Terraforming Mars: How Can We Make It?

In the first part of this discussion, we talked about the origins of the concept of terraforming and the need, in the case of Mars, to start a warming process by releasing the carbon dioxide trapped in the polar ice. In this second part, we will review the methods proposed to do so, concluding with an analysis of the actual feasibility of the operation...

Another way to raise the temperature of the polar ice cap could be to sprinkle it with a black powdery substance (coal dust). This would reduce the amount of sunlight reflected by the ice caps into space and result in the consequent heating of the ice. According to a NASA study, this way the caps could be fully vaporized in a couple of centuries.
Yes, but where to find this "black powder"? Some say sending it from Phobos and Deimos, which are among the blackest bodies in the Solar System; or introducing dark extremophilic microbial life forms such as lichens, algae and bacteria. However, Mars is already the second darkest planet in the solar system, absorbing more than 70% of the incoming sunlight, so the space to darken it further is small.
And dig thousands of tons of dark regolith on Phobos and then spread it on the ice ... this too must not be a joke ...
Not to mention even crazier proposals, such as triggering nuclear reactions inside Phobos to turn it into a small star.

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Credits: Nasa/Shutterstock/Storyblocks/Elon Musk/SpaceX/ESA/ESO/ Flickr

Video Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:10 What we require
08:18 Should we do it?

#insanecuriosity #terraformingmars #mars

[InsaneCuriosity]

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[jiujiu]

Anything we do will be for naught because Mars doesn't have a magnetosphere. Without a magnetosphere the atmosphere of the planet will be blown off into space over time by the solar wind.

[lancerevell]

1: So, how to remelt and impart spin to Mars' iron core?
2: It took two billion years for bacteria to make a useable atmosphere on Earth. Gee, do this on Mars, then Man can colonize 🙄

[pcheintz]

Another series of methods that might work... all also beyond current tech admittedly...
1. Move Mars to 1.30AU and be circular orbit and on the plane of solar system with little eccentricity or inclination.
2. Move Triton to Mars as its new moon... place it close enough to both stabilize the orbit a bit and also hopefully cause a reaction to reactivate the magnetosphere
3. Bombard surface with asteroids to add chemicals to soils to both chemically alter it to be closer to earth in composition, suggest using asteroids interior to 1.81au that will leave Hungaria Belt intact and clear our space lanes of Near Earth Asteroids.
4. In addition to melting poles (possibly using Demios to heat poles as you described), transfer some of the water ices from Triton to Mars to give a similar water to land ratio as earth
5. Initially seed planet with the oxygen producing genetically modified algae and bacteria.
6. If moving Triton in as Mars new moon does not reactivate the magnetosphere, then instead construct a 4 layer Solar/Fusion powered Orbital Ring Setup with 4 rings,
- 1st level around equator
- 2nd level around N/S pole
- 3rd level perpendicular to plane of solar system
- 4th level parallel to plane of solar system with a plasma accelerator would allow for an artificial magnetosphere, I heard of a similar concept involving Phobos.

[jswong]

We can never terraform it. Elon and the Mars dreamers can stop dreaming about feasible long-term Mars colonization.

[TheRingDragon]

We can't even Terraform Earth. (We are destroying it.) We don't have enough rockets or equipment to Terraform Mars. Better still to spend the dollars on terraforming Earth, so we don't screw it up!

[drsidiyengar]

it needs to be terraformed so that we can unburden earth

[johnnyj]

And don't forget what the low gravity would do to the human body over a few generations.

[mm-dwrr]

Loving all your great topics - with well thought through content. A+ ✔

[shutup-gcyk]

Why did y'all change the narrating voice? This one is weird 😬

[mageshnatrajan]

It might take thousands of years to achieve that in Mars however I personally feel Venus should be a better dropping large volume of alkaline bomb to neutralize the acetic atmosphere maybe explore

[thureintun]

i can't find information on the species of cyanobacteria called matteia.
Can you link me to information? maybe to its parent genus or which order/family its in?
Thanks in adv IC

[MrEd-qgtd]

Leave Mars alone. I think in some subterranean Ocean there could be simple life. And we would be killing it.

[kewitt]

We can't even manage earth let alone another planet. Heat it up 20'c that's a 500 year project. With all of man heating it up.

[aaronweaver]

22 second century technology? There’s always something weird like that in these scripts…

[thureintun]

Are you referring to a bacteria under genus Nostoc by saying "matteia"?
I can't find anything named matteia XD
Nostoc is only thing i can think of that is among popular proposed organisms (esp. Nostoc commune) for Mars terraforming ideas that survives in some harsh conditions(such as desert and polar), is photosynthesized, and fix nitrogen.

[chrisw]

Mars magnetic field is too weak to sustain an atmosphere. Nice to dream though.

[julianostadlmann]

Just do a DART mission into one of Mars’ moons to crash it into the planet to kick start it.

[informatimago]

We definitely DO NOT want to do it! The area where very useful minerals are in high concentration, such as Thorium, would be submerged under one or two kilometers of water if we terraformed Mars. It's much better to leave it as it is, mine the minerals we need everywhere, and build spaceships and produce energy to exploit the Solar system thanks to its low gravity. If you want a Earth-like environment, just build domes, but preferably, underground with artificial light.

[TheRealRedAce]

We can't. And why would we want to?