the truth of 2012

[Rodri]

There's a few small problems with going to live on Mars that science fiction writers like to ignore, but exist just the same.
The first is about the size of Mars and it's mass.
Mars is quite a bit smaller than the Earth and has much less mass.
Why is this a problem?
With the smaller mass comes reduced gravity, reduced gravity means that the gasses required to make an atmosphere would escape.
An atmosphere does more than give us the oxygen we breathe.
It helps to control the temperature of the planet surface and protects us from solar radiation. It is also a place where a large percentage of our fresh water is stored and is a vital part of the water cycle.
Without an atmosphere, any surface water would vaporise and be lost as gas.

Radiation from the sun would be a constant problem. Even here on earth we are finding out the damage that it can do (skin cancers etc.), even with our protective blanket.

Mars is a lot further from the sun than the Earth.
It would be very cold in the shade, or at night. But without an atmosphere, direct sunlight would be very hot.
We are an animal that likes to keep our bodies at a fairly even temperature.

So making Mars a planet we could live on. Is it possible? Yes it is I guess, but would be incredibly expensive.
Is it sustainable? No, because it would require constant maintenance and intervention by us on a scale that would be impossible to sustain.

We could live in domes and create small colonies. They might even be able to supply most of their own needs. There again, most of the biosphere projects attempted so far have been poor failures.

Let's face it, most of us are stuck right here and always will be. I guess we better try and make the best of it.