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If metallic dust from burnt up satellites can affect the magnetosphere on earth, could we do the same to create a magnetosphere on mars?
by JohnCClarke 3y ago
If metallic dust from burnt up satellites can affect the magnetosphere on earth, could we do the same to create a magnetosphere on mars?
- actionfromafar 3y agoNASA has a rough plan for that. Apparently it's surprisingly "simple", if one can say that about doing industrial construction on another planet.
- okokwhatever 3y agommm... interesting. But wouldn't be a problem for rockets to land there if metallic dust is used to generate the shield?
- wongarsu 3y agoIn principle it might do something if they mostly turn into charged particles, but it's unlikely to amount to much. It only takes a bit of conductive metal to influence a magnetic field. Creating one of significant scale is much more difficult, and requires more specific circumstances than the metal being merely conductive.
- kwhitefoot 3y agoNot really. Mars doesn't have an active magnetic core. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_field_of_Mars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_field_of_Mars
- FeepingCreature 3y agoAiui, you don't actually need a magnetosphere to get many of the beneficial effects on atmospheric retention, you just need the bit that's directly between you and the sun. Apparently that's a lot easier.