Re:A SpaceX booster now trails only 4 space shuttles in flig...
by hparadiz on Wednesday May 12, 2021 @12:46AM
(#27126686)
I'd love to see some pressure readings from Hellas Basin. It's a full five miles below what scientists say is the average elevation.
Re:A SpaceX booster now trails only 4 space shuttles in flig...
by elihu on Thursday May 13, 2021 @02:08AM
(#27138968)
Hmm, according to wikipedia, the pressure in Hellas can sometimes get up to 12.4 mbar, and it looks like there are some significant glaciers. Interesting.
Tunneling into the ice could be a plausible way to build a Mars habitat...
Realistically, though, I wouldn't expect pressure to vary that much with elevation. Mars' weaker gravity implies that it would vary less than on Earth. However, according to this [1], the pressure does vary a lot by season. That's interesting.
> Surface pressure: 6.36 mb at mean radius (variable from 4.0 to 8.7 mb depending on season)
Surface water might not be readily available on Mars, but ice is present on the surface at the poles, and probably elsewhere in shadowy craters or underground. (Unfortunately, the places with the best access to ice are not great for solar power.)
[1] https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/marsfact.htm...