Seed on Mars

Spring 2018

When earth mining resource is nearly exhausted, every party of interest is trying to get more. Their eyes land on Mars. But all attempts have failed. Airtight landing ships from different countries were only efficient to survive the initial landing. But regarding excavation and mass transportation, they are too fragile under the Martian environment and are therefore considered impractical. In the year of 2118, a group of microclimate scientists propose a Three-Phased-Project with the possibilities to revitalize portions of raw Martian landscape into an inhabitable zone. After the first settlers activate the Martian underground ice layer with extra heat generated from several hundred mini nuclear reactors, an accelerated hydrologic cycle can be triggered in an enclosed area. Over the course of 100 years, the local atmosphere will be stabilized and detoxicated by the air-purifier and atmosphere retainer to a stage, where the imported plants can initiate and, ultimately, people can survive in the area with no further protection from the Martian environment. Only then, can the massive transportation and the excavation become feasible for economical and scientifical exploration.

Due to the difficulty of such complex mission, the people on earth decide to overcome their national difference and interest conflicts, and they will build the first model of autonomous Microclimate Manipulator: the "Babel Tower II." Once a symbol of separation between the human races in its original mythidology, the new Babel tower will mutually benefit all generations. With all the effort and hope, "Babel Tower II" will land on Mars with countless capsules of water, seed, and robotic labor. In the first phase of the project, nuclear reactors will power the system while its heat begin to stabilize the regional temperature. Excavation drones are released to build underground hydrological buffer tank to melt portions of the underground ice and release it to the atmosphere through the control of the computer monitoring system. This will ensure a reasonable rate of the hydrologic cycle in the enclosed area. Meanwhile, the Air Purifier system and the Atmosphere retainer are activated to detoxicate regional atmosphere from the dangerous gases such as CH4 and SO2.

The second phase begins after the completion of the underground hydrological circulation construction. The drones start to establish temporary human habitat around the hydrologic buffer tanks. Those habitat space offers a more stable temperature comparing to the surface of the Mars. When the microclimate is ready, the "Babel tower II" will welcome its first group of settlers in its underground chambers. By this time, tanks of moss and seeds will have spread and thrived, turning the place into a sustainable ecosystem. In the last phase, the ecosystem extends above the surface. Human settlers will be able to walk and breathe as they did on earth. Scientific research and commercial mining take place and expand, marking the new chapter of Martian exploration for the generations to come. The existence of this transformative infrastructure is as well a reflection into how to save earth from the potentially threatened environment. The date we know for sure that such ill earth consideration can be cured is when human steps on the land of Mars with his bare foot.

Partner: Zhaoxuan Wang, Junchao Yang

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