Mars is loosing material...

The article "Quarter of Mars Scientists at European Meeting Believe Life Possible on Red Planet" ( www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_believe_050225.html ) says that "...An estimated 100,000 kilograms per day of Mars surface material is blown off the planet, according to Stas Barabash, lead scientists for the Mars Express ASPERA-3 experiment, which measures the phenomenon. ...".

What impacts do you expect that to have on ideas and projects of settlement, colonization and realistic technological progress?



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

None. That's loss of atmosphere. Unless (and it's not all that clear) they're talking about surface fines being taken into the atmosphere, and then re-deposited elsewhere. In either cake, 100 tonnes a day is still practically nothing. And if it gets rid of the fines, so much the better: the engineering problems would be vastly simplified by that.

They are speaking as if they include water in those 100 tons.

I could imagine that the losses might act as a thread to potential colonists.

What simplifications of engineering do you imagine? May they be worth to be discussed in the Technology section?



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)