Would you live on Mars if it meant staying in a dome?

Posted by Olerato Ramafsi on 6 December 2022

A botanist and ecologist by the name of Paul Smith has worked out a detailed dome structure that would allow human life to survive on Mars.

The proposed structure would be a contained ‘forest bubble’ designed to mirror the earth’s ecosystem. While acting as a nature preserve, it would also be a place of refuge for humans and provide food and raw materials for expected colonies on Mars.

Smith, a lecturer at the University of Bristol’s civil engineering department, published this proposal in the International Journal of Astrobiology last month. The concept might seem extreme, but Smith simplified the basic concepts by addressing some of the many challenges of such a bizarre task.

The many challenges of Mars’ atmosphere were to be considered, with temperature, seasons, radiation, weather, gravity and available sunlight as the main factors. To solve that, Smith has provided a list of Earth’s life that could adapt to life on Mars.

Picture: Paul Smith

The suggested plants were junipers and birches. Smith also suggested soil microbes, fungi and invertebrates like spiders and earthworms.

Notably, birds and fish weren’t included on the list. Smith touches on the ethical considerations of forcing animals into a different atmosphere and habitat which might not allow them to engage in their natural behaviours.

Smith says he is not looking to clone Earth, but rather create his own functioning ecosystem using Earth as a base model. He further wrote: ‘Replication of Earth forests is currently unfeasible but the development of new ecosystems, functioning in unexpected ways, is conceivable.’

Smith admitted to not having figured out the estimated costs of such a task, alluding to how expensive taking people to space has proven to be. The human population has reached 8 billion people now, adding to the ever-increasing strain on the planet.

With the current climate change situation, much of which can also be attributed to human interference, looking to Mars as a possible refuge might not seem like such a far-fetched idea (ask Elon Musk).

‘The designers’ task is daunting but, if the survival of Earth life is to be ensured, challenges must be overcome,’ Smith wrote in his conclusion.

Featured picture: Getaway Gallery

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