The colonization of the Moon and the colonization of Mars are considered by experts as a unique technological breakthrough for humanity. In addition to significant scientific progress, the sharp increase in interest is also explained by the fact that the Moon and Mars are priceless and practically inexhaustible sources of minerals.
Prophecy of geniuses
Shortly before his death, British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking suggested that a technological breakthrough and providing earthlings with resources could equally be achieved if colonized, that is, permanently populated the only satellite of the Earth - the Moon and one of the most attractive in terms of use in the interests of humanity planets - Mars.
The development of projects for the exploration of the Moon and Mars began in the 50s of the last century, however, scientists spoke about one of the most important reasons for traveling and populating distant objects as if in passing, without paying special attention to this - the celestial body closest to Earth in the future could decades to save humanity from any energy crises and will allow the implementation of the most labor-intensive and complex projects in the field of industry, medicine, health care and science.
We are talking about the lightest isotope of helium - helium-3, a substance whose reserves within the Earth are extremely limited. It is this and another "neighboring" isotope that mankind can use for the energy of the new millennium - thermonuclear fusion, capable of "putting to rest" all traditional types of minerals: oil, coal, and radioactive uranium - fuel for nuclear power plants.
Just 0.003 grams of helium-3 in a fusion reactor will release the same amount of energy as a whole barrel of oil, and a ton of helium-3 loaded into a fusion reactor will produce energy equivalent to 15.8 million barrels of oil.
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The extraction of the helium isotope on the lunar surface can be compared to the search for hydrocarbons under the sand dunes in the Middle East: easily recoverable oil literally pushes upward in a powerful fountain after the very first "punctures" of the surface in previously explored places. With helium-3 on the surface of the Moon, the situation is similar: the lunar soil, practically "sealed" by particles emitted by the Sun for hundreds of millions of years, contains millions of tons of a valuable isotope, and for its industrial production it is not necessary, as they say in such cases, reinvent the wheel.
True, to implement a full-fledged program for the extraction of lunar soil at the moment, and in the next 30, 50 and 100 years, mankind will not be able to - even ultra-modern technologies and super-powerful launch vehicles capable of delivering several tons to the lunar orbit at a time will not help the cause … The main problem is not even that the corresponding energy infrastructure for the industrial consumption of helium-3 on Earth is completely absent at the moment, but how exactly people can survive on the Moon and begin to develop it.
One of the most important tasks of modern cosmonautics is still the creation of a super-heavy and inexpensive launch vehicle at the same time, although both of these concepts, at first glance, are mutually exclusive. Despite the fact that ready-made solutions, such as the American Saturn-V and Soviet Energia, as well as other projects to create super-heavy launch vehicles are already ready or are in the final stage, the main problem associated with the safe and reliable stay of a person on the lunar surface is has not been completely resolved.
Lunar watch
The lunar base projects, which have been developed since the early 50s, assumed several ways to master the lunar surface. One of the most plausible and economically simple ways to colonize the Moon could be the plan proposed by the American physicist Gerard O'Neill: for successful mining on the lunar surface, it was proposed to build a huge station in the form of a ring with a diameter of 1.5 kilometers.
The station, proposed by O'Neill as a transshipment base for work on the Moon, was supposed to work on full self-sufficiency: after the final assembly and commissioning, people had to form a kind of industrial production and mini-farms inside the premises of the facility, providing ten thousand people with everything they needed, including drinking water and food.
Among other things, they planned to equip the station with giant mirrors capable of transmitting part of the solar energy to Earth with an almost ideal efficiency of more than 70%. In parallel with O'Neill's plan, there were other ideas about how a lunar base should work. Soviet scientists have repeatedly put forward the idea of building not only "point" settlements on the surface, but also a circumlunar orbital base, from which, on small reusable ships, lunar "shift workers" would go to work every "morning".
In the late 1980s, the theory of lunar settlement began to dissolve in scientists' arguments that lunar orbiting bases and remotely controlled mining robots, maintenance and repair of which can be carried out with the help of small outposts, would be sufficient for the "targeted use" of the rich resources of the Earth satellite.
However, already in 2017, scientists decided that "lunar houses" were not needed at all - instead of building and producing small objects for missions for five to seven days, it was proposed to adapt spaceships.
Where and why?
Despite ambitious plans for the development of Mars, humanity does not yet have a clear idea of where to fly and why it is needed. At the same time, even scientists who were unanimous in their opinions were divided into several "warring" camps: some believe that the exploration of the Moon is a waste of time and you need to fly to Mars right away, others are sure that you can get to Mars "somehow later" when the process lunar exploration and space technology debugging will be completed. The third group generally rejects the colonization of Mars and the Moon as such, citing compelling evidence that everything necessary for use on Earth, including rare metals and other chemical elements, lies in sufficient quantities on the surface of asteroids in near-Earth space.
“All this is much easier to organize on quite acceptable conditions - the terrestrial level of insolation and technical solutions that were described 40-50 years ago,” said Mikhail Lapikov, an expert in the field of astronautics, in an interview with the Zvezda TV channel.
In the late 1990s, after a spectral analysis of asteroid pieces that leaked through the dense layers of the atmosphere, scientists came to the conclusion that sending automatic or manned ships to objects in near-earth space would provide industrial production on Earth with all the necessary metals.
According to the forecasts of astrophysicists, a large object with a diameter of 1.5 to two kilometers can contain both common metals - iron and nickel, and precious - gold, palladium and even platinum, and the average cost of ore mined on asteroids can range from $ 100 million to ten billion, depending on the amount of ore mined.
“There are thousands of such objects in near-earth space. The construction of "miner's" ships for work on asteroids may allow, if not completely abandon the extraction of metals on Earth, then, in any case, reduce the development of the earth's interior by 40-50% already at the initial stage, "he stressed in an interview with the Zvezda TV channel. astrophysicist Boris Raevsky.
The development of minerals on asteroids may well "close" the extraction of minerals on Earth, but this will not happen before dozens of the world's leading economies unite to create a transport and production system and agree on a fair distribution of resources among all participants.
Extremely dangerous
The red planet, which scientists have been actively studying since the late 60s, represents both exceptional economic interest and an incredible danger for space travelers and colonists. If in the case of working on a "rotational basis" at lunar and circumlunar bases, existing technologies can be used (adjusted for the duration of stay), then in the case of arranging life on Mars, much more effort will be required, and it will probably be possible to achieve success at the cost of the first colonists.
The main secret of Mars is hidden in its depths: in the soil of the Red Planet, which millions of years ago could well have been a copy of the Earth, practically the entire periodic table is stored. The word "practically" should be taken literally: a weak atmosphere and low pressure have done their job for millions of years, so there can be no oil, gas or other hydrocarbons on Mars. With the exception of terrestrial minerals, scientists have revealed an increased content of iron, magnesium, calcium, sulfur and other valuable substances in the soil of Mars, which are likely to be useful on Earth.
Extraction of minerals on the surface of Mars, due to its remoteness and specificity, is possible only with the construction of a large base or even a city. However, before the construction of a long-term base on Mars, the first colonists have yet to live: a flight on the Earth-Mars route will not be able to survive without special protective equipment.
Changes in the human body from a long stay in space have been scientifically proven: astronaut Scott Kelly, who returned after a year's stay on the ISS, is a living example of the fact that human DNA changes its structure during a long stay outside the Earth. How this can turn out even during the flight or immediately after landing, scientists still cannot answer.
In science fiction, Mars has always acted as an absolutely accessible planet for settlement and use, but in reality it is a treasury that no one can open and pick up its contents in the near future.
“If we discard all theories about the terraforming of Mars with the help of thermonuclear explosions or chemical heating, the most effective method of modifying the planet“for oneself”can be the so-called bacterial treatment, in which samples of the most“tenacious”bacteria will be brought to Mars from Earth, for example, as extremophiles, said analyst Alexander Lobanenkov in an interview with Zvezda TV channel.
Now (and in the next 50-70 years) that “apple trees will bloom on Mars”, modern science is not able to achieve: according to scientists, even heating the atmosphere of Mars and saturating it with oxygen will not help normalize conditions. To low gravity, muscle atrophy and constant movement in a spacesuit, another problem will be added - radiation, the level of which on Mars is several times higher than the maximum permissible for a person. And that's not counting the dose that the crew members of the spacecraft will receive during the trip.
“Ultimately, the colonists, at least those who can survive the journey and survive, will inevitably begin to have genetic mutations after a couple of years. It is difficult to say what this will lead to, but there is a possibility that either there will be problems with the offspring, or there will be no offspring on Mars at all, or other serious changes and diseases will begin,”geneticist Vladimir Zakharov explained in an interview with the Zvezda TV channel.
Scientists believe that the best solution in this regard will be the cultivation of the first colonists: even on Earth, decades before the flight on the basis of human DNA, using the CRISRP / Cas9 genome editing technology, scientists will be able to create "superhumans" that can survive a 210-day journey, a "work trip »For the extraction of minerals on the planet or a permanent stay there.
Why do people need space?
Mining on the Moon, asteroids, Mars and other planets of the solar system will allow earthlings to breathe a sigh of relief. Most of the valuable metals and substances extracted from the soil will be "imported" from other planets, and the Earth can be assigned the role of a large processing plant. The development of planets and other celestial bodies can give major players in the market for interplanetary mining of raw materials a real carte blanche, following which on uninhabited planets, not entirely environmentally friendly, but quite cheap methods of extracting fossils can be applied.
However, no matter how rosy the prospect of crossing the Earth and stepping into space may seem, mankind will make the first attempts to implement something similar only in 100-200 years. Scientists and experts in the field of cosmonautics note that individual solutions such as the development of super-heavy launch vehicles and the creation of experimental thermonuclear installations are already taking place, but national programs for the extraction of resources on other planets, not to mention the full-fledged placement of settlements, simply cannot be implemented from - for their cost and resource intensity.
In the field of space exploration, according to scientists, it is not the strategic interests of individual states that are important, but a common understanding of the importance and necessity of developing this direction. Experts believe that without the signing of the relevant agreements in about 200-300 years, with a high degree of probability, humanity will again be on the verge of a war for resources, however, such wars will have to be waged millions of kilometers from Earth.
Dmitry Yurov
