Colony Location and Design

Where would you establish your Martian colony? Would it be in a very flat place or near the mountains? Would it be near the equator where the weather is warmer, or nearer to the poles where there is water ice?

Here is a global map of Mars , click on a spot to zoom in.

What would a colony on Mars look like?  How big would it be? How many people and what would they do? What would be layout of the town?  Think about all the components of your hometown or city.  What are the most important elements?  Think back again to the early frontier towns of the American West.  Now think about how many people you would need to start a permanent colony on Mars. 

The list of personnel could include a captain, pilots, engineers (aeronautical, electrical, mechanical, agricultural, computer, communication, civil, and architectural), scientists (planetary and life; also astronomers, geologists, and meteorologists), medical doctors, psychologists, journalists, poets, painters, philosophers, and cooks.  The colony could include habitats, greenhouses and a central control center.  Storage tanks for water and air, garages for rovers, a communications station, windmills for power and a water purification plant complete the design.

As you begin to think about your colony design, some of the things you will need to consider include:

• Architecture
• Crew 
• Factories 
• Life Support 
• Location 
• Rovers 
• Transportation 

The Utopia Project was developed by students for the Challenger Center, a space learning center developed by NASA in coordination with science centers around the country provided guidelines and requirements for the students to complete their design:  Mars City Alpha. 

The colony model was made at a 1:30 scale and the colony included 25 colonists. there were five main units: the Control Center (CC) unit, the Controlled Environment and Life Support (CELS) unit, the Habitat Support (HS) unit, the Health and Recreation (HAR) unit, and the Science and Technology (SAT) unit. 

City Alpha

For a variety of other designs for a Mars colony check out these sites:

Red Colony.com
The Mars Society

Questions to think about:

• What are the most important five components for a Mars colony? 
• What type of money should be used on Mars, if any?