Slashdot Mirror
How To Die On Mars
An anonymous reader writes: Many space-related projects are currently focusing on Mars. SpaceX wants to build a colony there, NASA is looking into base design, and Mars One is supposedly picking astronauts for a mission. Because of this, we've been reading a lot about how we could live on Mars. An article at Popular Science reminds us of all the easy ways to die there. "Barring any complications with the spacecraft's hardware or any unintended run-ins with space debris, there's still a big killer lurking out in space that can't be easily avoided: radiation. ... [And] with so little atmosphere surrounding Mars, gently landing a large amount of weight on the planet will be tough. Heavy objects will pick up too much speed during the descent, making for one deep impact. ... Mars One's plan is to grow crops indoors under artificial lighting. According to the project's website, 80 square meters of space will be dedicated to plant growth within the habitat; the vegetation will be sustained using suspected water in Mars' soil, as well as carbon dioxide produced by the initial four-member crew. However, analysis conducted by MIT researchers last year (PDF) shows that those numbers just don't add up."
oh -- but we'll bring 3D printers, we'll just 3D print everything! 3D printing is the say of the future! They are like Star Trek replicators, except they are here, today! Look! I just 3D printed a shrine to my 3D printer!
as well as carbon dioxide produced by the initial four-member crew
Oh no! We're going to cause global warming on Mars now!
oh -- but we'll bring 3D printers, we'll just 3D print everything! 3D printing is the say of the future! They are like Star Trek replicators, except they are here, today! Look! I just 3D printed a shrine to my 3D printer!
You only need to print one Home Depot and take it from there.
(stole that funny from another slashdot comment).
If it acquires resources on instantiation like a duck, then its a shared_ptr<Duck>
Heavy objects will pick up too much speed during the descent, making for one deep impact. ...
I seem to recall hearing some recent developments in science, some wacko claim by some Italian guy that the acceleration due to gravity was actually independent of the mass of the object. That would indicate that both heavy and light objects would accelerate the same way under the influence of gravity on Mars. What a silly notion, I'm sure the Pope will cure him of his heresy.