The Surprising Ways Mars is Hostile to Life

Missing MANY other reasons why Mars is inhospitable. The lack of gravity would lead to anatomy changes which would include limbs and heart; humans were evolved to work in Earth gravity so who knows what long term effects will occurs on Mars? What we do know is that fetal development in zero gravity most likely won't work. It appears gravity is needed for proper organ placement and tissue development. So while Mars' .38G MAY be enough for fetal development... we won't know until we try (hopefully with animals first). Next up we have bacteria and viruses to worry about. Humans are walking ecosystems containing tens of thousands of different bacteria and viruses. We live in balance with these organisms because they've evolved with us. But creating a reproduction of this ecosystem may be hard to achieve; also mutation rates would likely be increased by radiation exposure. What we do know is that keeping the ISS clean and healthy has proven quite problematic because the ecosystem is so hard to balance. Mars lacks not only a magnetosphere but also a ozone layer; this combined with the thin atmosphere contributes to making radiation a major issue. Coupled to that, the sun periodically flares; potentially wreaking havoc on a Martian colony. A word about radiation. The processors on the various martian probes are antiquated by comparison to those in household use today. The reason, again, is radiation. Think 1980's technology! So when you arrive on Mars you will be taking a massive technology backstep.