The concept of terraforming Mars—transforming its climate to support life as we understand it—has traditionally belonged to the domain of science fiction. However, emerging research suggests it’s time to consider these ideas seriously.
“Terraforming Mars was not merely difficult 30 years ago; it was impossible,” remarked Erika Debenenedictis, CEO of Pioneer Labs and lead author of The New Paper. “But advancements in technology, like SpaceX’s spacecraft and synthetic biology, now make it a tangible possibility.”
This paper delves into the intricate ethical considerations surrounding the terraforming of Mars and presents a potential framework for the path ahead.
“Advocates argue that enhancing lives is better than diminishing them, and terraforming Mars could be humanity’s first significant act of planetary management with a net positive effect on the environment,” stated Debenedictis.
Why terraform Mars?
“Living planets are superior to dead ones,” noted Edwin Kite, an associate professor at the University of Chicago. “Current data from Mars Rover indicates that Mars was once habitable, making the greening of Mars the ultimate environmental restoration challenge.”
Full-scale terraforming may span centuries, or even thousands of years, envisioning a Mars with stable bodies of liquid water, breathable oxygen, and a vibrant ecosystem. In the near term, this could mean only small colonies of microorganisms, but in the long run, we could see human cities on Mars.
Should we reach a city-like scale, it would also serve as a crucial launching point for further exploration. “As we venture into the galaxy, a base camp is essential, and habitable planets serve as these galaxy-scale base camps,” said Kite.
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Co-author Robin Wordsworth, a professor of environmental and planetary science at Harvard, points out that the terraforming debate extends beyond human colonization to the broader idea of spreading life.
“I consider humanity a part of the biosphere. Life is invaluable, and I realize it may not exist elsewhere in the universe. Thus, I feel obligated to contemplate not only how to preserve it on Earth but also to propagate it to other worlds,” he stated.
What about Earth?
Supporters argue that the discourse around terraforming Mars is not limited to extraterrestrial aspirations; it also addresses climate and sustainability challenges we face on Earth.
Nina Lanza, a planetary scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and co-author of the paper, believes Mars serves as the prime testing ground for planetary engineering.
“Gaining insights on how to modify Earth’s environment and maintain a suitable habitat for ourselves and other organisms could be better achieved through experimentation on Mars, thereby determining, ‘Does this approach work?’” she suggested. “I personally prefer a more cautious approach with our home planet—this is the only place we can call home.”
There are significant technical lessons to acquire as well.
“Often, the development and implementation of green technology on Earth falters when it competes against dirtier alternatives that benefit from long-standing infrastructure and steady profits,” Debenedictis observed. “Mars is a unique market with no oil or existing infrastructure. Therefore, developing green technology for space serves as a powerful strategy to be utilized on Earth.”
Why not terraform Mars?
However, some scientists caution that when contemplating terraforming, one should heed lessons from “Jurassic Park”: we must ask, “Should we proceed?”
“Deciding to terraform Mars entails making irreversible changes,” Lanza warned. “Mars is a planet with its history; by terraforming, we risk losing the chance to study its past and may forfeit knowledge about its formation and evolution.”
Crucially, we might even obliterate any potential evidence of ancient Martian life.
“Altering Mars’s environment will inevitably change its surface and subsurface chemistry. We can’t be certain about the implications—it is intricate, but it is a significant risk,” she noted.
How to Terraform Mars
Influencing Mars’s climate involves significant changes to facilitate the survival of oxygen-producing microorganisms and the presence of liquid water. While the requisite technologies for terraforming are not yet fully developed, the authors propose a three-stage approach.
Initially, scientists would employ abiotic climate engineering techniques—such as using reflective solar panels, dispersing nanoparticles, and installing aerogel tiles—to increase the temperature by 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), melting ice to release trapped carbon dioxide. This would thicken Mars’s atmosphere and potentially support stable liquid water.
In the second phase, resilient microorganisms (likely anaerobic and genetically modified) that can thrive in Mars’s harsh conditions would kickstart ecological succession, producing oxygen and organic matter that gradually alter the planet’s chemistry.
The third and most extended phase would focus on developing complex biospheres, enhancing atmospheric pressure and oxygen levels to eventually sustain more advanced flora and allow humans to breathe unassisted for an extended period.
Next Steps
The study’s authors concur that if terraforming Mars is feasible, a multifaceted approach is essential.
“To ascertain how to make other worlds habitable, we need to incorporate insights from various fields—physics, chemistry, materials science, and biology—to thoroughly comprehend the costs and benefits, which can only be appropriately evaluated through a mix of theory and experimentation,” Kite stated.
We must continue our investigations on Mars. Lanza advocates for the Mars Sample Return Mission, a cooperative effort by NASA and the European Space Agency to retrieve samples collected by rovers on the Red Planet.
“These samples are meticulously documented and analyzed by our best capabilities regarding Mars,” she noted. “We must bring them back to answer fundamental questions: What is Mars composed of? Are there any signs of life?”
Furthermore, through ongoing exploration of the Red Planet, we can start implementing terraforming concepts.
“Upcoming missions to Mars in 2028 or 2031 should incorporate small-scale experiments testing terraforming strategies, like localized warming,” Debenedictis suggested.
Additionally, continual innovation in technologies will facilitate the future terraforming of Mars.
All of this aims for a future where Mars can undergo complete terraforming, but the decision-making process needs to begin now.
“This is how we transition from imagination and ideas to reality that could fundamentally alter our world,” Lanza concluded. “We must persistently engage in scientific exploration. It’s all about transformation.”
This article was originally published Space.com.
Source: www.livescience.com