Project Overviewand the

Planetary Conditions of Mars

Scott P. Milroy, Ph.D.USM Department of Marine Science

29-31 October 2012

Pioneering Mars:Turning the Red Planet Green

BAKERST STAN

Pioneering Mars Project Overview

Julie Cwikla, Ph.D.Professor & Director of CISSTEMUniversity of South Alabama

Scott Milroy, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Marine ScienceUniversity of Southern Mississippi

Pioneering Mars Project Overview

Pioneering Mars Project Overview

Pioneering Mars Project Overview

Pioneering Mars Project Overview

Planetary Conditions Earth-Mars Comparisons

EARTHMARS

Mean Diameter 7,926 miles4,222 miles

(53.3% Earth Diameter)

Mean Surface Gravity 9.8 m/s2 3.675 m/s2

(0.375 G)

Mean Distance to Sun 92,955,820 miles142,633,260 miles

(1.53 AU)

Mean Solar Irradiance 1350 W/m2 590 W/m2

(43.7% Earth Insolation)

Length of Year 365.25 days687 Earth days

(1.88 Earth years)

Length of Day 23.9 hours24.6 hours

Planetary Conditions Earth-Mars Comparisons

EARTHMARS

Mean Atm. Pressure 1,013 millibars 7.5 millibars

(4 – 10 millibars)

Atmospheric Composition N2 (77%) CO2 (95.3%)

O2 (21%)N2 (2.7%)

Ar (1%)Ar (1.6%)

CO2 (0.038%)O2 (0.13%)

Partial Pressure CO2: 0.38 mb CO2 7.15 mb CO2

(18.8X Earth CO2)

Surface Temperatures: -89⁰ C min (-128⁰ F) -87⁰ C min (-125⁰ F)

58⁰ C max (136⁰ F) 20⁰ C max (68 F)⁰

Planetary Conditions Earth-Mars Comparisons

Phase Diagram for WaterThe Triple Point of H2O

Phase Diagram for WaterThe Triple Point of H2O

Critical Experimental RangeTemperature: 0.1 – 8⁰ CPressure: 6.2 – 10 mbar

Why Antarctic Cyanobacteria?Picking Our Pioneers

• Can Survive Freeze/Thaw Cycles

• High Photosynthesis in Low Light

• Rapid Growth in Extreme Conditions

• Thought to be Earth’s First Terraformers