page_title: Colonization of Mars
section_title: Conditions for human habitation
hierarchical_section_title: Colonization of Mars / Conditions for human habitation
caption_attribution_description: English: This artist's concept depicts a possible scene of astronauts walking on Mars during a dust storm. The artwork was part of a NASA new initiatives study that surveyed possible future human planetary expeditions. Scientists and researchers involved in the study, realizing that a hostile environment will confront long-distance space travelers, note the requirement of highly specialized technologies and systems (e.g., the durable type suits, depicted here, for protection against the dust storm).
context_page_description: The hypothetical colonization of Mars has received interest from public space agencies and private corporations, and has received extensive treatment in science fiction writing, film, and art.
  Organizations have proposed plans for a human mission to Mars, the first step towards any colonization effort, but no person has set foot on the planet. However, landers and rovers have successfully explored the planetary surface and delivered information about conditions on the ground.
  Reasons for colonizing Mars include pure curiosity, the potential for humans to provide more in-depth observational research than unmanned rovers, economic interest in its resources, and the possibility that the settlement of other planets could decrease the likelihood of human extinction. Difficulties and hazards include radiation exposure during a trip to Mars and on its surface, toxic soil, low gravity, the isolation that accompanies Mars' distance from Earth, a lack of water, and cold temperatures.
  The most recent commitments to researching permanent settlement include those by public space agencies—NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, ISRO and the CNSA—and private organizations—SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing.
context_section_description: Conditions on the surface of Mars are closer to the conditions on Earth in terms of temperature and sunlight than on any other planet or moon, except for the cloud tops of Venus. However, the surface is not hospitable to humans or most known life forms due to the radiation, greatly reduced air pressure, and an atmosphere with only 0.16% oxygen.
  In 2012, it was reported that some lichen and cyanobacteria survived and showed remarkable adaptation capacity for photosynthesis after 34 days in simulated Martian conditions in the Mars Simulation Laboratory (MSL) maintained by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Some scientists think that cyanobacteria could play a role in the development of self-sustainable crewed outposts on Mars. They propose that cyanobacteria could be used directly for various applications, including the production of food, fuel and oxygen, but also indirectly: products from their culture could support the growth of other organisms, opening the way to a wide range of life-support biological processes based on Martian resources.
  Humans have explored parts of Earth that match some conditions on Mars. Based on NASA rover data, temperatures on Mars (at low latitudes) are similar to those in Antarctica. The atmospheric pressure at the highest altitudes reached by piloted balloon ascents (35 km (114,000 feet) in 1961, 38 km in 2012) is similar to that on the surface of Mars. However, the pilots were not exposed to the extremely low pressure, as it would have killed them, but seated in a pressurized capsule.
  Human survival on Mars would require living in artificial Mars habitats with complex life-support systems. One key aspect of this would be water processing systems. Being made mainly of water, a human being would die in a matter of days without it. Even a 5–8% decrease in total body water causes fatigue and dizziness and a 10% decrease physical and mental impairment (See Dehydration). A person on Earth uses 70–140 litres of water per day on average. Through experience and training, astronauts on the ISS have shown it is possible to use far less, and that around 70% of what is used can be recycled using the ISS water recovery systems. Similar systems would be needed on Mars, but would need to be much more efficient, since regular robotic deliveries of water to Mars would be prohibitively expensive (the ISS is supplied with water four times per year). Potential access to in-situ water (frozen or otherwise) via drilling has been investigated by NASA.
caption: Dust is one concern for Mars missions
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