It's one of the most familiar places in the solar system near 24-hour a day cycles. Mountains, valley even liquid water, with so much common with earth you’d think that Mars could be a second home for the human race…. But you’d be wrong. Mars is a violent inhospitable wasteland with nature firmly against you at every turn, but with that said could humans live on Mars?
From orbit one thing is known for sure MARS IS DRY!! Although there is water ice and possibly even some flowing water. Compared to Earth, Mars is a global desert. Not only dry it’s also absolutely FREEZING COLD! On the Hottest day the hottest part of the planet temperatures can reach as high as 70 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s actually not bad but considering the average temperature is negative 52 degrees Fahrenheit and with winter temperatures at poles dropping to a bitter negative 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the planet is a perpetual state of frigid hostility. Humans can survive in cold climates however the average temperature of Antarctica is about negative 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Which is actually cooler than the average temperature of Mars and we have a sustainable camp there. So although it wont be easy to stay warm on the Martian surface it is technically possible with current and near future technologies, but still you’ll have to plan your landing site accordingly. Entering the atmosphere of Mars introduce a unique problem. The Martian atmosphere is extremely thin this means that air resistance for entering space crafts have less help slowing them down as they descend to the surface. But this also means that there is little to no oxygen to breath in. the atmosphere is only about 0.14 percent oxygen compared to the 21 % on earth.
There is light at the end of the tunnel however, a chemical called perchlorate is found in high concentration on the surface of Mars. This molecule consists of one chlorine atom and four oxygen atoms. Some oxygen atoms can be stripped away and collected giving the astronauts a possible source of breathable air inside the habitat. on the downside perchlorate is extremely toxic to humans. When its absorbed it interferes with metabolic functions. This leads to poor temperature regulation sleeping disorder and certain blood diseases. To date there is no guaranteed way to keep this chemical dust from entering a habitat and into the lungs of any humans inside, however if there is a way to safely live an environment with perchlorate then is can be leveraged as an invaluable resource for the crew.
One of the biggest dangers for anyone living on Mars is radiation. Because the earth has an active iron core a strong magnetic field is generated. This magnetic field shields the earth from harmful radiation. Not only from the sun but also from violent distant activity from deep space. In fact in 2004 the largest single ray gamma blast impacted Earth from a magnetar about 50.00 light years away. It released more energy in one tenth of a second then our sun has released in 100.000 years. Unfornuntaly Mars has little to no magnetic field. So it’s almost completely exposed to the elements from space. Still during a standard 180 day journey to Mars the Astronauts would have absorbed the same levels of radiation as a nuclear power plant worker will in a 15 year career. Once on the planet the crew would continue to receive a constant low dose of radiation increasing their risk of cancer further. Even with advance shield technologies and the Earth’s magnetic field radiation still poses a great risk for the crew on the International Space Station. Therefore until radiation shielding techniques advance further living on Mars will have to be scaled to only a short visit. It isn’t until you look at Mars a seemingly earth-like planet that you realize just how narrow the habitability zone for humans actually is. Although we have technologies to get humans to Mars. On a planet that’s one and half times further away from the Sun than Earth. 225 million kilomeres from Earth with toxic soil a scarce water supply and dust storms the size of North America. You have to question wether it’s even worth it . For some it will be and in the next twenty to thirty years the technology will be in a place to help support human life on Mars. But today it is simply too far away and too hostile for a sustainable human colony on the Red Planet.
Sorry folks you’re just going to have to wait a little bit longer. But, Thanks for the offer I rather stay on Earth!!