It may make sense to get a space economy going before attempting to reach Mars. We should start with seriously looking into whether using nukes to knock a near-earth asteroid into orbit around earth. From there we can start mining them out into hollow shells that we set spinning to mimic gravity, and build habitation chambers inside of.
Radiation is a big problem for spacecraft that require the ability to escape a planet's gravity well - a craft constructed in orbit using raw materials mined and refined in orbit could be shielded from radiation it would be exposed to in interplanetary space. It could also be made larger, and spun around its own axis to deal with the problems brought on from spending too long in zero-G. If such a craft were to attempt re-entry, it would obviously be a one-way trip - but that's what shuttles are for.
IMHO, it would be an act of futility to attempt to establish a colony on Mars while relying on spacecraft that are supposed to make the round trip journey, planetary surface to planetary surface due to weight constraints. Right now the focus should really be on establishing an industrial base in orbit ASAP.
On the note of nuclear fusion, there may be a use for fusion other than weapons and energy generation: reaction drives for spacecraft. This could solve the issue of needing to carry enough fuel, since deuterium and tritium are orders of magnitude more energy dense - and it might even open the door to the eventual creation of relativistic craft such as a Bussard Ramjet.
I just read about the Bussard Ramjet. And I agree, an industrial base does make more sense than living on mars @ashaman. Would the He-3 to He-3 fusion be more feasible instead of using deuterium and tritium. Since we are already working on that with our mining the moon plans. These topics are just for knowledge, I really don't think mars can be made habitable even in near future.
You're thinking of Deuterium-He3 fusion. It produces less energy than D-D, but the reaction is aneutronic - all the byproducts are charged particles (allowing for the possibility of direct conversion to electricity which may be more efficient than thermal conversion), no neutrons. My understanding is that a D-He3 reaction would have a higher activation ebergy.
As far as maximizing energy production, afaik a deuterium-tritium reaction his the sweet spot, producing significantly (a factor of 3 or 4?) more energy than a D-D reaction. Theoretically, we can breed tritium from lithium in a D-D reactor - this is one of the things being investigated at ITER.
Personally, I think we're about as likely to terraform Mars as we are Venus - although its 2 moons could be ideal to hollow out and transform into floating cities - or even interstellar spacecraft (multi-generation craft if we can't figure out how to build a relativistic one).
If you want to explore such concepts (among many others) more in depth, check out Night's Dawn and the Greg Mandel trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton and Revelation Space by Alastair Renolds.
I am not much into atomic physics right now, so I don't read books on it. I just google any questions I have. This is where I heard of the He-3 to He-3 fusion which consumes 1 kW to give 1mW of power, and hence it's not feasible as of now, but CERN is working on it. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/408558/mining-the-moon/amp/
I was suggesting scifi novels, not books on physics.
Damn, lol. I have exams now. I'll enjoy the novels once I'm free.
I believe you're thinking of Deuterium-He3 fusion. It produces less energy than D-D, but the reaction is aneutronic - all the byproducts are charged particles (allowing for the possibility of direct conversion to electricity which may be more efficient than thermal conversion), no neutrons. My understanding is that a D-He3 reaction would have a higher activation ebergy.
As far as maximizing energy production, afaik a deuterium-tritium reaction his the sweet spot, producing significantly (a factor of 3 or 4?) more energy than a D-D reaction. Theoretically, we can breed tritium from lithium in a D-D reactor - this is one of the things being investigated at ITER.
Personally, I think we're about as likely to terraform Mars as we are Venus - although its 2 moons could be ideal to hollow out and transform into floating cities - or even interstellar spacecraft (multi-generation craft if we can't figure out how to build a relativistic one).
If you want to explore such concepts (among many others) more in depth, check out Night's Dawn and the Greg Mandel trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton and Revelation Space by Alastair Renolds.