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::: much probably it will be we, humans. Various serious projects are being
created, formulated, and analyzed, for the future real presence of persons on Mars.
The manned colonization of planet Mars will require several intelligent and auto-
sustainable steps. Among them, I mention here 2 great projects for the manned
presence on the “Red Planet”: the Caves of Mars Project and the Terraforming of
Mars (de Morais 2004 ).
8.8.1
Caves of Mars Project
The Caves of Mars Project was a program funded through Phase II by the NASA
Institute for Advanced Concepts to assess the best place to situate the research and
habitation modules that a manned mission to Mars would require.
Caves and other underground structures, including lava tubes, canyon overhangs,
and other Martian cavities, would be potentially useful for manned missions, for
they would provide considerable shielding from both the elements and intense solar
radiation that a Mars mission would expose astronauts to. They might also offer
access to minerals, gases, ices, and any subterranean life that the crew of such a
mission would probably be searching for.
The program also studied the designs for inflatable modules and other such
structures that would aid the astronauts to build a livable environment for humans
and earth creatures. This project can be reanalyzed again when more practical
information is gathered on Mars' environments (de Morais 2004 )(Figs. 8.32 and
8.33 ).
8.8.2
Terraforming of Mars
The terraforming of Mars is the hypothetical process by which Martian climate,
surface, and known properties would be deliberately changed with the goal of
making large areas of the environment more hospitable to human habitation, thus
making human colonization much safer and more sustainable.
The concept relies on the assumption that the environment of a planet can be
altered through artificial means. In addition, the feasibility of creating a planetary
biosphere on Mars is undetermined. There are several proposed methods, some of
which present prohibitive economic and natural resource costs and others may be
currently technologically achievable.
8.8.2.1
Motivation and Ethics
Future population growth and demand for resources may necessitate human colo-
nization of objects other than Earth, such as Mars, the Moon, and nearby planets.
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