Centauri Dreams, May 29, 2020
Terraforming the new world is a breathtaking task that is often thought of in connection with the transformation of Mars into a favorable environment for settlers. But there are less complex alternatives for a protected colony. As Robert Zubrin explains in the essay below, ice-covered lakes are an option that may offer the necessary resources to protect colonists from radiation.
Founder of the Mars Society, author of several books and numerous articles, Zubrin is the creator of the Mars Direct concept, which provides exploration using modern and promising technologies. In the pages of Centauri Dreams, we looked at many of his ideas for interstellar flight, including sail braking and the concept of a salt water nuclear rocket.
At the moment the president of Pioneer Astronautics, just been published by the publishing house Prometheus Books book « of The the Case for Space: How the Revolution in the Opens the Up Spaceflight a Possibility of Future of Limitless » (How a revolution in space travel opens up the future of endless possibilities).
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This article discusses the possibility of creating Martian settlements under the surface of ice-covered lakes. It shows that such settlements have many advantages, including: the ability to quickly create very large volumes of space under pressure, comprehensive radiation shielding, highly efficient power generation, temperature control, abundant resources, outdoor recreation, and the creation of a vibrant local biosphere. supporting the needs of a growing population for food and habitat.
Introduction
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1. Frank Crossman, editor, Mars Colonies: Plans for Settling the Red Planet ( : ), The Mars Society, Polaris Books, 2019
2. Robert Zubrin with Richard Wagner, The Case for Mars: The Planet to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must (: ), Simon and Schuster, NY, 1996, 2011.
3. Richard S. Taylor, “Paraterraforming: The Worldhouse Concept” (, ) Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, vol. 45, no. 8, Aug. 1992, p. 341-352.
4. Sub Glacial Lake ( ), Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subglacial_lake#Biology accessed May 15, 2020.
5. Kevin Arrigo, et al, “Massive Phytoplankton Blooms Under Sea Ice”, Science , Vol. 336, page 1408, June 15, 2012 https://www2.whoi.edu/staff/hsosik/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2017/03/Arrigo_etal_Science2012.pdf . Accessed May 15, 2020.
This is a translation of the Sublake Settlements for Mars article .