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I am doing some research into the nearby rocky bodies Mars, Venus and the Moon with reference to human colonisation.

Are there any specific pieces of information that would be useful to know about the planets? So far, I have most of what I need:

  • Temperature
  • Atmospheric Constitution
  • Atmospheric Pressure
  • Gravity
  • Seasons
  • Day and Year length
  • Proximity to Earth at certain times
  • Surface composition (Soil)
  • Topography
  • Major landforms
  • Bodies from space hitting it
  • Surface area
  • Solar radiation/wind.
  • Magnetosphere

Extreme detail is important, so are there any other's I've left out?

note: I am not looking at whether it is possible to colonise these planets right now. That is irrelevant. I just am asking is there any further information I should know if we could theoretically colonise them. I know for places like Venus, it is virtually impossible, but I would appreciate knowing any information that, if it was possible, would be useful.

Fred
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Pedro Hablespanyos
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    Terraforming of Venus is impossible, the temperature and pressure at surface are too high by far. Terrakeeping of Earth may be important in future. – Uwe Mar 12 '20 at 22:39
  • @Uwe +1 for reminder to keep "the eye on the prize" i.e. we should maintain our focus on terrakeeping of Earth! – uhoh Mar 12 '20 at 23:20
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    I think this is too broad for the SE format. If you can narrow this down (say "How would we terraform Venus?") it would be more answerable. Take a moment and read the help center on asking – Machavity Mar 12 '20 at 23:33
  • For the activity I am doing, this is not focussed on the ability to terraform - whether it is out of our reach or impossible is irrelevant. I am just looking for information that MAY be useful IF we could terraform it, which is why I wanted to use the Planet tag, since this is about information that may be useful in terraforming> Thanks. – Pedro Hablespanyos Mar 12 '20 at 23:37
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    Is this answerable: "is there any information I should know if we could theoretically terraform them."?? We can't tell you what you should know IMHO. – Organic Marble Mar 12 '20 at 23:48
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    @OrganicMarble I'm not so sure, I think this question is somewhat answerable, at least in broad brushstrokes.

    I think the OP has covered most of the main bases, in any case. The main factors would be the ability to retain an O2/H2O atmosphere (tied to gravity and temperature), prior presence of atmosphere, and presence of the raw materials needed to terraform. It doesn't really matter, as there's only two or three Solar System objects you could ever hope to terraform, even with near-infinite resources.

     – Ingolifs Mar 13 '20 at 00:32
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    @Ingolifs I haven't done any voting. I just am not sure what is wanted other than a giant data dump of "here is everything we know about the planets." – Organic Marble Mar 13 '20 at 00:34
  • Yes - literally a data dump, but with more specific information to Terraforming (Not logistics of getting there, but being on the planet and terraforming), so I wouldn't include satellites, but I would include things on the surface of the planet. – Pedro Hablespanyos Mar 13 '20 at 01:23
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    I almost voted to close for "needs more focus" because this is somewhat analogous to asking "Information required for Treating Patients" in Medical Sciences SE. But then I remembered "instead of whining and close voting, I made an edit" by @Ingolifs and decided to make an edit instead! :-) – uhoh Mar 13 '20 at 03:19
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    @uhoh I'm touched :-) – Ingolifs Mar 13 '20 at 03:21
  • Almost invariably it's much much more cost-efficient to create a virtual landscape away from the surface. For Mars or asteroids, burrow in and (with the help of semimagical energy sources) build an artificial environment with a ceiling. For Venus, build at an appropriate altitude in the atmosphere where the density supports habitable structures and so on. – Carl Witthoft Mar 13 '20 at 12:17
  • I don't see "weather" on the list -- of course this will change as you adjust the atmosphere, but in the early stages 1000 mph winds would be problematic. – Steve Linton Mar 13 '20 at 13:09

2 Answers2

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In addition to solar radiation/wind, cosmic radiation.

Regarding surface conditions (soil) you will need consider:

  • Potential nutrients for plants as well as toxins for plants, humans and other animals – see perchlorates on Mars.
  • Abrasiveness of soils and the fineness of soil particles – see the
    issues for the Apollo moon missions. Any abrasive particles in
    soils will have health implications and will need to be controlled so people do not develop pneumoconiosis, such silicosis, or an equivalent to coal worker's pneumoconiosis.
  • How soil particles will react with oxygen and water: gases that may be produced, oxidation of soil chemicals or minerals. There may be increased wear of mechanical moving parts.
  • The electrical conductivity of dust and how that would affect electrical and electronic equipment.
  • Hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity – whether soils like water or not, for growing plants and possible use of regolith based materials for habitat construction.

Very high localized magnetic anomalies.

Fred
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  • Solar illumination (amount, angle)

  • In what form (if any) is water present? How much is available? (Can be used to produce fuel, oxygen for rockets and breathing, irrigating crops, manufacturing, etc.)

  • How easily is the soil mined or bulldozed, to form or to cover habitats?

  • What materials can be derived from surface materials?

  • Are there dust storms, and how do they affect other parameters?

  • Are there subsurface features such as lava tubes which could be utilized as habitats or storage?

  • Many of the parameters (e.g. temperature) mentioned in the question vary with time and location. What are the largest and smallest known extremes? What is the normal seasonal variation of the parameter? How does the parameter vary with latitude and altitude?

DrSheldon
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