Table of Contents

Climate and Weather

From the perspective of a potential pioneer of the Martian frontier, the most important question to ask is "Is the planet Mars habitable?"

To answer this question one must consider the essential requirements for human survival and then, based on our knowledge of Mars, evaluate whether or not it is possible to satisfy these essential requirements on the planet Mars.

Consider, for example, climate and weather.

Temperature

Transparency Master

Because Mars is further from the Sun than the Earth, and because Mars has a very thin atmosphere (which provides only a slight green-house effect), Mars is much colder than the Earth.

The warmest days on Mars just barely reach temperatures which humans would regard as extremely cold.

Humans on Mars will need to have adequate protection from the cold.

Pressure

The Martian atmosphere is very thin and contains practically no oxygen.

The pressure of the Martian atmosphere at the surface is so low that even breathing pure oxygen at that pressure would be too low for human survival.

Humans will need a pressurized spacesuit to work on the Martian surface just as they do when working in space or on the moon.

Atmospheric Composition

Transparency Master

The Martian atmosphere is about 95% carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide is a very versatile compound. With suitable amounts of energy, carbon dioxide can be reacted with hydrogen to produce materials as varied as rocket fuel and plastics.

Seasons

Transparency Master

Mars orbits the Sun in 686.98 Earth days or 668.60 Martian days (each Martian day being slightly longer than an Earth day).

Mars' rotational axis is tilted 25.66 degrees (away from the perpendicular to its orbital plane) causing Mars to have seasons in the same manner that the Earth's tilted axis causes the Earth to have seasons.

The polar caps can be seen easily through Earth-based telescopes. The polar caps, which are mostly frozen carbon dioxide, are observed to expand and recede in response to seasonal changes.

Storms on Mars

Transparency Master

During the Martian summer, in the northern Martian hemisphere, the heat from the Sun triggers strong convection currents in the Martian atmosphere. The currents raise clouds of very dry dust.

The dust is a very efficient absorber of solar energy and therefore causes additional heating of the atmosphere. This additional heating, in turn, causes the atmospheric convection to increase, raising strong winds and more dust.

The process can lead to dust storms on Mars which can blanket a major portion of the entire planet.