Life on Mars will become a reality already in 2040 — with complete comfort, access to food and the Internet. The European Space Agency (ESA) presented a concept of the future that has a very real technical basis. In 15 years, people can settle in special domes on Mars, which will provide them with food, energy and security without dependence on Earth. About this informs Daily Mail.
According to ESA’s plan, autonomous “space oases” — white domes with intelligent protection against radiation and meteorites — should appear by 2040. They will be able to live, work, grow vegetables and use the interplanetary Internet. It is planned to grow potatoes, rice, tomatoes and mushrooms. Water will be extracted from a subsurface glacier located at a depth of more than 3 km — its reserves would be enough to cover Mars with a nine-meter layer of water.
ESA plans to use 3D printing and materials from meteorites and space debris to build stations and satellites. Space infrastructure will be created directly in orbit, on the Moon or on Mars itself. Artificial intelligence will control critical processes autonomously, without constant intervention from Earth.
It is planned to create a “space internet” – a network of satellites and devices that will provide communication throughout the solar system. ESA is also promoting the concept of a circular economy in space — using waste and debris from past missions to create new infrastructure that will reduce the need for supplies from Earth.
According to the results of the Mars Express mission, reserves of ice up to two miles thick have been discovered under the Martian equator, which could become a critical resource for colonists. Melted ice is able to provide the planet with a three-meter layer of water. Thus, in the 2040s, ESA predicts the emergence of autonomous, high-tech life on Mars, in orbit, and on other planets in the Solar System, where humans will adapt to new environmental conditions.
