Martin Beech, PhD is Professor Emeritus at the University of Regina, and Campion College, Saskatchewan, Canada. He has conducted and published research in the many areas of astronomy, planetary science, and the history of science. His main astronomy research interests are in the area of small solar system bodies (asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and meteorites).

Professor J. Seckbach, PhD is a retired senior academician at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He earned his PhD from the University of Chicago and did a post-doctorate in the Division of Biology at Caltech, in Pasadena, CA. He served at Louisiana State University (LSU), Baton Rouge, LA, USA, as the first selected Chair for the Louisiana Sea Grant and Technology transfer. Professor Joseph Seckbach has edited over 40 scientific books and authored about 140 scientific articles.

Richard Gordon, PhD is a theoretical biologist and retired from the Department of Radiology, University of Manitoba in 2011. Presently at Gulf Specimen Marine Lab & Aquarium, Panacea, Florida and Adjunct Professor, C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth & Development, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit Michigan. Interest in exobiology (now astrobiology) dates from 1960s undergraduate work on organic matter in the Orgueil meteorite with Edward Anders. Has published critical reviews of panspermia and the history of discoveries of life in meteorites.

Preface xv

Part 1: Introduction 1

1 Terraforming and Colonizing Mars 3

Giancarlo Genta

1.1 Introduction 3

1.2 Earth: A Terraformed Planet 4

1.3 Planetary Environments 6

1.4 Terraforming Mars 10

1.5 The Role of Solar Wind 15

1.6 Ethical Aspects 16

1.7 Venus, Moon, Titan... 19

References 21

Part 2: Engineering Mars 23

2 Terraforming Worlds: Humans Playing Games of Gods 25

Nilo Serpa and Richard Cathcart

Early Mars 26

Oceans Here and There 28

The Mars We are Creating Here 30

Mars: An Arena of Delusions? 34

References 35

3 Mars, A Stepping-Stone World, Macro-Engineered 37

Richard B. Cathcart

3.1 Introduction 37

3.2 Mars-Crust as Kinetic Architecture 38

3.3 A Crust-Infrastructure Mixture 39

3.4 Infrastructure and Life-Styles 40

3.5 Atmosphere Enhancements for Mars 44

3.6 Between Then and Now 46

Acknowledgments 48

References 48

4 Efficient Martian Settlement with the Mars Terraformer Transfer (MATT) and the Omaha Trail 51

Gary Stewart

4.1 Introduction 51

4.2 Construction Efficiencies of MATT's Small-Scale Terraformation 52

4.2.1 Impact Terraformation for Settlement 52

4.2.2 Impactor Redirection with DE-STARLITE 55

4.2.3 Subaqueous Hab Network at Omaha Crater 57

4.3 Provisioning Efficiencies of the Omaha Trail 61

4.3.1 Deimos Dock 63

4.3.2 Mars Lift 64

4.3.3 Arestation 66

4.3.4 Deimos Rail Launcher (DRL) 66

4.4 Cosmic Ray Protection: From Omaha Trail to Omaha Shield 67

4.5 Conclusion 68

References 69

5 Mars Colonization: Beyond Getting There 73

Igor Levchenko, Shuyan Xu, Stéphane Mazouffre, Michael Keidar and Kateryna Bazaka

5.1 Mars Colonization - Do We Need it? 73

5.2 Legal Considerations 78

5.2.1 Do Earth Laws Apply To Mars Colonists? 78

5.2.2 Sovereignty 79

5.2.3 Human Rights 80

5.2.4 Abortion 82

5.3 Ethical Considerations 83

5.3.1 General 83

5.3.2 Human Reproduction - Ethical Considerations 84

5.3.3 Social Isolation and No Privacy - Rolled into One 85

5.3.4 Advocacy for Mars - is it Ethical at All to Colonize it? 86

5.4 Consideration of Resources 88

5.5 Quo Vadis, the Only Civilization We Know? 89

5.6 Afterword. Where are We Three Years Later? 89

5.6.1 Current Programs and Their Status - in Brief 89

5.6.2 Any News About Mars? 90

5.6.3 Tasks and Challenges 90

Acknowledgements 92

References 92

Part 3: Ethical Exploration 99

6 The Ethics of Terraforming: A Critical Survey of Six Arguments 101

Ian Stoner

6.1 Introduction 101

6.2 Audience and Method 102

6.3 Preservationist Arguments 103

6.3.1 We Should Preserve Mars's Value as a Unique Object of Scientific Interest 103

6.3.2 We Should Preserve the Integrity of the Martian Wilderness 104

6.3.3 We Should Avoid Expressing Colonialist Vices 106

6.4 Interventionist Arguments 108

6.4.1 We Should Fulfill our Inborn Nature as Pioneers 108

6.4.2 We Should Increase Our Species' Chance of Long-Term Survival 109

6.4.3 We Should Rehabilitate Mars for Martians 112

6.5 Conclusion 113

Acknowledgments 114

References 114

7 Homo Reductio Eco-Nihilism and Human Colonization of Other Worlds 117

Kelly Smith

7.1 Introduction 117

7.2 Implicit Assumptions 119

7.3 Conclusion 121

Acknowledgements 122

References 122

8 Ethical, Political and Legal Challenges Relating to Colonizing and Terraforming Mars 123

Konrad Szocik

8.1 Introduction 123

8.2 Ethical Issues in Colonizing and Terraforming Mars 124

8.3 Ethics of Human Enhancement for Space 125

8.4 Environmental Ethics in Space 125

8.5 Political Issues in Colonizing and Terraforming Mars 127

8.6 Legal Issues in Colonizing and Terraforming Mars 128

8.7 Sexual and Reproductive Laws in a Mars Colony 129

8.8 Migration Law in Space 130

8.9 Why Terraforming Mars May Be Necessary from Ethical, Political and Legal Perspectives 132

8.10 Conclusions 133

References 133

Part 4: Indigenous Life on Mars 135

9 Life on Mars: Past, Present, and Future 137

Martin Beech and Mark Comte

9.1 A Very Brief Historical Introduction 137

9.2 Indigenous Life: Past and Present 141

9.2.1 Beginnings 145

9.2.2 The Viking Experiments 148

9.2.3 Martian Meteorites 149

9.2.4 In Plain Sight 151

9.3 Seeded Life: The Future 154

9.4 Per Aspera ad Astra 156

References 157

10 Terraforming on Early Mars? 161

M. Polgári, I. Gyollai and Sz. Bérczi

10.1 Introduction 162

10.1.1 Aspects of Biogenicity 163

10.1.2 Methodology 163

10.1.3 Multihierarchical System Analyses 164

10.2 Outline of Section 10.2 167

10.2.1 Review of Research on Martian Life 167

10.2.2 Biosignatures in Martian Meteorites Based on Mineralogical and Textural Investigation 169

10.2.3 Biosignatures in Chondritic Meteorites 169

10.2.3.1 Interpretations 175

10.2.3.2 Clay Formation 182

10.2.3.3 Interpretation No. 1 183

10.2.3.4 Interpretation No. 2 (Preferred) 183

10.2.4 Terrestrial Analogues of Biosignatures 186

10.2.5 Implications to Terraforming of Ancient Life on Mars on the Basis of Terrestrial and Meteoritic Analogues 199

10.3 Novel Interpretation of the Formation Process Based on Mineral Assemblages 265

10.3.1 Martian Meteorites 265

10.3.2 Interpretation of Mineral Assemblages on Mars 265

10.3.3 Novel Interpretation of Mineral Dataset of Exploration of Curiosity in Gale Crater 267

10.4 Conclusion 268

Acknowledgment 270

References 270

Part 5: Living on Mars 281

11 Omaha Field - A Magnetostatic Cosmic Radiation Shield for a Crewed Mars Facility 283

Gary Stewart

11.1 Introduction 283

11.2 Methods 284

11.2.1 Software 284

11.2.2 Testing 284

11.3 Design 284

11.3.1 Crater 284

11.3.2 Current 285

11.3.3 Circuits 287

11.4 Results 288

11.4.1 Shielding Against 500 MeV Protons 288

11.4.2 Shielding Against 1 GeV Protons 289

11.4.3 Shielding Effectiveness in the Mars Environment 290

11.5 Discussion 291

11.5.1 Electrostatics 291

11.5.2 Refrigeration 291

11.5.3 Self-Shielding Solenoids 292

11.5.4 Alternate Self-Shielding and Source-Shielding 293

11.5.5 Safety in Transit Across Crater Rim 294

11.5.6 Safety in Spacecraft Launch and Landing 295

References 295

12 Mars Future Settlements: Active Radiation Shielding and Design Criteria About Habitats and Infrastructures 297

Marco Peroni

12.1 Introduction 297

12.2 The Problem of Cosmic Radiations 298

12.3 The Protection System with Artificial Magnetic Fields 299

12.4 Details of Our Proposal 302

12.5 Further Developments 309

12.6 Modular Settlement on Mars 309

Acknowledgments 312

References 312

13 Crop Growth and Viability of Seeds on Mars and Moon Soil Simulants 313

G.W.W. Wamelink, J.Y. Frissel, W.H.J. Krijnen and M.R. Verwoert

13.1 Introduction 313

13.2 Materials and Methods 314

13.2.1 Regoliths 314

13.2.2 Species Selection 315

13.2.3 Organic Matter and Bacteria 316

13.2.4 Experimental Design 317

13.2.5 Harvest and Measurements 317

13.3 Results 318

13.3.1 Fruit Setting and Biomass 318

13.3.2 Seed Weight and Germination 318

13.4 Discussion 319

13.5 Outlook Issues for the Future 320

Acknowledgements 322

References 322

Appendix 324

14 The First Settlement of Mars 331

Chris Hajduk

14.1 Introduction 331

14.2 Colony Location 332

14.3 Colony Timeline 333

14.3.1 Setup Phase 333

14.3.2 Investment Phase 334

14.3.3 Self-Sufficiency 335

14.4 Colony Design 335

14.5 The Basics - Power, Air, Water, Food 336

14.5.1 Food 336

14.5.2 Water 339

14.5.3 Air 341

14.5.4 Power 342

14.6 The Material World 343

14.6.1 Metals 344

14.6.2 Plastics 344

14.6.3 Ceramics and Composites 344

14.6.4 Mining 344

14.7 Exports, Economics, Investment and Cash Flow 346

14.7.1 Interplanetary Real Estate 346

14.7.2 Intellectual Property Export 347

14.7.3 Research Tourism 347

14.7.4 Investment and Cash Flow 347

14.8 Politics - A Socialist's World 349

14.9 Conclusion and Further Thoughts 349

References 349

Part 6: In Situ Resources 353

15 Vulcanism on Mars 355

Ian M. Coulson

15.1 Introduction 355

15.2 Martian Geology 356

15.2.1 Mars: Creation and Thermal Evolution 357

15.2.2 The Martian Crust 358

15.3 Vulcanism 358

15.3.1 Types of Volcanoes 359

15.3.1.1 Earth 359

15.3.1.2 Mars 361

15.3.2 Recognition of Other Styles of Vulcanism 363

15.3.3 Martian Meteorites 364

15.3.4 Is Mars Still Volcanically Active? 366

References 367

16 Potential Impact-Related Mineral Resources on Mars 371

Jake R. Crandall, Justin Filiberto and Sally L. Potter-McIntyre

Introduction 371