Terraforming of MarsThe terraforming of Mars or the terraformation of Mars is a hypothetical procedure that would consist of a planetary engineering project or concurrent projects, with the goal to transform Mars from a planet hostile to terrestrial life to one that can sustainably host humans and other lifeforms free of protection or mediation. The process would involve the modification of the planet's extant climate, atmosphere, and surface through a variety of resource-intensive initiatives, and the installation of a novel ecological system or systems.
Locomotion in spaceLocomotion in space includes all actions or methods used to move one's body in microgravity conditions through the outer space environment. Locomotion in these conditions is different from locomotion in a gravitational field. There are many factors that contribute to these differences, and they are crucial when researching long-term survival of humans in space. Humans have evolved in a 1-G environment and are therefore accustomed to Earth's standard atmospheric conditions, and the microgravity environment of space can have huge effects on the human body and its locomotion.
Suffering risksSuffering risks, known as s-risks for short, are future events with the potential capacity to produce a huge amount of suffering. These events may generate more suffering than has ever existed on Earth, in the entirety of its existence. In contrast to existential risks, suffering risks don't necessarily involve death.
MoonbaseA moonbase is a facility on or below the surface of the Moon, enabling human activity on the Moon. As such, it is different from a lunar space station in orbit around the Moon, like the planned Lunar Gateway of the Artemis program. Moonbases can be for robotic or human use, in both cases not necessarily including lunar habitation facilities. A base might be a step towards colonization. Missions to the Moon have so far realized only temporary single-mission bases, (Tranquility Base being the first), as well as some small permanent installations.
Climate of MarsThe climate of Mars has been a topic of scientific curiosity for centuries, in part because it is the only terrestrial planet whose surface can be directly observed in detail from the Earth with help from a telescope. Although Mars is smaller than the Earth, 11% of Earth's mass, and 50% farther from the Sun than the Earth, its climate has important similarities, such as the presence of polar ice caps, seasonal changes and observable weather patterns. It has attracted sustained study from planetologists and climatologists.
Artificial gravityArtificial gravity is the creation of an inertial force that mimics the effects of a gravitational force, usually by rotation. Artificial gravity, or rotational gravity, is thus the appearance of a centrifugal force in a rotating frame of reference (the transmission of centripetal acceleration via normal force in the non-rotating frame of reference), as opposed to the force experienced in linear acceleration, which by the equivalence principle is indistinguishable from gravity.
Earth analogAn Earth analog, also called an Earth analogue, Earth twin, or second Earth, is a planet or moon with environmental conditions similar to those found on Earth. The term Earth-like planet is also used, but this term may refer to any terrestrial planet. The possibility is of particular interest to astrobiologists and astronomers under reasoning that the more similar a planet is to Earth, the more likely it is to be capable of sustaining complex extraterrestrial life.
SettlerA settler is a person who has immigrated to an area and established a permanent residence there. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settlers are generally from a sedentary culture, as opposed to nomadic peoples who may move settlements seasonally, within traditional territories. Settlement sometimes relies on dispossession of already established populations within the contested area, and can be a very violent process.
TerraformingTerraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make it habitable for humans to live on. The concept of terraforming developed from both science fiction and actual science. Carl Sagan, an astronomer, proposed the planetary engineering of Venus in 1961, which is considered one of the first accounts of the concept.
Asteroid miningAsteroid mining is the hypothetical extraction of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of spaceflight, unreliable identification of asteroids which are suitable for mining, and the challenges of extracting usable material in a space environment. Asteroid sample return research missions, such as Hayabusa, Hayabusa2, and in-progress OSIRIS-REx illustrate the challenges of collecting ore from space using current technology.
