Terraforming Mars

1
Terraforming Mars

• Wohoo, Star Trek!

2
What is involved?

• Terraforming process
• Time
• Cost
• Colonization
• Worth the effort?
• Future interaction with space

3
Terraforming Process What needs to be changed?

• Temperature
• Pressure
• Oxygen
• Water
• Radiation

4
Terraforming Process Temperature

• Currently -60C limitations must be 0 - 30C
• Introduction of Greenhouse Gases
• Orbiting Mirrors (solar sail) melting southern
  polar cap releasing CO2 (total melt of polar cap
  results in 70 degree C increase)
• Anaerobic micro-organisms
• (bacteria take in CO2 spit out O2 and methane or
  ammonia)
• In situ factories (pump out greenhouse gases from
  air and soil)
• Decrease albedo (dust or plants)

5
Terraforming Process Pressure

• currently 1 Earths sea level - 8 millibars
  (pressure suits required)
• Directly related to temperature
• increased by thickening the atmosphere
• CO2 from all of South polar cap and the regolith
  give pressure of 300millibars (1/3 Earth sea
  level)
• Greenhouse effect could give a atmospheric
  pressure of one-eighth to twice that of Earths

6
Terraforming Process Oxygen

• Currently 95 carbon dioxide
• (Oxygen masks necessary)
• Photosynthetic plants (CO2 - O2)
• Genetic engineering
• Timing (require some O2, water)
• Photosynthetic micro-organisms (CO2 - O2)
• Few tough bacterial species
• Timing

7
Terraforming Process Water

• Evidence of liquid water in past, though none
  present today
• Heating of the planet should release much water
• northern polar cap
• regolith
• groundwater reserves

8
Terraforming Process Radiation

• Once the atmosphere has been thickened there will
  be sufficient protection from radiation
• UV
• Solar Flares
• Cosmic Rays

9
Terraforming Methods initial steps

• Green house effect! Must raise the surface temp
  by at least 4 degrees to start a run away.
• in-situ industry greenhouse gases (CFCs or PFCs
  perfluorides) but requires in situ building and
  energy! - solar or nuclear
• Reducing albedo dust/plants
• Double sun! (mirrors raise temp 5k - s. pole
  evaporation)
• The run away would completely evaporate the S.
  Polar cap in about a decade

10
How long will it take?Decades to millions of
years

• Greenhouse
• centuries
• Pressure and Temp
• few decades to centuries
• Plants to decrease albedo
• 100 - 10,000 yrs
• O2 (photosynthesis)
• several centuries to 100,000 yrs
• Melting of South polar cap
• decade

11
Cost issues

• Will become more financially feasible as...
• Technology increases
• Better ideas
• More efficient methods
• Interest increases
• Government and public support
• More knowledge accumulated
• Better accuracy
• More controlled greenhouse
• Better prediction of results

12
Colonization!

• Once the pressure and temperature on Mars has
  been altered by the terraforming process, it will
  be much easier for large numbers of explorers to
  move to Mars to start a colony. Once dome-like
  residential structures have been made, plants can
  be grown that will produce acceptable oxygen
  levels in these enclosed areas. Since planet
  wide oxygen levels will take a longer time to
  arrive at Earth-like levels, colonists will
  require O2 masks for outdoor excursions.
• Unless we wait until technology has advanced quit
  a bit, Martian colonies would be on their own to
  construct a comfortable living environment -
  minimal interaction with Earth
• Safety
• Long term effects of a different environment
• Government
• Ecopoiesis (creating a biosphere)

13
Future in Space!

• The act of terraforming Mars will automatically
  increase our interaction with the rest of space.
  New ideas will have to be explored as we choose
  the best process of terraforming. Technology
  advancements specifically geared towards the
  terraforming project will be used for other
  exploration projects. If we attempt to terraform
  Mars, it will either be a total flop (discourage
  or motivate) or will work nicely (motivate and
  concentrate our focus).