Architects Designed A City For Mars - And They're Building It In The Dubai Desert

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  The idea of Martians as little green alien creatures has faded slowly into science fiction as the reality of humans moving to Mars becomes more and more viable. Now, scientists around the world are pondering the practicalities of setting up a human population on Mars. Inevitably, there are many factors to think about: it's not like moving to another country. Mars is an entirely different planet. 

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  The people at Mars Science City have already embarked on the beginning of a long and expensive journey ($135 million) to put the hypothetical questions into life by designing the prototype of a city suitable for housing people on Mars. The Bjarke Ingels Group were given the task of creating a city design, then actually building it in the Emirati desert. 

  
  

  
  

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  via CNN

  But this isn't just any old commission. The architects must consider the physical challenges that come with building a city on another planet. These challenges include humans having little protection from radiation on Mars (due to a thin temperature and no global magnetic field); extreme temperatures (Mars' average temperature is -63 degrees C or -81 degrees F); little air pressure, meaning that liquids evaporate into gas quickly; and the fact that human's blood will boil on Mars if they're unprotected. Doesn't sound fun. 

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  But the experts aren't just thinking about how humans will be able to survive on Mars; they're trying to create a city where humans will thrive. But to enable thriving, people will have to be able to live (and not die) on Mars. And the architects have come up with some clever ways to keep humans and other life alive on Mars. 

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  The Martian city will be made up of biodomes (think the giant dome in the Simpsons Movie), which will be covered with a transparent polyethylene membrane. Oxygen will be made by applying electricity to underground ice and will fill the biodomes with a comfortable temperature and air pressure.

  As the people fulfill their evolutionary roles and the population grows, the biodomes will be able to be joined into villages and eventually cities. The predominant source of power will come from solar energy, and Mars' thin atmosphere will actually help the domes maintain their temperatures. 

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  Once the biodomes have been constructed, buildings will be 3D printed from Martian soil with rooms extending 20 feet underground to ensure protection from radiation and meteors. But underground rooms doesn't mean everyone will be living in darkness. The architects working on this project are ensuring that the architecture is playful and energizing, utilizing the use of light and water windows.  

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  via CNN

  There's also a lot less gravity on Mars - about one-third of the gravity on Earth - meaning that there's a lot more room for experimenting with architecture that isn't bound by the same rules it is on Earth. This means that buildings have less pressure from their own weight, allowing them to be taller and slimmer. 

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  Although the city is still at the concept stage, the architecture firm has already figured out how they would adapt this plan for the Dubai desert. The biodomes on Earth wouldn't need to be filled with oxygen, but buildings would still be 3D printed from desert sand. The domes would still be powered by solar energy and they would be able to make use of underground rooms and water-filled skylights.

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  via CNN

  Once built, this Earthside Martian city will house research labs, an educational facility, co-working office spaces, a museum and an amphitheater. Although there's no date officially set for construction to start, we can expect it to happen in the coming years. Before we know it, we'll all be booking holidays to Mars. 

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