New Mars Forums

New item: Before the recent computer outage, you had ** just ** posted about two locations on Mars that are obvious and natural sites for evaluation for settlement.  I'm hoping you will consider developing these sites.

As we are attempting to move into a new phase of membership, we have unique capabilities that allow us to (potentially) compete with others for the kind of person who is going to be settling Mars, or working on supplies and services to support Mars settlement.

Your identification of two attractive sites could be the starting point for entire Index level Categories.

This is entirely up to you to consider. No one else is going to take on the awesome responsibility that falls to you as the Senior Administrator.

What I have in mind is creating Index level entry for specific locations on Mars.

Such an Index level might have a name like: Settlement Sites

This would be at the same level as New Mars (Mars Society) (Acheron Labs) (Infrastructure Development) (Dorsa Brevia) etc...

Inside that new Category would be forums for each site.  The three candidates to start with are:

1) Calliban's Crater
2) One of the two openings you found
3) The other opening you found.

In addition, this new Category would include fora for actual settlement sites. At some point, humans are going to land and begin work to create a settlement. We can have a Category in place to allow us to create a forum to track just that landing.

These fora would be identified by a short text name and the coordinates.

For example, Calliban's Crater Latitude Longitude

Here is an example of an image that we might provide for each location:
file.php?id=41

The crater with the label "Calliban" is the right size to hold a dome with the same diameter as the New Orleans Superbowl

For large earthmoving equipment, repair bay sizes need significant width (14-20+ ft), height (14-20+ ft for dump trucks/excavators), and length (30-80+ ft) to accommodate massive machines, allowing for ample clearance (3+ ft) around vehicles, open beds, and service pits, with standard large bay sizes often starting around 40x60 ft or larger, depending on equipment dimensions and the need to work on trailers or raised components.

Key Dimensions to Consider
Width: Aim for at least 14-20+ feet per bay, providing clearance for large tires, extended tracks, and mechanics to move around freely, preventing side collisions.
Height: Crucial for dump trucks, allowing beds to fully extend (often 20+ ft high) for hydraulic work; even larger heights (20-25+ ft) are common for heavy machinery.
Length: Must fit the longest machine plus clearance for service pits, stairs, and working space (e.g., a 25ft truck + pit/stairs needs 30-40+ ft bay length).
Clearance: Minimum 3 feet of space on all sides of the equipment and bay doors for safe operation, with more needed for pits and stairs.

Common Bay & Building Sizes
Single Bay: Large bays for massive equipment might be 20-25 ft wide, 40-60 ft long, and 14-20+ ft high.
Multi-Bay Structures: Look for buildings like 40x60 ft, 40x80 ft, or 50x100 ft for general large equipment shops, often featuring clear spans.

High-Profile Models: Steel buildings with 20+ ft center heights (e.g., 42-21 or 52-25 models) are cost-effective for dump truck hydraulics.
Factors Influencing Size

Type of Equipment: Excavators, dozers, haul trucks, and articulated loaders have vastly different footprints.
Service Needs: Do you need space for a service pit, overhead cranes, or lifts?.
Trailer Access: If you service trucks with trailers, you need bay length for both.

Recommendation: Start by measuring your largest piece of equipment (length, width, height when raised/dumped) and add at least 3 feet on all sides and ends for working clearance and doors to get your minimum bay dimensions

For 0.5 bar (half Earth's sea-level pressure) on Mars, optimal building shapes are spheres, cylinders, or parabolic arches because these curved forms efficiently handle the large internal-to-external pressure difference, converting tension forces effectively, with inflatable structures (often buried/covered in regolith) or 3D-printed concrete domes using local materials being favored for their structural integrity and radiation shielding.

Key Structural Principles:
Compression is Key: The low external pressure means internal air pressure pushes outwards significantly. Shapes that handle stress in compression (like arches and domes) are superior to flat surfaces which would buckle.

Tension Strength: Spheres and cylinders are excellent at distributing tension evenly, making them ideal for pressurized containers.

Recommended Shapes & Designs:
Cylinders/Spheres: Often proposed as metal or inflatable structures, sometimes half-buried for protection. Cylinders can be built in trenches with tension wraps.

Dome Structures: Optimized parabolic or spherical domes, potentially using In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) materials like Martian concrete, are efficient for large areas.

Inflatable Modules: Lightweight, easy to transport, and deployable, these membranes (like TransHab concepts) are inflated and then covered with regolith for shielding.

Vaults & Arches: Symmetrical parabolic arches, built from local materials, are designed to maximize compression and minimize tensile stress, creating strong, self-supporting forms.

Considerations for Martian Environments:
Radiation & Micrometeoroids: Structures need significant shielding (thick regolith, multi-layered walls) to protect against solar/cosmic radiation and impacts.

Thermal Insulation: The design must manage extreme temperature swings, often using layered materials or burying structures.

ISRU: Using Martian soil (regolith) for 3D printing or as shielding is crucial to reduce reliance on Earth imports

For Mars, engineers are designing smaller, electric, autonomous mining vehicles like NASA's IPEx (bulldozer/dump truck) for lunar use, adaptable for Mars's low gravity, focusing on In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) to build habitats from regolith (Martian soil). Concepts envision hybrid systems using small, nimble rovers with blades/buckets, powered by nuclear or solar energy, potentially building on Earth-based designs like modified excavators or even (conceptually) pressurized Cybertrucks, prioritizing efficiency and scalability over large, heavy Earth machinery.

Key Design Considerations for Mars Hauling:
Power: Diesel is out; electric motors powered by solar arrays or nuclear sources are essential.
Autonomy/Teleoperation: Vehicles will likely be self-driving or remotely operated to reduce risk to astronauts.
Size & Scale: Smaller, lighter, modular machines (like 1-5 ton excavators/dumpers) are favored for easier transport and maneuverability in low gravity, with redundancy built-in.
Functionality: Combine functions: a rover with a blade (grader/dozer) and a hopper (dump truck) for moving regolith to build roads or create radiation shielding.
Resource Utilization (ISRU): Moving regolith is key for creating "marscrete" and shielding habitats.

Examples & Concepts:
NASA's IPEx: A robotic system for lunar soil mining, combining bulldozer and dump truck functions, a blueprint for Mars.
Airbus's "Interplanetary Dump Truck": A concept for bringing Mars rocks back to Earth, focusing on sample return.
Reddit/SpaceX Concepts: Discussions suggest small, electric, autonomous rovers with excavator/loader attachments, potentially leveraging mature Earth tech like small excavators or even modified Cybertrucks for pressurized transport.
In essence, think less "big rig" and more "fleet of smart, electric robotic work vehicles" suited for low gravity and self-sufficiency

An "earth dump or hauling truck" refers to dump trucks, versatile vehicles that move loose materials like dirt, gravel, sand, and demolition waste for construction, site prep, and road building, with specific types like articulated dump trucks (ADTs) handling rough terrain and off-highway haul trucks moving massive loads in mines, all designed to efficiently transport and unload bulk materials.
Key Types & Functions

Standard Dump Trucks: Common on roads, transporting typical construction aggregates and debris over short to medium distances.
Articulated Dump Trucks (ADTs): Feature a pivot point (articulation) between the tractor and the dump body, offering excellent maneuverability and off-road capability for rugged sites.
Off-Highway/Haul Trucks: Massive, heavy-duty vehicles used in mining and large construction projects for extremely long hauls and huge payloads, often exceeding standard road limits.
Side Dumps & Transfer Dumps: Specialized designs for faster unloading or handling specific materials like asphalt.
What They Haul
Dirt, sand, gravel, crushed stone
Asphalt, concrete
Demolition debris, construction waste
Sod, brush
Where They're Used
Construction site preparation and excavation
Road building and maintenance
Mining operations (haul trucks)
Landscaping and site grading
In essence, any truck moving earth, sand, gravel, or similar bulk materials on or off-site for construction or demolition falls under the category of an earth dump or hauling truck, with the specific type chosen for the job's terrain and load size