Curiosity is a great gift. It forces us to seek answers to the great questions of existence. For example: if the universe dies a heat death after will grow billions and again billions (and more billions) of years? Or: what is on the other side of a black hole? Or the smell of Mars in the end.
Seriously.
This seemingly frivolous question makes sense, when it begins to work your curiosity. The atmosphere of Mars is very different from earth. Our robotic visitors to Mars have revealed an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide (96%). It would seem, and smell nothing. But the surface of Mars is also very different from earth and contains sulfur, acids, magnesium, iron and chlorine compounds. How can it smell?
Smells have a powerful effect on the memories is a well known fact. How the colonists might react to the smell, which is very different from what they are accustomed to? How will they perceive odors on return to Earth from the Mars mission? Recreating the smell of Mars for returning colonists might give interesting results.
Obviously, the colonists will breathe the Martian atmosphere. But some “smell” of Mars will definitely be present in their residential areas, most likely.
Walking on the moon, Apollo astronauts noticed that captured a bit of lunar dust with a module. Taking off helmets, they felt the smell of the moon: like spent gunpowder, wet ash or extinguished the fire. The same thing can happen on Mars, regardless of how sensitive will be the people.
The International space station smell. According to NASA astronaut don Pettit, ISS smells at the same time as the shop equipment, engine room and laboratory. But ISS is not a colony and not open to other worlds. All that the astronauts can smell inside the ISS, they can smell on Earth.
Mars is different. Not only smell, but also because it is so far. On the ISS, astronauts can look down and see the Ground everywhere. They can see their home country, a familiar geography. On Mars it would be impossible. The Martians will be in extreme isolation.
As this isolation will affect people is an interesting and important question. And odours will play a particularly important role.
Effects of social isolation are well studied. It can cause depression, insomnia, irritability, fatigue, boredom and emotional instability. At a certain point, with these problems facing each of us, but together they can lead to serious mental disorders.
Add to that the fact that the Martian colonists will not be able to see the Earth instead of the sun they are waiting for a tiny pale dot, so the psychological burden of the colonization of Mars may become even more unbearable. You will need a multifaceted approach that will help the colonists cope with all this.
Part of this may involve recreating the smell of Mars during their pre-colonization training. Thanks to the technology called Headspace, the smell of Mars can be recreated on Earth. Spectroscopic measurements of the atmosphere of Mars can be expanded here on Earth, on the components and recreate them, the smells in the laboratory.
Perhaps the smells of Mars you can use to check out how to help to impart immunity to the colonists to the dangers of Martian isolation. Who knows, maybe the smell of Mars lurk interesting revelations. Curiosity shows that this is to do.
Martian stink “treat” people on Earth
Ilya Hel