What about fuel cells? You can get energy from chemicals without burning it. Also anything that can move a magnet could technically create electricity. Geothermal temperature differences should be possible as well. I mean they are not good solutions im just saying once your on a planet there are possible options.
Mars (Planet)
This is a place to discuss everything about the planet Mars.
- scientific research
- settlement plans & discussions
Art, community discussion & scientific data are all welcome.
Related communities:
The real issue with Mars is the gravity well. You either need to chuck a fuckton of asteroids at it to make it about 3 times bigger, or invent a way to make a tiny black hole, and stabilize it at the center of Mars to have enough gravity that humans can really live there.
Venus is almost the exact same size as Earth and just needs some water to create oceans, and cyanobactera to deal with all that pesky methane and CO2
Edit: sorry, just realized what comm this is.
"nuclear" only works if it's steady-state
Why is that?
And what about using supercritical CO2 turbines w/ nuclear power?
steady-state devices have no moving parts and are therefore very low-maintenance, which means they last very long without needing repair. and repair is difficult on mars.
why not wind on bodies with atmosphere?
wind is really weak on mars. this has to do with mars' really thin atmosphere of around 6 mbar (0.006 times the thickness on Earth). If wind moves on mars with the same velocity that a hurricane moves on earth, it's barely strong enough to lift a sheet of paper! (source: i read that a while ago).
the reason why mars can have dust storms is only because the dust particles are extremely small and light-weight. but certainly the winds are never strong enough to actually move a heavy rotary blade of a wind turbine.
The biggest plot hole* in The Martian. Though Andy Weir acknowledges this and it made for a dramatic scene.
*other plot hole: Mars regolith is extremely toxic and using it to grow potatoes (the poop was added to it) would kill the eater.
astronaut on bicycle genny
