Everything Everywhere Daily Terraforming Mars
Oct 23, 2024
The dream of human colonization of Mars faces immense challenges. Its thin atmosphere and low gravity make habitation tricky. Various innovative strategies are proposed, from using frozen carbon dioxide to advanced biotech like genetically engineered algae. Extreme measures like nuclear detonations and orbital mirrors are also debated. The historical context speaks of Mars once supporting liquid water, raising hopes for a terraformed future, but environmental health on Earth remains a crucial priority in this grand endeavor.
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Terraforming Explained
- Terraforming means changing a celestial body's atmosphere, temperature, and ecology to be Earth-like for human habitation.
- It's currently theoretical and explored mostly in science fiction and by theorists like Carl Sagan.
Mars Atmosphere Challenges
- Mars has an extremely thin atmosphere, less than 1% of Earth's pressure, mostly carbon dioxide.
- This thin atmosphere prevents liquid water from existing and requires pressure suits for humans on Mars.
Raising Martian Atmospheric Pressure
- Melting frozen CO2 in Mars' southern polar cap could double atmospheric pressure to about 60 kilopascals.
- This pressure is still low compared to Earth's 101 kilopascals but comparable to Mount Everest's summit.