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Bringing ourselves to terraform another planet will be very easy -- the one who pushes the button will be one who hasn't looked at the planet long enough to be

by milcron 10y ago

Bringing ourselves to terraform another planet will be very easy -- the one who pushes the button will be one who hasn't looked at the planet long enough to be attached to it.

treve 10y ago
Sounds a bit like the death penalty.
intended 10y ago
Isn't it already common knowledge that Mars cant be terraformed? No magnetosphere, cold core too iirc (and thats related to the moons being tidally locked.
- hawski 10y ago
  It was speculated that it is possible to create magnetosphere, by creating giant magnet :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars#Protecting_the_atmosphere https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars#Protectin...
  - intended 10y ago
    I am chagrined by the impoverishment of my imagination. Thanks, in more ways than one.
- zamalek 10y ago
  Hear-say: although the magnetosphere is a problem, it's supposedly possible to out-pace it because the original atmosphere loss occurred over millions/billions of years.
- nl 10y ago
  Oh my! I'd say that judgement is a bit premature. We are talking about a planet-scale engineering project; something that is millions of times the scale of anything that has been attempted. We have only d 13 landing on it, and only something 70 space craft have travelled to Mars or beyond[1]. We have only just found traces of water there, and who knows what else is available (or not). We have never even attempted to terraform anything, and the closest we've come has been maybe things like desert control programs. And yet it is supposed to be common knowledge that "it can't be done"? Sure, that is likely to be true, but the idea that we already know the specific things that will stop us seems unlikely. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_probes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_probes
  - intended 10y ago
    Don't mistake me. I love the idea of terraforming Mars, to the point of spending a lot of time understanding the challenges to achieving success. Conceptually there is always tech which we are yet to discover, but that just pushes the conversation into hand wavy territory, and discussing the details is always more fun. The simplest plans are to start a runaway green house effect, in order to warm the planet up. That alone requires signficant but potentially achievable feats of engineering. But as I remember, the unsolved issue remains in maintaining a stable atmosphere, one which isnt sheared away by solar wind. This is why the tidal locking issue is the problem. The core is solid on Mars, and the idea of spinning up a planet to rotate puts us beyond space elevator tech and nearing solar engineering levels of ambition. As someone else suggested, there's the idea of having a super conducting magnet on the equator to create the field. That's still below solar engineering, but a feat of such magnitude that underground habs win out as an option for the foreseeable future.
    - BurningFrog 10y ago
      > But as I remember, the unsolved issue remains in maintaining a stable atmosphere, one which isnt sheared away by solar wind. Yeah, any atmosphere you give Mars will evaporate over some millions of years. The obvious workaround is to regenerate it at the same rate. Much like a tire you need to reinflate it now and then. Humanity will also probably figure out some better tech during the next million years, but even if not, this should work.
    - snewk 10y ago
      > The simplest plans are to start a runaway green house effect, in order to warm the planet up. Hey, something we are already good at! To add some substance to this comment, why wouldnt we just try to terraform earth first?

by milcron 10y ago

Bringing ourselves to terraform another planet will be very easy -- the one who pushes the button will be one who hasn't looked at the planet long enough to be attached to it.

treve 10y ago

Sounds a bit like the death penalty.

intended 10y ago

Isn't it already common knowledge that Mars cant be terraformed? No magnetosphere, cold core too iirc (and thats related to the moons being tidally locked.

hawski 10y ago
It was speculated that it is possible to create magnetosphere, by creating giant magnet :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars#Protecting_the_atmosphere https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars#Protectin...
- intended 10y ago
  I am chagrined by the impoverishment of my imagination. Thanks, in more ways than one.
zamalek 10y ago
Hear-say: although the magnetosphere is a problem, it's supposedly possible to out-pace it because the original atmosphere loss occurred over millions/billions of years.
nl 10y ago
Oh my! I'd say that judgement is a bit premature. We are talking about a planet-scale engineering project; something that is millions of times the scale of anything that has been attempted. We have only d 13 landing on it, and only something 70 space craft have travelled to Mars or beyond[1]. We have only just found traces of water there, and who knows what else is available (or not). We have never even attempted to terraform anything, and the closest we've come has been maybe things like desert control programs. And yet it is supposed to be common knowledge that "it can't be done"? Sure, that is likely to be true, but the idea that we already know the specific things that will stop us seems unlikely. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_probes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_probes
- intended 10y ago
  Don't mistake me. I love the idea of terraforming Mars, to the point of spending a lot of time understanding the challenges to achieving success. Conceptually there is always tech which we are yet to discover, but that just pushes the conversation into hand wavy territory, and discussing the details is always more fun. The simplest plans are to start a runaway green house effect, in order to warm the planet up. That alone requires signficant but potentially achievable feats of engineering. But as I remember, the unsolved issue remains in maintaining a stable atmosphere, one which isnt sheared away by solar wind. This is why the tidal locking issue is the problem. The core is solid on Mars, and the idea of spinning up a planet to rotate puts us beyond space elevator tech and nearing solar engineering levels of ambition. As someone else suggested, there's the idea of having a super conducting magnet on the equator to create the field. That's still below solar engineering, but a feat of such magnitude that underground habs win out as an option for the foreseeable future.
  - BurningFrog 10y ago
    > But as I remember, the unsolved issue remains in maintaining a stable atmosphere, one which isnt sheared away by solar wind. Yeah, any atmosphere you give Mars will evaporate over some millions of years. The obvious workaround is to regenerate it at the same rate. Much like a tire you need to reinflate it now and then. Humanity will also probably figure out some better tech during the next million years, but even if not, this should work.
  - snewk 10y ago
    > The simplest plans are to start a runaway green house effect, in order to warm the planet up. Hey, something we are already good at! To add some substance to this comment, why wouldnt we just try to terraform earth first?