[X] My Assistant

[Rem31]

Can you walk on Mars (without) protection spacesuit? I think it is possible because it is only my thought. Is this true?

[mcaplinger]

Not currently, no. But I feel compelled to mention that in the 24-hour media blitz following the publication of "Observational Evidence for an Active Surface Reservoir of Solid Carbon Dioxide on Mars" by Malin et al, I made a remark to abcnews.com which they reported thusly:

Michael Caplinger of San Diego's Malin Space Science Systems points out that if the warming were to continue at the same rate (that's a big "if"), Mars could become a nearly inhabitable place for people within 5,000 years or so.

"Rather than wearing a spacesuit, you could get away with wearing just an oxygen mask and a thick parka," said Caplinger, who co-authored a study about the observations in this week's issue of Science. "It would be like standing on top of Everest."

--------------------

Well, OK, I said it, and the person from abcnews.com did the best job by far of reporting the story, but it wouldn't be that much like standing on Everest. If the atmospheric pressure went up 10X to, say,
60-90 millibars, that's still about 4-5 times thinner than the summit of Everest (which is at about 320 millibars.)

It's an interesting question if you could avoid skin hemorrhaging at this pressure. Would a spandex bodysuit under your parka be enough?