If colonizing mars?

Wouldn't you land near a cliff and build your habitat in the rocks for protection? Seems like we could send robot tunneler and start that process till we get tech to send man? Is there a natural substance/rock on mars that provides protection from radiation etc...? The movie about the Martian recently showed the entire habitat made of human made material that eventually broke and failed. Would it not be better to just go underground or into rock?

Surely you could spray a seal material onto rock cave surface easier than delivering an entire shelter strong enough to withstand mars weather if you need added encasement for gases such as oxygen.

Just some questions. If the cave is the structure you can take less with you no?

a reply to: Xeven

I think that is the long term plan but, it would be in naturally formed lava tunnels which generally have openings on the surface where parts of them collapse.

I would think that a tunneler would be over the weight limit to send to Mars, it would have to be pretty big and we don't have the tech to send such a piece of heavy machinery, the landing would be a major task in it self.

Am I the only one who is bummed, that I was not born in a time where colonization was already a reality?

a reply to: Xeven

I think a colonization attempt would seek out the most adaptable area on Mars. I don't think it would be picked by areas that can be tunneled.

originally posted by: Punisher75
Am I the only one who is bummed, that I was not born in a time where colonization was already a reality?

Yeah, I feel that.
I hate it that we still can't even work out if there is life on a planet other than our own.

a reply to: Xeven

Would it not be better to just go underground or into rock?

No , too much work involved to make it practical.
The best way was planned and submitted some years ago but NASA decided to plough money into the ISS instead.

Can't remember the name of the guy but he proposed sending automatic units to Mars that on arrival would set up producing food , water and oxygen ready for humans when they arrived , they could also make rocket fuel ready for a return to Earth.

Couldn't resist posting this vid:

I would build it on astroids.
first send robots to build factories to build what you need.
and have them build a ring staion around it to live in.
thats for the gravity.
so much cheper than landing on a planet.
and you dont need to go to the astroid belt!

I've also wondered why they aren't actively seeking cave structures/ lava tubes. etc. Underground would be the most obvious form of protection. And why the slow process of rovers? It seems to me that they could have built a dirigible type craft that could float around taking low altitude HD pictures. A probe that could also land, explore, document take samples, etc and lift off again and float to a new destination. They could be using and documenting wind currents. It's not like there are a lot of obstacles that they could fly into. Send impact probes that can breach the surface until they can find and locate underground water and or caverns. Maybe send a probe that can impact then start drilling down for water, etc. And let's get some audio and put a microphone on something, just for entertainment.

The one way certification is there for a reason. The first expedition is meant more to establish a base camp, like climbing mountains. The first people aren't coming back because there is no return option programmed into the first leg of the journey.

I wonder if their demise will be televised?

a reply to: ColeYounger

Sir George nails it. We should't worry, theres a reason we're seemingly unable to detect life elsewhere with our CETI and telescopes, they are hiding because they don't really want to know us.

As a whole humans are mostly arrogant, deceitful and treacherous.

originally posted by: TamtammyMacx
I've also wondered why they aren't actively seeking cave structures/ lava tubes. etc. Underground would be the most obvious form of protection. And why the slow process of rovers? It seems to me that they could have built a dirigible type craft that could float around taking low altitude HD pictures. A probe that could also land, explore, document take samples, etc and lift off again and float to a new destination. They could be using and documenting wind currents. It's not like there are a lot of obstacles that they could fly into. Send impact probes that can breach the surface until they can find and locate underground water and or caverns. Maybe send a probe that can impact then start drilling down for water, etc. And let's get some audio and put a microphone on something, just for entertainment.

Just not enough air pressure for dirigibles, its 0.015 of a pound per square inch, or one tenth of Earth's atmosphere, hope I got my math right!

Heh, according to some, there is already a healthy clandestine space program and they've (allegedly) made it out of the local stellar 'hood... but even if that's bunk, and I hope it is as it's info the rest of us would like to be part of, then we could've been out there for decades if it weren't for the usual reasons of monetary choke points and misguided or missing leadership/aspirations.

I had hopes of living in a smelly, stale plastic wrap on Mars or Moon at one time, long ago... alas, ain't gonna happen for me barring a miracle worthy of a sci-fi flick or bible.

But, yeah, the prevailing views have us underground.. .or mostly under, as a cheap, safer way of doing it.

I'm still hoping for a hollowed out asteroid spun for gravity with a UV light-tube down the middle... be a nice way-point.