Naturally Star Trek style terraforming is off in the far future (if at all), but I wonder if we're not too far away already from some more humble projects... A

Naturally Star Trek style terraforming is off in the far future (if at all), but I wonder if we're not too far away already from some more humble projects... A genetically modified lichen, or fungus, that was designed as a stepping stone towards a better Martian biome, and a launch setup to seed them effectively isn't too far outside the bounds of present day work with genetics, and present day launch & deployment systems. It's far less sexy, but a multi-generation approach to terraforming could yield a usable Mars without too much magic...