Post by Kenoshi on Jul 5, 2009 20:47:32 GMT -5
Mars has been home to colonies for the past three hundred years. The second extra-terrestrial body to have been colonized by the human race (following Luna), Mars has long been the model world for terraforming efforts that would later be used on other worlds outside of the Sol system. But unlike efforts on other worlds, Mars hasn't been quite the success that it's always been hoped to be.
The atmosphere is thicker than it used to be, thanks to the efforts of massive generators that dredge up oxygen and other gasses from the soil and belch them out into the sky, but is still thin by Earth standards. And while there is enough oxygen to breathe, the levels are low enough that heavy exertion is discouraged. The air is also still very arid, and little can grow in the soil besides the most persistent weeds.
The atmosphere has been made possible in part by the restoration of the planet's magnetic field, protecting its growing atmosphere from erosion by solar wind. In order to produce that magnetic field, a series of immense fusion reactors have been working constantly for decades to pump plasma into the planet's core, heating it and restoring it to a fluid state. The plan has been a success so far, but many more decades of constant heating will be required to inject enough heat for the core to remain fluid for any longer than a few centuries after the reactors are deactivated.
Additional plans have been on the table to create a new, larger moon for Mars, using matter from the asteroid belt, but disputes with mining companies have stalled those plans indefinitely.
Because of the thin and arid atmosphere, all of the current habitations on Mars are located inside of massive arcologies that dot the surface of the planet. Those arcologies in turn rest upon networks of mining shafts that branch out beneath the surface of the planet, running for thousands of miles in every direction.
The atmosphere is thicker than it used to be, thanks to the efforts of massive generators that dredge up oxygen and other gasses from the soil and belch them out into the sky, but is still thin by Earth standards. And while there is enough oxygen to breathe, the levels are low enough that heavy exertion is discouraged. The air is also still very arid, and little can grow in the soil besides the most persistent weeds.
The atmosphere has been made possible in part by the restoration of the planet's magnetic field, protecting its growing atmosphere from erosion by solar wind. In order to produce that magnetic field, a series of immense fusion reactors have been working constantly for decades to pump plasma into the planet's core, heating it and restoring it to a fluid state. The plan has been a success so far, but many more decades of constant heating will be required to inject enough heat for the core to remain fluid for any longer than a few centuries after the reactors are deactivated.
Additional plans have been on the table to create a new, larger moon for Mars, using matter from the asteroid belt, but disputes with mining companies have stalled those plans indefinitely.
Because of the thin and arid atmosphere, all of the current habitations on Mars are located inside of massive arcologies that dot the surface of the planet. Those arcologies in turn rest upon networks of mining shafts that branch out beneath the surface of the planet, running for thousands of miles in every direction.