MARS RESEARCH

Color psychology is the study of hues as a determinant of human behavior .   Color influences human perception, preference, and psychology but also perceptions that are not obvious, such as the taste of food. Colors have qualities that can cause certain emotions in people. Although color associations can vary contextually between cultures, color preference is to be relatively uniform across gender and race. Despite the general lack of research in this area, researchers and experts have made a few important discoveries and observations about the psychology of color and the effect it has on moods, feelings, and behaviors. The way color affects our mental and emotional constitution dates to the ancient Egyptians who studied the effects of color on mood and used them to accomplish holistic benefits. For example, red was thought to increase circulation, orange to increase energy, and blue to soothe pain. The development of modern psychology also expanded the study of color, whi

Water on Mars We now believe there to be an abundance of water in subsurface and exposed ice in the higher and lower latitudes. Site selection was determined by a multitude of parameters, including balancing access to a shallow ice table from the surface (within 20cm-1m), with temperatures that remain below freezing throughout the Martian year. MAP OF WATER CONCENTRATIO, data from the 2001 mars odyssey gamma ray spectrometer Why water? Water's unique absorption spectrum absorbs high energy short wavelength radiation making it an effective radiation shield. At the same time it allows light in the visible spectrum to pass through creating a unique daylit interior. Using the Physics of Phase Change The key to harvesting and using water on Mars is understanding its it's phase change in different pressures and temperatures.  Water ice is found beneath the subsurface of many of the northern latitudes of Mars. We're not sure how far down, but

“When designing skyscrapers on Earth we have to think about the impact of earthquakes, hurricanes, wind and gravity, but when designing a habitat on Mars they are not driving factors for design. Instead, it’s all about the huge temperature differences between night and day, which threaten to shrink or expand the building fabric, and the internal air pressure, which is greater than the thin atmosphere and threatens to expand the envelope. The physics is the same on other planets, but it plays out very differently.” - Jeffrey Montes, Space architect, AI’s SpaceFactory TEMPORARY VS. PERMANENT HABITATION Long term permanent habitats require much more volume (i.e. greenhouse) and thick shielding to minimize the annual dose of radiation received. This type of habitat is too large and heavy to be sent to Mars, and must be constructed making use of some local resource. Possibilities include covering structures with ice or soil, excavating subterranean spaces or sealing the ends of an