It has been several years, multiple scientists are talking about terraforming mars to make it hospitable. This is part of human race’s vision to become multiplanetary species someday in the future. Elon Musk is one of the people who wants to put people on mars within a decade, however, the initial human presence on Mars will not need terraforming it. Before Mars is terraformed, the people who visit the mars can live in big doms, self sustained ecosystems where plants are making enough oxygen for humans and animals and same is true the other way round. However, even some artificial life support systems, which can support few initial people on mars.
However, ultimately if the people have to move to mars and start new life there, terraforming the mars will be necessary. After that people will be able to live and breath on mars like on earth, will be able freely move on planet and breath while being anywhere.
What does terraforming mean
Terraforming means to geoengineer a planet in a way, so that the conditions on it can be permanently changed. For example if a planet’s atmosphere does not have enough oxygen, taking steps to increase oxygen level, then regulating the temperature and taking other actions so it can be hospitable. It will be called terraforming it. Here a planet is being terraformed to make it hospitable for humans by making it like earth.
More about terraforming Mars
Actually, mars have very thin atmosphere. The thickness of mars atmosphere is only 1% of earth atmosphere. Second problem is, mars atmosphere have Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in huge concentration with no oxygen. Another problem which makes the Mars inhospitable is that Mars have very low temperature.
Now one would think, Mars do have Carbon Dioxide, which is greenhouse gas, so it should help the Mars trapping the heat and making it warm. The issue here is that the atmosphere of Mars is too thin, so the level or density of atmosphere is not enough to trap any heat. Any heat coming from the sun is bounced back to the space.
Good thing is, like earth mars have polar ice caps. Also scientists have found the evidence that once on mars the liquid water have flown. But if we see today, all that water is vanished. It is believed that all that water is present on mars but it is not on surface, may be slightly below surface, also it has been frozen.
How to terraform Mars
According to many scientists including Neil Degrasse tyson influential people like Elon Musk agree on one thing, the first step will be to melt the polar ice caps and also heat up the water which is frozen and trapped below the mars surface. This way same water after turning into gases after heating up will not only thicken the atmosphere but will also be source of oxygen and hydrogen.
Also according to Neil Degrasse Tyson, same water vapor will help trapping the heat to further heat up the planet mars. However, according to him, if all the ice on the poles of mars is turned into gases, it is still not enough to properly heat up the mars.
For heating up the mars, we can go to the suggestion of famous billionaire with many startups like SpaceX, tesla, PayPal previously, the boring company, solar home and much more, yes you heard it right, Elon Musk it is. So in an interview elon said there are two ways to melt the solar ice caps, one is slow and other one is fast. When the anchor asked about the fast way, Elon replied, we can blast huge nuclear weapons on solar ice caps of mars to turn it to gasses quickly.
However, other way which Elon had suggested was to have solar sails or satellites around the mars which focus the heat energy coming from the sun to the polar ice caps in order to melt them.
In a youtube video on same topic, Neil Degrasse Tyson once mentioned that once the solar ice is melt and someway we have further thickened the atmosphere, even temperature is maintained. Humans will still not be able to breath, as the polar ice mostly on the mars is composed of Carbon Dioxide.
In this regard Neil Degrasse Tyson suggests the infestation of microorganisms which beath carbon dioxide and exhale the Oxygen. Plants also do that but in start mars surface may not support plants. So according to Neil such organism, mentioned above, are cyanobacteria, which changed everything on earth. Same can be done on mars via them or even some other microorganism which works even faster.
Here in this article we may have just touched the topic of terraforming mars, there could be many other better ways, which are even to be suggested yet. Hamans still need to figure this out.
Why Terraforming mars
Well, if the humans have to be multiplanetary species, Mars is obvious first choice beyond earth. It have similar size as of earth. We know once liquid water flown on mars. Also its distance from sun is also similar as of earth, by that i mean is, it not in too hot zone neither too cold. The day length on mars is also very similar to earth, it is about one day 37 additional minutes. Also it is tilted around its axis, means seaons can exist on mars. For mars however the solar year will consist of 687 days, as its further away from the sun, so it needs bit more time in completing full circle around the sun. This means mars will have have longer seasons as compared to what we have on earth.
In solar system other planets are either too much closer to sun, which means they are too hot or they are too much further away, means they are too cold, with very less possibility of being cured using geoengineering.
Why it is important for humans to be multiplanetary species
Well, history of Planet earth have very valuable lessons for us humans. Many species lived on earth but than vanished. Once dinosaurs, which roamed the earth were gone extinct after a giant meteorite hit the earth and wreaked havoc on the planet.
Today, NASA tracks extraordinary quantities of big objects under its near earth objects program. These are the objects which are some time several kilometers in diameter. Also NASA have not yet been able to track all such objects there could be many which could head to earth on any given day. Earth have had such close calls in near past.
Even if we can track all such objects, there could be other threats which may wipe out the humans. Covid-19 showed us how a disease can get out of control, a more deadly disease can result in catastrophic consequences for human beings. Or we may face other threats which we could have never thought of.
So for the long term survival, we will need to leave earth, colonise other planets, terraform the planets as we continue the journey. Ultimate goal would be to leave the solar system, spread into the milky way galaxy and every go further.
But let us not get carried away too much with this, first steps need to be taken first, which includes searching for and working towards the second home for human beings, beyond the planet earth.
Work in this regard is already happening. Elon Musk via his SpaceX organization test a rocketship which will be able to transport hundreds to mars in one round trip. He have vision to put people on mars within a decade and build an ecosystem their for survival.
On same time NASA is progressing with its Artemis moon missions, where they want to establish the long-term human presence on moon. In this regard Artemis I mission have already been performed successfully in which NASA’s Orion Spacecraft launched on a rocket, it reached the moon, circled it in an orbit and then came back. Now NASA is preparing to launch Artemis II mission, which will be crewed mission to moon, spanning 10 days. NASA is scheduled for the announcement of astronauts for Artemis II mission as early as in beginning of April 2023.