Pellenbarg_2000abstr

 

ARE THERE SUFFICIENT NATURAL RESOURCES ON MARS TO SUSTAIN HUMAN HABITATION? METHANE AND CARBON DIOXIDE HYDRATES AS RAW MATERIALS TO SUPPORT COLONIZATION

 

Robert E. Pellenbarg

Naval Research Laboratory

Washington DC

 

Michael D. Max

MDS Research

Washington DC

 

Stephen M. Clifford

Lunar and Planetary Institute

Houston TX

 

There is a good possibility that long-term production of deep biosphere methane (CH₄) has occurred on Mars. Resultant methane would tend to rise buoyantly toward the Martian surface. This methane would have been captured over a long period of time and will now be stored in methane hydrate, which has the potential to concentrate methane and water. Both CH₄ and carbon dioxide (CO₂, a predominant gas in the Martian atmosphere) are stable as gases on the Martian surface but probably lie within the hydrate stability field as vast resource deposits in surface-parallel zones that reach close to the Martian surface.

 

In order for humankind to establish itself on Mars, colonies should become self-sustaining there as soon as possible. With hydrates of both CO₂, (oxidized carbon, C, at +4 oxidation state) and CH₄, (reduced C at -4 oxidation state), Mars would contain the basic elements for human habitation: fuel, potable water, and industrial feedstock in a near-surface situation suitable for controlled extraction. With the addition of nuclear- or solar-electric energy, the synthetic organic chemistry necessary to support human habitation on Mars is an exercise in miniaturized, innovative chemical engineering. Instead of transporting fuel for the return journey and all the items needed for human habitation of Mars, optimized standard industrial chemical plants would be designed for operation on Mars in order to manufacture a variety of plastic objects, such as shelter, habitats, vehicles and other apparatus, in addition to synthetic liquid high energy-density fuels.

 

Thus, identification and quantification of methane hydrate and carbon dioxide hydrate, or proof of their absence, must be regarded as one of the emerging questions about Mars which must be answered in order to allow for effective planning and preparation for human travel to Mars. The actual presence of these hydrates may prove to be the key to colonization of Mars.