex and florid ...
Separate item electronics. Factories for the production of electronics, too, will need to be transferred from the Earth or rebuilt, but on the basis of imported equipment. I think that the need for such production is beyond doubt.
100,500 other industries that we don’t even think about now, but which we will need, the products of which we will be forced to use in one way or another. Production of furniture, food, clothing. After all, we decided that the colony will be autonomous, that we will produce everything that we produce on Earth on the spot. From a small clip to those rockets that are launched into space.
Put a tick in front of the power supply and add the minimum population.
First, let's look at the Earth, on how minerals are placed on Earth. Somewhere thick, somewhere empty. It is unlikely that the extraction of all raw materials will be made in a meter from the colony's location. Of course, before you establish a colony, it is better to think about where to place it. And the place to choose, taking into account the nearby stocks of basic necessities. But be that as it may, but transport is needed.
The peculiarity is that, with all the desire, the good old ICE is here in the span. Well, okay! You say. And you will be right, but only in part.
Lyrical digression. What is, in fact, a feature in the combustion of hydrocarbons? The peculiarity is that for the burning of conditional hydrogen, we need hydrogen and oxygen. On Earth, we do not have to think about getting oxygen, we take it directly from the atmosphere. If we still stop at ICE, we will need to think about providing it not only with hydrocarbons, but also with oxygen, which we will also have to carry with us. And if you recalculate the energy intensity of gasoline, taking into account the carriage of all the oxygen needed to burn it, it will not be so great.
The same goes for batteries. They also occur reactions in which a couple of substances are involved, which have to be constantly carried with them. But even this gradually goes away - air-zinc elements, for example, have such a high energy intensity, also due to the fact that the second component is air, which you don’t have to carry with you. Even the people themselves, by the way, also belong to the kind of “devices” that oxidize carbon and hydrogen, absorbing food and returning carbon dioxide and water vapor.
On Mars, this focus will not work - the batteries will have to carry with you, but that's not all. Lithium batteries can not be charged at low temperatures, and at an average temperature of -50 degrees is already a problem. Additional measures are also needed to heat the batteries.
Now imagine a career truck and a battery for it. For some reason, I only see the battery in the back. I believe that it may not be very profitable and convenient to carry batteries, so you will have to build contact networks and ride "trolley buses" and "electric trains". Or all the same, to carry everything with you, and the oxidizer and fuel, but here we must assume that it will be more profitable.
Aviation in such a dispersed atmosphere and with electric drive is a very dubious idea.
Rocket technology. Starting with less gravity will naturally require less energy, but oxygen, which is now rarely used as an oxidizer in rockets, will be much more difficult to obtain. For example, splitting water. In terms of energy consumption, this will be more than the energy that the rocket engine produces during the entire period of its operation. And therefore, not the best option, again.
Put a tick in front of the power supply. Another fat tick.
')
Home needed. From what to build them seems to be clear. A small nuance - almost zero pressure outside and very decent inside. Let it be not one atmosphere, but let 0.3 and pure oxygen in order to maintain partial pressure. Let 0.3 kilogram per square centimeter. 3 tons per square meter. It seems to be not much. Suppose for maximum strength, we will consider the construction in the form of a pipe.
A duralumin pipe with a wall thickness of 3 millimeters and a diameter of 3 meters will burst at a pressure of 4 atmospheres. If I made a mistake in the calculations - correct. Not a very big margin of safety when it comes to life. Larger buildings will require even more material. Much bigger.
Another nuance is the increased level of solar radiation, from which you also need to protect. This is also a cost. Moreover, it is not clear even about how large.
Warming is also a cost. Despite the small density of the atmosphere, the structures will still be cooled, and this promises condensation, with all the consequences.
Corrosion is also inevitable (in general, the atmosphere of pure oxygen is cool), damage as a result of various incidents.
Depressurization with a high probability will lead to a mild case of death. For this reason, hermetic bulkheads with hatches instead of doors will be appropriate. In general, it is very similar to airliners. Conditions are similar.
Year-round heating, life support systems, lighting - all this translates into a decent cost of energy.
Separately, it is worth noting that if pure oxygen is suitable for a person, then plants also need nitrogen. Accordingly, either the pressure must be raised to maintain the partial pressure of oxygen, or contain a different atmosphere in different compartments. Sluice, space suits for greenhouses and so on.
There is water. Already good. But in what form? At the poles there seems to be glaciers, but there will be not quite comfortable, both in the winter season, due to very low temperatures overboard, and during the melting of carbon dioxide caps. There is also no liquid water at the equator, and there are no glaciers either. To drill a well and pump up some water, or probably it won't work out from a river. We'll have to melt, filter, throw away the dried rock. It looks like ore extraction with subsequent enrichment, isn’t it? To live at the equator, and to deliver water from the pole? Far, and therefore expensive.
Yes, over time, a certain balance will be established, and the consumption of external water will be reduced, but it will still be due to loss and growth of the colony. And at first, water will need to extract a lot. Now let us recall that on Earth, with our oceans and rains, there are areas where people suffer from water shortages.
No matter how much we hope, this is again a tick on energy costs.
It is clear that everything will have to grow themselves. And plants and animals. If with animals we need not so much large premises as expenses for food, then for plants we need fields, and very large areas, because the population, as we understand, we already need very much.
All this will have to be additionally covered, I don’t think that the plants will be happy with solar radiation, and even the light from the Sun will not be enough, not to mention a period, during dust storms.
For the cultivation of fish will require large areas of swimming pools, lighting, filtration plants. Again - a large area and energy costs. Everything is more or less clear, aeroponics is working now, fish are successfully grown in captivity, all these systems are rolled back. It will only be necessary to grow all the diversity, to provide different conditions for different crops.
How plants, animals and fish will feel in conditions of reduced gravity is a question. It is clear that with trees it will definitely not be easy, they need the wind, they will grow brittle without it, and what will grow with low gravity (and what size) is the question.
Starting from drugs, which are very, very much, and they will need to be produced, and most of them will have to be produced from what is not in principle on Mars, and ending with scanners, which, by the way, weigh quite a lot.
Energy is needed not so much, but qualified personnel is very appropriate.
Also will play a role completely different conditions of stay. The composition of the atmosphere, food, gravity. How will all this affect people in the long run, on health, what measures will need to be applied? This is not even a year in orbit with the harvested food. This is the whole life.
Since the surface energy of the sun gets half as much - half of it anyway, it will be necessary to compensate for full power. Most likely full power, it will be necessary to hide from the sun. This includes garden lighting and space heating. What is happening on Earth “on its own” - wastewater filtration, irrigation, and oxygen regeneration will also have to be compensated one way or another. Plants need about 250 watts per square meter (interested in hydroponics, do not let them lie).
Let the light day 12 hours, half. For different species, different conditions will be needed, for whom there is more light, I can less, for whom it is longer, for whom it is shorter. On average, take 125 watts per square meter. Let us have a night in one greenhouse, another day. Constant power - all the same 125 watts per square meter. 125 megawatts will be required per square kilometer. It is only light.
For heating such power may not be enough, for earthly houses, the cost of 100 watts per square meter is not very much, sometimes more. It happens and less. But there are no such places on Earth where it happens at night -100. Let for an even bill will be 150 watts per square meter. One gigawatt reactor is enough for 6.6 square kilometers, if you count only by electricity and by 21.3 square kilometers of heat. We do not need everything in the form of heat, but some of the energy can be selected in this way. Do not reset it.
This costs only the compensation of solar energy. What on earth we get for free. Think about it: for nothing. All other costs fall on top. On production, on transport.
How many people will be able to provide one square kilometer of greenhouses, I can not say. It is clear that the population density for cities here is poorly suited, as is the case on the whole planet. For example, the population density in Germany is 229 people per square kilometer. This means that roughly 3,500 people will live on the territory served by a single reactor. But this is only an assumption. If you wish, you can calculate more accurately. Under current conditions, approximately one and a half thousand people work at each NPP for each power unit. Those. for our 1000 megawatts, for one reactor, 1,500 people are needed only for service personnel. Excluding fuel production and everything else.
It takes a lot of energy. What options do we have? Solar energy is good, there are no clouds, but there is a change in the time of day, time of year, dust storms, and the energy itself is twice less than on Earth. To compensate for only the fraction of the energy that we will spend to compensate for the lack of solar energy, it will be necessary to have solar panels with an area twice as large as the illuminated area. Not very attractive.
Wind power plants in such a dispersed atmosphere will probably not be too effective either. Wave and tidal, for obvious reasons - by. Coal and gas can not be burned - there is no oxidizer.
Peace atom? It turns out almost the only option. It is only necessary to extract fuel somewhere and enrich it.
And here the main question arises - whether the debit converges with the loan. Obviously, the costly part of human resources is much more than on Earth, and therefore much more energy is required. Consequently, the raw materials need to extract more. And here, another question - whether people in the face of increased costs just feed themselves. After all, it may be that in order for the colony to function, it will take more man-hours than the people living in the colony can work out.
Are there enough resources for development? Roughly speaking, they brought nuclear fuel for the reactor. It is enough for one campaign. Will the energy of this reactor be enough to ensure the life of the colony for the entire duration of the campaign, taking into account the need to extract and enrich uranium for the next load?
The limited area, the constant risk to life, closed space, hard work, the level of psychological stress will definitely be high. We will need some measures to maintain order, to manage, in general, everything is the same as on Earth.
Colonists can be very diverse, squeezing the Earth population. Like a submarine. Only there are military men with straightening and discipline, and often compatriots, and here there is a full range, and often hostile people. Warring in the earth, almost greenhouse, compared with the Martian, conditions. And give everyone a democracy. Military dictatorship will not be too attractive for visitors.
The final touch is people. The colony must somehow be settled. Let Musk deliver all comers for only $ 499 * thousand dollars. What is this figure? This is 41 years at $ 1,000 a month. Yes, there are a number of people who can afford it, without collecting their whole lives for the flight. But the colony will need, including non-millionaires, which, by the way, will need to be multiplied ten times more than the so-called intelligentsia. Miners, steel makers, fitters, fitters, shoemakers, after all. And there will be a lot of them, and if they are not there, no one will do their work, and therefore there will be no life.
So, after all, who will pay for their delivery? Option: borrow money, fly to Mars, quickly earn there and repay a debt? Will it work out?
Suppose we abandoned the idea of ​​autonomy, since we are unable to produce everything we need, or the energy balance has not converged, it does not matter. Most of the resources come from Earth. Everyone knows that it is expensive. The main question is how to pay?
Well, there is a colony, it receives some benefits from the land, is it necessary to pay for them somehow? It is necessary to produce something and send it to Earth. Let the cost of delivery of goods will be about $ 5,000 kilogram. Not so much (?), But this is taking into account the calculations Mask from Earth to Mars. And on Mars we will be tight with fuel. This is a departure from the original installation "without fiction" and "available today." But let's say even that. There are not so many things on Earth that cost so much per kilogram. And it should be cheaper. With regard to production.
The third option is a colony that the Earth feeds. Like space stations, only much further and more expensive to maintain. Quite to itself can exist, but exactly as long as the one who pays for the whole banquet, does not run out of money, or interest in what is happening. And then what? Oxygen on holidays, water for the weekend?
I do not want to seem like a pessimist, I call for attempts to realize, and maybe even figure out, all the difficulties and costs to evaluate at least some real prospects for creating a colony on the same Mars.
PS If you imagine the Martian conditions on Earth, then this is only possible with very serious catastrophes. Loss of the atmosphere and magnetic field, water, reduction of the solar flux - it is difficult to imagine the conditions in which this can occur. Facing a large celestial body? So now there are people who are working on scenarios for this case. Trajectory changes, crushing and so on. Nuclear winter?
But most importantly, if we can overcome all these difficulties on Mars, then what will prevent us from doing the same thing on Earth? Terraforming, recycling, mining, independence from domestic resources - why not realize all this within the Earth? Global warming - zilch compared with the formation of the atmosphere from scratch. Energy crisis - children's fun, compared with the compensation of the missing energy of the sun. And so on. At the moment, humanity can not solve the problems of a completely different order.
Thank you Bigbad for help with writing this article.
Logic dictates that a colony on Mars can be either autonomous or non-autonomous. Yes, the degree of autonomy can vary, but in general, these are the two main types of colonies. Let's try to figure out the purpose for which colonies are created.
One of the main arguments in favor of colonization is protection against extinction in the event of impending cataclysms on Earth. From this point of view, a non-autonomous colony, in the event of problems on Earth, will also experience the consequences of these problems and may die if supplies cease. Thus, we come to the need to create a completely autonomous colony, at least in the future, because otherwise, the game is not worth the candle.
Let's look at what should be part of an autonomous colony, and what difficulties will be faced. At least on the example of Mars.
Raw material
First of all, for a full-fledged life in its modern form, we need a variety of materials, both for the construction of housing itself, and for everything else. A huge part of what we use, one way or another tied to the minerals. To assess the scope, you can trace the chain of several products to the source of raw materials.
So, what do we need "for happiness"?
Metals: iron, aluminum, copper, titanium, gold, platinum, silver, lead, lithium, tin, mercury, and this is not a complete list. Of course, the need for each particular metal will be greatly discredited, but the need will be in each of them. Separate item uranium. He, to put it mildly, is also useful.
What about non-metals? And almost all non-metals are needed. We are not talking about a tree, we will have to forget about it as a building material. Oil is needed, methane is useful. Not even for use as a fuel, but for plastic synthesis, without which our life will become much more difficult. I am not a great specialist in chemistry and will not undertake to vouch for everything, but as far as I know, many plastics are synthesized from ethylene or benzene, or other derivatives of petroleum, or methane, or coal. From hydrocarbons do not leave. Or, if there is no need, you will need to invent or use other methods of synthesis from what is available.
Mine production will require mines, wells, installations, quarrying equipment. Moreover, it should be noted that the developments that we use on Earth for many years, most likely either do not fit at all, or require significant changes and adaptation to the conditions of Mars.
Roughly speaking, ideally, we will need to mine everything that we mine the Earth. With some adjustments for quantity. Since, for example, so much coal and gas will not be necessary for us, power plants on this type of fuel will not be able to work, as well as blast furnaces, for example, which otherwise would require very significant costs for oxygen.
Let me remind you that all this diversity will need to be found on the colonized planet, and to establish not only production, but also processing. With mining, everything seems to be clear, our mining is quite developed. Yes, first you need to bring a lot of equipment, very heavy equipment. Which, for example, has already been adapted to the Martian working conditions. Further, we will be able to expand the base due to the already mined and processed resources, but this will require not only raw materials, even processed ones, but also a lot of additional equipment that will be required in the manufacture of parts, components, etc.
Under this section, we put a fat tick in front of energy consumption and draw a decent figure in the field of the minimum population of the colony to provide all this with labor. Do not forget about the minimum throw weight. And you will need to start on a grand scale. Progressing with stone axes will not work - axes are generally unnecessary there.
Industry
Kohl, we started talking about the fact that everything necessary should be made in the colony itself, we need to talk about industry. It will be necessary, both light and heavy. Machines, from small to huge, furnaces, rolling mills, processing plants, with their centrifuges and everything else, and so on. I think that it is not necessary to explain what industry is. All this should be built from the very raw materials that we extracted in the previous section. The paradox is that for the production of many tools these same tools are needed. And technological chains for the production of only one screw in any machine can be so complex and florid ...
Separate item electronics. Factories for the production of electronics, too, will need to be transferred from the Earth or rebuilt, but on the basis of imported equipment. I think that the need for such production is beyond doubt.
100,500 other industries that we don’t even think about now, but which we will need, the products of which we will be forced to use in one way or another. Production of furniture, food, clothing. After all, we decided that the colony will be autonomous, that we will produce everything that we produce on Earth on the spot. From a small clip to those rockets that are launched into space.
Put a tick in front of the power supply and add the minimum population.
Transport
First, let's look at the Earth, on how minerals are placed on Earth. Somewhere thick, somewhere empty. It is unlikely that the extraction of all raw materials will be made in a meter from the colony's location. Of course, before you establish a colony, it is better to think about where to place it. And the place to choose, taking into account the nearby stocks of basic necessities. But be that as it may, but transport is needed.
The peculiarity is that, with all the desire, the good old ICE is here in the span. Well, okay! You say. And you will be right, but only in part.
Lyrical digression. What is, in fact, a feature in the combustion of hydrocarbons? The peculiarity is that for the burning of conditional hydrogen, we need hydrogen and oxygen. On Earth, we do not have to think about getting oxygen, we take it directly from the atmosphere. If we still stop at ICE, we will need to think about providing it not only with hydrocarbons, but also with oxygen, which we will also have to carry with us. And if you recalculate the energy intensity of gasoline, taking into account the carriage of all the oxygen needed to burn it, it will not be so great.
The same goes for batteries. They also occur reactions in which a couple of substances are involved, which have to be constantly carried with them. But even this gradually goes away - air-zinc elements, for example, have such a high energy intensity, also due to the fact that the second component is air, which you don’t have to carry with you. Even the people themselves, by the way, also belong to the kind of “devices” that oxidize carbon and hydrogen, absorbing food and returning carbon dioxide and water vapor.
On Mars, this focus will not work - the batteries will have to carry with you, but that's not all. Lithium batteries can not be charged at low temperatures, and at an average temperature of -50 degrees is already a problem. Additional measures are also needed to heat the batteries.
Now imagine a career truck and a battery for it. For some reason, I only see the battery in the back. I believe that it may not be very profitable and convenient to carry batteries, so you will have to build contact networks and ride "trolley buses" and "electric trains". Or all the same, to carry everything with you, and the oxidizer and fuel, but here we must assume that it will be more profitable.
Aviation in such a dispersed atmosphere and with electric drive is a very dubious idea.
Rocket technology. Starting with less gravity will naturally require less energy, but oxygen, which is now rarely used as an oxidizer in rockets, will be much more difficult to obtain. For example, splitting water. In terms of energy consumption, this will be more than the energy that the rocket engine produces during the entire period of its operation. And therefore, not the best option, again.
Put a tick in front of the power supply. Another fat tick.
')
Housing
Home needed. From what to build them seems to be clear. A small nuance - almost zero pressure outside and very decent inside. Let it be not one atmosphere, but let 0.3 and pure oxygen in order to maintain partial pressure. Let 0.3 kilogram per square centimeter. 3 tons per square meter. It seems to be not much. Suppose for maximum strength, we will consider the construction in the form of a pipe.
A duralumin pipe with a wall thickness of 3 millimeters and a diameter of 3 meters will burst at a pressure of 4 atmospheres. If I made a mistake in the calculations - correct. Not a very big margin of safety when it comes to life. Larger buildings will require even more material. Much bigger.
Another nuance is the increased level of solar radiation, from which you also need to protect. This is also a cost. Moreover, it is not clear even about how large.
Warming is also a cost. Despite the small density of the atmosphere, the structures will still be cooled, and this promises condensation, with all the consequences.
Corrosion is also inevitable (in general, the atmosphere of pure oxygen is cool), damage as a result of various incidents.
Depressurization with a high probability will lead to a mild case of death. For this reason, hermetic bulkheads with hatches instead of doors will be appropriate. In general, it is very similar to airliners. Conditions are similar.
Year-round heating, life support systems, lighting - all this translates into a decent cost of energy.
Separately, it is worth noting that if pure oxygen is suitable for a person, then plants also need nitrogen. Accordingly, either the pressure must be raised to maintain the partial pressure of oxygen, or contain a different atmosphere in different compartments. Sluice, space suits for greenhouses and so on.
Water
There is water. Already good. But in what form? At the poles there seems to be glaciers, but there will be not quite comfortable, both in the winter season, due to very low temperatures overboard, and during the melting of carbon dioxide caps. There is also no liquid water at the equator, and there are no glaciers either. To drill a well and pump up some water, or probably it won't work out from a river. We'll have to melt, filter, throw away the dried rock. It looks like ore extraction with subsequent enrichment, isn’t it? To live at the equator, and to deliver water from the pole? Far, and therefore expensive.
Yes, over time, a certain balance will be established, and the consumption of external water will be reduced, but it will still be due to loss and growth of the colony. And at first, water will need to extract a lot. Now let us recall that on Earth, with our oceans and rains, there are areas where people suffer from water shortages.
No matter how much we hope, this is again a tick on energy costs.
Food
It is clear that everything will have to grow themselves. And plants and animals. If with animals we need not so much large premises as expenses for food, then for plants we need fields, and very large areas, because the population, as we understand, we already need very much.
All this will have to be additionally covered, I don’t think that the plants will be happy with solar radiation, and even the light from the Sun will not be enough, not to mention a period, during dust storms.
For the cultivation of fish will require large areas of swimming pools, lighting, filtration plants. Again - a large area and energy costs. Everything is more or less clear, aeroponics is working now, fish are successfully grown in captivity, all these systems are rolled back. It will only be necessary to grow all the diversity, to provide different conditions for different crops.
How plants, animals and fish will feel in conditions of reduced gravity is a question. It is clear that with trees it will definitely not be easy, they need the wind, they will grow brittle without it, and what will grow with low gravity (and what size) is the question.
The medicine
Starting from drugs, which are very, very much, and they will need to be produced, and most of them will have to be produced from what is not in principle on Mars, and ending with scanners, which, by the way, weigh quite a lot.
Energy is needed not so much, but qualified personnel is very appropriate.
Also will play a role completely different conditions of stay. The composition of the atmosphere, food, gravity. How will all this affect people in the long run, on health, what measures will need to be applied? This is not even a year in orbit with the harvested food. This is the whole life.
Power industry
Since the surface energy of the sun gets half as much - half of it anyway, it will be necessary to compensate for full power. Most likely full power, it will be necessary to hide from the sun. This includes garden lighting and space heating. What is happening on Earth “on its own” - wastewater filtration, irrigation, and oxygen regeneration will also have to be compensated one way or another. Plants need about 250 watts per square meter (interested in hydroponics, do not let them lie).
Let the light day 12 hours, half. For different species, different conditions will be needed, for whom there is more light, I can less, for whom it is longer, for whom it is shorter. On average, take 125 watts per square meter. Let us have a night in one greenhouse, another day. Constant power - all the same 125 watts per square meter. 125 megawatts will be required per square kilometer. It is only light.
For heating such power may not be enough, for earthly houses, the cost of 100 watts per square meter is not very much, sometimes more. It happens and less. But there are no such places on Earth where it happens at night -100. Let for an even bill will be 150 watts per square meter. One gigawatt reactor is enough for 6.6 square kilometers, if you count only by electricity and by 21.3 square kilometers of heat. We do not need everything in the form of heat, but some of the energy can be selected in this way. Do not reset it.
This costs only the compensation of solar energy. What on earth we get for free. Think about it: for nothing. All other costs fall on top. On production, on transport.
How many people will be able to provide one square kilometer of greenhouses, I can not say. It is clear that the population density for cities here is poorly suited, as is the case on the whole planet. For example, the population density in Germany is 229 people per square kilometer. This means that roughly 3,500 people will live on the territory served by a single reactor. But this is only an assumption. If you wish, you can calculate more accurately. Under current conditions, approximately one and a half thousand people work at each NPP for each power unit. Those. for our 1000 megawatts, for one reactor, 1,500 people are needed only for service personnel. Excluding fuel production and everything else.
It takes a lot of energy. What options do we have? Solar energy is good, there are no clouds, but there is a change in the time of day, time of year, dust storms, and the energy itself is twice less than on Earth. To compensate for only the fraction of the energy that we will spend to compensate for the lack of solar energy, it will be necessary to have solar panels with an area twice as large as the illuminated area. Not very attractive.
Wind power plants in such a dispersed atmosphere will probably not be too effective either. Wave and tidal, for obvious reasons - by. Coal and gas can not be burned - there is no oxidizer.
Peace atom? It turns out almost the only option. It is only necessary to extract fuel somewhere and enrich it.
And here the main question arises - whether the debit converges with the loan. Obviously, the costly part of human resources is much more than on Earth, and therefore much more energy is required. Consequently, the raw materials need to extract more. And here, another question - whether people in the face of increased costs just feed themselves. After all, it may be that in order for the colony to function, it will take more man-hours than the people living in the colony can work out.
Are there enough resources for development? Roughly speaking, they brought nuclear fuel for the reactor. It is enough for one campaign. Will the energy of this reactor be enough to ensure the life of the colony for the entire duration of the campaign, taking into account the need to extract and enrich uranium for the next load?
Social features
The limited area, the constant risk to life, closed space, hard work, the level of psychological stress will definitely be high. We will need some measures to maintain order, to manage, in general, everything is the same as on Earth.
Colonists can be very diverse, squeezing the Earth population. Like a submarine. Only there are military men with straightening and discipline, and often compatriots, and here there is a full range, and often hostile people. Warring in the earth, almost greenhouse, compared with the Martian, conditions. And give everyone a democracy. Military dictatorship will not be too attractive for visitors.
Colonization
The final touch is people. The colony must somehow be settled. Let Musk deliver all comers for only $ 499 * thousand dollars. What is this figure? This is 41 years at $ 1,000 a month. Yes, there are a number of people who can afford it, without collecting their whole lives for the flight. But the colony will need, including non-millionaires, which, by the way, will need to be multiplied ten times more than the so-called intelligentsia. Miners, steel makers, fitters, fitters, shoemakers, after all. And there will be a lot of them, and if they are not there, no one will do their work, and therefore there will be no life.
So, after all, who will pay for their delivery? Option: borrow money, fly to Mars, quickly earn there and repay a debt? Will it work out?
Not an autonomous colony.
Suppose we abandoned the idea of ​​autonomy, since we are unable to produce everything we need, or the energy balance has not converged, it does not matter. Most of the resources come from Earth. Everyone knows that it is expensive. The main question is how to pay?
Well, there is a colony, it receives some benefits from the land, is it necessary to pay for them somehow? It is necessary to produce something and send it to Earth. Let the cost of delivery of goods will be about $ 5,000 kilogram. Not so much (?), But this is taking into account the calculations Mask from Earth to Mars. And on Mars we will be tight with fuel. This is a departure from the original installation "without fiction" and "available today." But let's say even that. There are not so many things on Earth that cost so much per kilogram. And it should be cheaper. With regard to production.
The third option is the last
The third option is a colony that the Earth feeds. Like space stations, only much further and more expensive to maintain. Quite to itself can exist, but exactly as long as the one who pays for the whole banquet, does not run out of money, or interest in what is happening. And then what? Oxygen on holidays, water for the weekend?
I do not want to seem like a pessimist, I call for attempts to realize, and maybe even figure out, all the difficulties and costs to evaluate at least some real prospects for creating a colony on the same Mars.
PS If you imagine the Martian conditions on Earth, then this is only possible with very serious catastrophes. Loss of the atmosphere and magnetic field, water, reduction of the solar flux - it is difficult to imagine the conditions in which this can occur. Facing a large celestial body? So now there are people who are working on scenarios for this case. Trajectory changes, crushing and so on. Nuclear winter?
But most importantly, if we can overcome all these difficulties on Mars, then what will prevent us from doing the same thing on Earth? Terraforming, recycling, mining, independence from domestic resources - why not realize all this within the Earth? Global warming - zilch compared with the formation of the atmosphere from scratch. Energy crisis - children's fun, compared with the compensation of the missing energy of the sun. And so on. At the moment, humanity can not solve the problems of a completely different order.
Thank you Bigbad for help with writing this article.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/160533/
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