american quarter horse museum -riudoso new mexico

my dog bud

 back to mars part 3

 new mexico desert

again my dog bud

      

         if any terrain i experienced would be close to mars it would have to be new mexico, this is the only one i actually experienced and i was amazed at how life strives to exist in harsh environments.  antartica and  the polar regions to the desrt of the sahara , would be a suitable and a basis for survival on mars if one needs a standard. we would need shelter preferably transformed from spacecraft to immediately provide the safety and security needed to survive mars ' arid terrain. . it looks as if it is quite arid and its apparent lack of vegetation due to the fact there is no  water available or anything to store it in , so we have  no organic material to collect the water in . if it exists in the atmosphere it must be in small quantities. this would account for some delta areas noticed by over passing satellites possible rains earlier in the evolution of mars may be what is accountable for alluvial wash areas. these areas should be the first possible locations for a future mars colony.

       a plan on how to colonize mars would be the first priority . all aspects needs to be planned to achieve maximum efficiency in loading and shipping necessary items to the new colony. some could be staged before the first space craft lands and in some cases could be towed to a new site by robots . parachutes should land the spacecraft in the immediate area and then open up to reveal a robot truck and tow hook  that would retrieve the spacecraft and return it to the colony for later assembly into a small colony with other supply spacecrafts  that would eventually morph into a city as resources are explored and mined or cultured. to make building materials. 

      we would need to test and in various ways the proposed colony in an area similar to the environment we are going to encounter when visiting mars. this may be the new mexico desert as above, or the extremes of antartica.  having a lab set up under these circumstances that would afford a real life scenario where outside influences would be limited to delayed radio communication. a delay of 14 minutes is expected from when a word is uttered to when it is heard , due to the distance between earth and mars. this should be the usual delay when practicing for a mars visit here on earth. 

    so now we have this plan for supplying the new colony with personnel and supplies and to train here on earth all aspects, before leaving on a mars journey. while they are practicing the technical aspects of the mars mission the psychologists are studying the effects of the solitude of long space flight, the possibility of never returning to earth, and leaving family and any friends a convict could accumulate during his time on earth. 

     at length i today i returned in my mind to the thought of children being conceived on earth and delivered on mars , this may not be the best answer for a new colony to accept as being good. maybe the lack of responsibility associated with raising kids may be best put aside till later after the colony is established. basic rules would exist and it would be up to the astronauts to identify and select any laws one would deem appropriate , to justify the good and prosperity of the colony as a living whole. 

      there was a project similar to this one partially if not wholly funded by nasa to achieve this means of survival . i am not aware of the status of this project. i am sure information will come to light as a result of this experiment but extensive thinking and planning is required to seek out the problems to achieve success. 

     5 women and 3 men will land in a mars lander to a predestined location in the middle of the sahara desert . a large expanse of sand and virtually no vegetation . after the landing an assessment of the area they are located in is done. and soon the robots start bringing in pieces of supply spacecrafts and the colony begins to take shape as the early explorers link the pieces of the spaceship into a colony. supplies are off loaded and each spacecraft is utilized in the overall building process and nothing is wasted. 

    some sections would contain a nuclear thermonuclear  designed to provide steam and electricity to the structure.there would be 2 of almost everything including parts to replace items taken. so it would take 4 of these reactor units at a minimum. nuclear is not my first choice but the water if used in a closed loop system would provide the necessary electricity to power a small city. it would allow the community to become established and future plans could reflect trends in energy based on availability of materials. maybe once we get to mars and delve into the soils we find it a powerhouse of materials we could utilize. 

      so our first priority would be shelter , then study the mars landscape searching for those materials we could utilize. then establish methods of extracting these chemicals or compounds . all of our convicts would have to achieve in their personal life and have those skills one would need most to survive under these circumstances. and to realize there is only a must win situation for all if there is to be is  freedom on their new planet. 

    this is why in the initial stages of development of a colony fraternization of fellow astronauts would have to be frowned upon. a family may require a person to make changes in the overall structure and performance of the colony that may be contrary to what is best for the survival of the colony. and since we are talking about inmates ,maybe we don't need them practicing there breeding prior to departure for mars.

     all this depends on our ability to find water on mars. without it we are doomed. our bodies are composed of mostly water in fact up to 98 percent sea water. and in one star trek film our human body was described as ugly bags of sea water. we consider our selves much more , but i guess if you were alien that may be most appropriate way to describe our selves. without water,a mission is done. we cannot afford to take enough oxygen and water to set up an artificial environment for any length of time. so even in the desert there are lessons to be learned for future mars missions.  we need to be able to set up a colony and have all the living functions necessary for the colony to survive even in the desert. our first priority is to  begin harvesting water and is components to create an artificial atmosphere. electricity and nuclear power would allow us to drill and tap into underground water aquifers , search other areas for possible sites to find water. this would be much the same as if it were on mars. 

     if we were to drop a mission into the middle of the sahara and was able to get them to survive for a period of say 2 years and this would be ample evidence we are ready to go to mars. this venture at living as we would on mars would be  monitored , but would not be allowed to intervene on anyone's behalf. to let the team work out the situation in what would be best for them, including death. 

     we need to establish protocol for situations we could not handle by being there in person. say for instance one team member killls another , and the rest have to investigate and decide the punishment as well as bury the dead , and learn to move on with their life. this would be hard to do for anyone directly involved in a co habitation arrangement where you all know or hope you know each other as the case may be. when on mars they will be asked to handle such issues with out our ability to intervene. or maybe not. 

      i was thinking of possibly implanting a chip in the neck of our astronaut /convict lifer , that could be authorized to dispense either a paralyzing drug into the nervous system, that would render them immobile through wireless technology.or possibly a drug like potassium chloride to instantly stop this persons life.  these folks no doubt are criminals and should always be treated as such . although allowed to move freely they would still wear ankle bracelets and would require monitoring from earth. the death chip would be invoked only after an overseeing panel would decide that the individual  who requires exterminating is no longer of viable use to the community. these are tough social dilemmas similar to what we are facing today. and again this is why we need to use convicts with nothing to lose but everything to gain from making the colony work as a whole. 

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