The Moon &
Mars: How the Red Planet Fits In
"Mars is in our Field of View"
"Mars is in our Field of View"
The Moon, Mars, and the Asteroids are not alternative destinations for human activity but complementary ones.
- Use of Lunar Resources with Industrial Settlements on the Moon
- Establishment of a self-sufficient branch of humanity on Mars
- Defense of our homeworld from destruction by errant asteroids
These are three vectors seek the same thing:
Survival of Earth and its Environment, and of Humankind.
Download the presentation: "Human Expansion Triway into Space": ppt or pdf
A Moon to Mars NASA Program would deploy a more robust lunar base than would be the case if the Moon were the only or final destination.
MMM ## 191 DEC. 2005 p 1. In Focus: Dear Santa: “a Moonbase made for Mars”
Both a lunar and a Martian frontier would be more economically viable as trading partners than would either be on its own.
In the long run, a frontier must pay for the things it must import by selling the things it produces for its own needs that will be competitive in other markets. This space-based economy has already begun. Earth's "Econosphere" is 54,000 miles, 84,000 kilometers wide, because it encompasses GEO: Geosynchronous Orbit. In 2008 $139 billion dollars of economic activity involved satellites in GEO and lower orbits, with Satellite-to-home television leading the list.
LEO is already crowded, and restricted to 180 locations, 2° apart. Large platforms which could host hundreds of transponders and other satellite equipment, providing station-keeping, power, and other services could expand the potential of GEO enormously. So would Solar Power Satellites.
Because shipping the needed building materials "downhill" (down the gravity well) from Moon to GEO would take a 20th of the fuel needed to boost equivalent items up from Earth's surface, accessing lunar resources is key to the realization of GEO's full economic potential.
The Moon has some volatiles (hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon) but not in the quantities needed to operate freely. Phobos and Deimos, if future spacecraft should determine that they are carbonaceous chondrites, could supply that need, shipping liquid methane CH4 and liquid ammonia NH3 to the Moon. This could be a major anchor of an economic case for Mars.
The Moon Society is very interested in building the Economic Case for Mars, because trade between the two frontiers would make both more economically viable.
Moon Society Support for Mars Convention 2004
Modular Lunar-Martian Homestead Model on left end of table
• Made of 1.5" PVC fittings, 24" wide, 18" Deep, 5" high - on a Styrofoam platform with accompanying handout flyers in front, and explanatory legends (items listed just below) on top of scenic background panel
• This display is lightweight (10 lbs.) and travels well in a padded checkable box 25"x20"x10"
- Color Diagram of Model to aid visitor interpretation (pdf)
- Accompanying Key to Display (pdf)
- Display Sign (pdf)
Accompanying handout flyers
- Homestead Model Explanation (pdf) with Black & White version of Diagram on Flip side
- Black & White version of Inner Solar System Trade Routes Diagram shown above in color
Additional Flyers in a 3-tiered rack to right of homestead display
Moon Society Crew at the Mars Desert Research Station Feb. 26th to March 11th, 2006
Mars Society MDRS Field Reports Season 5 (scroll to Crew 45)
Our own crew "Artemis Moonbase Sim 1" website
A powerpoint presentation of our experience (follow instructions)
We modeled our Crew Flag after the Mars Society Tricolor
Our Crew and Crew Patch
Mars Theme Articles in the Moon Society Publication: Moon Miners' Manifesto
MMM Content & Themes:
MMM is less concerned with reporting current space news - there are ample other sources for that -- than with sketching how life can and will unfold on the space frontier. Reasoned speculation about what lies beyond, what happens when we get there, is MMM’s hallmark.
Most issues deal with the opening of the Lunar frontier, suggesting how pioneers can make best use of local resources. Some of the points made will relate specifically to pioneer life in the lunar environment.
But much of what will hold for the Moon, will also hold true for Mars and for space in general.Mars in MMM
We have one Mars theme issue each year, and occasionally other space destinations are discussed: the asteroids, the great moons of Jupiter, Titan around Saturn, even the cloud tops of Venus.
With an annual issue (usually in March - {"March is for Mars") focusing on Mars, and with many articles about life on the lunar frontier applying in large part to the Martian Frontier as well, and with the focus on “what happens when we get there, when we are there to stay?” it is clear that MMM should be must reading for Mars enthusiasts as well. Dr. Robert Zubrin has been getting MMM in his mailbox since 1988.Back Issues -- What’s available?
Recently, all the Mars-related articles from the first 20 years of Moon Miners' Manifesto (which began its 24th year with issue #231 in December, 2009) have been gathered and republished in two Mars Theme issues: 1 (years 1-10); 2 (years 11-20) These are free access pdf file downloads from:
http://www.moonsociety.org/publications/mmm_themes/http://www.moonsociety.org/publications/mmm_themes/mmmc_Mars1.pdf
http://www.moonsociety.org/publications/mmm_themes/mmmc_Mars2.pdf
Miscelaneous
The "MarsPulse" Calendar
