To the contrary, I think it is quite doable, but not by changing the entire planet. Rather we must build and occupy sealed structures that permit us to live. Since it is now obvious that there are HUGE deposits of frozen water below the surface, out most important needs, water and oxygen can be taken care of. Pressuring greenhouses may not be necessary since many plants can get by overnight on stored oxygen and there is plenty of carbon dioxide for growth. I suspect that unpressurized (but heated) greenhouses will work. This covers food.
Also, there are ample mineral ores for construction of shelters, etc.
Energy can be provided by photovoltaic arrays, just so long as they are kept clean. Dust accumulation would make them useless.
So now we have oxygen, water, food, ores, energy. They constitute a very nice foundation for a colony.
Just don't try it the hard way, by transforming the entire planet, but the easy way, by doing everything indoors.
David F Mayer
Space/Science » in reply to Not necessarily
I don't see colonization of Mars as intractable.
The whole thread (45 posts)
- How would we move Mars?
- Terraforming & Electromagnetospheres
- Weird.
- There is a way....to move an entire planet
- Create a black hole just behind Mars which would slow its orbital velocity and act as a gravitational tether
- Mars has no magnetosphere
- How about Venus?
- re: How would we move Mars?
- Might not work because any atmosphere released by heat would soon be lost
- Might not be necessary
- Why bother?
- re: What about Earth, then?