Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

nubsauce87 t1_j74fouq wrote

Would be pretty cool to see that... Too bad no one alive ever will...

84

WorldLieut8 t1_j75l273 wrote

*no one ever will

FTFY

22

Ricky_Rollin t1_j760n1k wrote

This.

It gets too close to the sun, Mars had an atmosphere, but it was stripped of it because of the sun and solar radiation.

What do we honestly think we can do that mother nature couldn’t?

−20

carly_ray_reznor t1_j768j7e wrote

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Mars is the fourth planet -- further from the sun than Earth.

There's science to part of your statement, but it's not about proximity to the sun, it's about not having a magnetosphere

33

Frostfallen t1_j76aaoq wrote

It’s not that it gets too close to the sun - it’s that it lacks a magnetic field to shield its atmosphere from the solar winds.

Earth’s magnetic field is generated by convection currents in its molten iron core - this is suggestive that the core of Mars has either cooled significantly, or has an incorrect elemental composition.

I’ve seen a number of different theoretical approaches to solving the magnetic field issue that are all capable of being developed by our current level of technology; I suspect there will be significantly more solutions with the level of technology we’ll be at when terraforming Mars becomes a serious consideration.

As for generating an atmosphere - that is a (relatively) straightforward process that doesn’t involve much more than towing some ice from the asteroid belt (to get water) and seeding the water with Cyanobacteria and some kind of heat source.

At our current level of technology it’s not science fiction. It’s simply not economically viable.

14

B16B0SS t1_j76fowr wrote

>I’ve seen a number of different theoretical approaches to solving the magnetic field issue that are all capable of being developed by our current level of technology;

what kind of resources would it take? will the Earth be depleted of what we need by the time we are able to transport ppl and equipment to Mars? I wish I would be alive when this (hopefully eventually) happen!

3

Frostfallen t1_j76r2tt wrote

The theoretical approaches I’ve seen vary quite significantly in answer to these. The one that seems most plausible to me personally (caveat: not a scientist) is basically just a satellite in near-geostationary orbit with a big electromagnet inside - the planet doesn’t need to generate its own field if we generate one to act as a shield. Of course this approach has its own shortcomings (what happens if it breaks down, for example?).

As for happening in your lifetime… that’s doubtful I’m afraid. While rebuilding an atmosphere is relatively simple it’s not relatively quick and would most likely take a couple hundred years. And that’s just the first step in terraforming - “an atmosphere” has to be turned into “ideal atmosphere”, and then the various forms of life necessary to maintain balance need to be introduced and given time to become stable.

Of course - this is all based on current technology. When it becomes a serious consideration who knows what our technological capabilities will be and how that could speed this process up?

1

B16B0SS t1_j774z0j wrote

I hope humanity can reach this milestone in the future, sounds very exciting and crazy to discover new lands, would be incredibly exciting!

1

etsatlo t1_j760yhm wrote

Took 10s of millions of years to lose it, we can regenerate faster than that

6

Obi_Vayne_Kenobi t1_j7686rk wrote

Mother nature will not place a 1 Tesla electromagnet at L1. We can do that.

3

Techutante t1_j74rq8k wrote

Sadly a lot of studies have found that Mars doesn't have enough gravity to actually hold an atmosphere.

68

[deleted] t1_j74yl4m wrote

[deleted]

67

MatrixDweller t1_j75bqyq wrote

An artificial magnetosphere is possible.

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/245369-nasa-proposes-building-artificial-magnetic-field-restore-mars-atmosphere

26

Northern-Canadian t1_j75j8du wrote

Let’s restart it.

There’s a documentary about restarting earths core called “core” /s :P

10

hazie t1_j76ih72 wrote

That film showed that it's very difficult though.

It's not easy, it's hard Core.

8

FrakkingUsername t1_j74zo1b wrote

On cosmic timelines, no. Human timelines, yes! It would slowly bleed away, but if we had the capability to fill a whole atmosphere, we could easily maintain it.

17

SuperRette t1_j754gn8 wrote

All it takes is for a collapse of society, for that infrastructure to break down and the knowledge lost, for Mars and its life to be doomed. Mars isn't the safety net we want to believe it is.

9

BIGBIRD1176 t1_j75hw0n wrote

Space sucks, even if we found another planet with the right amount of oxygen and the right temperature, we couldn't eat whats there. We'd have to bring our own food to grow and probably top soil to grow it in

Earth is our best bet, we all individually at some point in our lives accept that nothing lasts forever. Ring worlds or Orbital habitats could work, but then greed cuts in and starts cheaping out on life support systems. Earth is the best bet

14

rebeltrillionaire t1_j75sqzj wrote

I mean honestly if humans are traveling across the universe for new homes….

We have solved a couple things first:

We can store entire humans on digital mediums that last forever. We can edit humans to be adaptable to a range of environments.

It wouldn’t make sense to truly settle on other planets where things like that haven’t been solved here first. Anyone living on other planets would be more like token adventurers, not humans intent on spreading humanity.

2

hippoofdoom t1_j788dnx wrote

Of course earth is the best bet no one should argue that.

But it doesn't seem a huge leap to suppose that if there is complex life on other planets that we can eat that it is photosynthetic? Chemistry is the same building blocks right? So if other plant life is converting sunlight to glucose/other sugars and going from there, maybe it would still be digestible?

If anything it's the microbiome of other worlds I'd be most scared of, akin to what the native Americans experienced after several thousand years of relative isolation. Imagine an entire alien planet with whatever pathogens they have that we've never seen,never developed basic treatments for? Yikes.

1

DaddyCatALSO t1_j75c80p wrote

Of coruse it's not a safety net, it is a possible palce to go, which is itelf vital. Huamns need to ahev soemple else to got ot, it''s part of our nature.,a nd as Earth becoems mor euniform we need new ones

−8

AngryWWIIGrandpa t1_j75gneq wrote

Hopefully they have the medical facilities on Mars to treat strokes like the one you're currently having.

7

ThrowawayUnique1 t1_j79okh0 wrote

Or much of a magnetic field to protect the planet from radiation and solar flares as the core has already cooled off

2

Keisari_P t1_j76biwu wrote

But the rate it loses atmosphere is not that fast.

Not a perfect source, but someone on Reddit mentioned it to be around 200k years, so it could be topped up once a while.

1

icanith t1_j7520eo wrote

If you haven't played the game (Terraforming Mars), I highly recommend it, its intimidating at first, but you will get it pretty quick. If you have played Settlers, or Dominion, or similar games, you should be just fine at this game.

58

Pepsi_Cola64 t1_j757mdv wrote

I want a first person terraforming game

8

Northern-Canadian t1_j75jexz wrote

Planet crafter

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1284190/The_Planet_Crafter/

10

DeaDBangeR t1_j774l87 wrote

I still cant believe this game is made by two people.

I really like this game. It has Subnautica esq storytelling to it while you are busy terraforming the planet. Although its not quite there yet, this game has a lot of potential. Already sunk a good few hours into it.

3

Fawin86 t1_j78wsze wrote

I feel bad because they announced on imgur that they were making the game and it's exactly what I was looking for like a day or so prior. They were nice enough to send me a beta key but I never got around to trying it.

2

Stranfort t1_j77dcl1 wrote

How much realism does the game abide by in the actually theoretical terraforming process of mars? Just curious.

2

GoldenInfrared t1_j786ulv wrote

Any terraforming simulator would have to take into account the severe imbalance of CO2 compared to oxygen and water in the atmosphere and surface, so they have to stretch a lot of the physical limitations to make this possible

1

Fawin86 t1_j78x1wj wrote

Not to mention the creation of a magnetic field to help protect mars from solar blasts that would just destroy whatever atmosphere you put into it. And some sort of gravity generator to help humans live there without turning into blob people like in WALL-E.

1

GoldenInfrared t1_j78x6xy wrote

Yeah, the lack of a magnetosphere is why it lacks so much water to begin with

1

DylanHate t1_j750g41 wrote

Why do people edit these gifs to cut off the last frame? If you're showing a progressive series of images that build up to the last picture, at least leave it there for a few seconds so you can see what it is.

52

AngryWWIIGrandpa t1_j74zg88 wrote

Yeah, it looks great, until the Adeptus Mechanicum takes over...

11

Prollynotafed t1_j76av9f wrote

From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel. I aspired to the purity of the Blessed Machine. Your kind cling to your flesh, as though it will not decay and fail you. One day the crude biomass you call the temple will wither, and you will beg my kind to save you. But I am already saved, for the Machine is immortal… Even in death I serve the Omnissiah.

4

IgnorantGenius t1_j74qhox wrote

We are from Mars, though. We already destroyed it and came here.

7

Gherrely t1_j74vmww wrote

I read an incredibly fun thought game; what if the whole Adam and Eve story originated from humans destroying Mars, and coming to Earth? And their rocketship/craft was the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Far fetched, but fun

2

FourWhiteBars t1_j752hag wrote

I feel like there’s a slight gap in the timeline of this theory.

7

carly_ray_reznor t1_j78141i wrote

A little more sciencey than religiony, but one hypothesis for the first life on earth is that it was seeded from somewhere else (like a meteor/comet that crashed into it), and a chunk of mars that was thrown off the planet by a big meteor strike is a part of the hypothesis -- assuming that chunk held a little bit of Martian life. Science is weird, yo

1

Phanyxx t1_j75v0yw wrote

Has anyone tried starting the reactor?

5

AcidaliaPlanitia t1_j7551e1 wrote

It would've been nice to see an ocean on Mars...

4

goliathfasa t1_j75nhsd wrote

> Terraformars

You had one job with the title OP.

4

PILLUPIERU t1_j762ibd wrote

sad that i will never see this happening, only major thing what will happen in my lifetime is probably the planned mars flight what will happen in 2035's ish.

​

by 2100 it can already be really common tourism to fly to mars. Fucking boring life fuck my life.

4

HGMIV926 t1_j74dbbc wrote

I'm sad I'll never get to see this.

3

keener91 t1_j74p7x1 wrote

So what time-lapse are we ball parking at? 15000 years?

3

dinoroo t1_j76q1mv wrote

How long did it take for Global Warming to take off? Humans excel at this shit.

2

Sketti_n_butter t1_j75rfmy wrote

Millions of years. No ways that's happening any shorter than millions of years.

0

DisillusionedBook t1_j755aw5 wrote

There's a reason why Mars has no atmosphere. Dreams of terraforming it are dumb. It would need constant replenishment

3

evewight t1_j75awuy wrote

Imagine how much money it would cost. It's a pipe dream. The money is better spent here fixing our more terrestrial problems.

8

DisillusionedBook t1_j75cllm wrote

Yep. I'd totally be behind the challenge of going there, exploring, sciencing the shit out of it, maybe even small colony etc... a lot of the lessons learned and tech needed would be useful on Earth. But trying to make it earthlike is a waste of time, resources and money. 0.1% of the effort would probably get rid of all the excess CO2 out of our own atmosphere.

4

dinoroo t1_j76pzly wrote

But over hundreds of years. Technology would allow it.

1

DisillusionedBook t1_j77lmj3 wrote

No. Hard disagree. They could theoretically briefly make Mars more habitable with a ridiculous amount of effort over a ridiculous amount of time, effort that could instead fix our own planet, but what would be the point? Mars due to its low gravity (something that cannot be changed, and other factors) would immediately start turning back to what it currently is.

Colonise it in small habs for science sure. Like Antarctica.

−1

dinoroo t1_j77m5cc wrote

The point would be relieving the stress humanity places on Earth. Better to bring life to a dead world than continue killing the only know source of life in the Universe. Setting up on Mars, you can literally do no wrong and we do have the technology currently to allow it.

0

DisillusionedBook t1_j77nz29 wrote

I don't think all the required rocket launches and resources from earth would relieve any stress on Earth. Lol.

Look, I get how cool it would be. But the laws of physics and the reality of our still primitive technology are against it.

1

dinoroo t1_j77r7rr wrote

Thats what the Artemis Project is all about. Practice makes perfect. You can actually go ahead and trace human technological advancement right back to the Stone Age. It’s not just going to stop. Humanity will have an every growing need for energy for its growing civilization. It’s not going to get all of that on Earth.

1

dinoroo t1_j76puo3 wrote

I’m readying Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mara Trilogy and it has rekindled my interest in the colonization of Mars and brings to light not only the physical challenges of terraforming a planet but also the political challenges of humans fighting over new land, resources and ideals on another planet.

Realistically any colonization of Mars would be carried out through “paraterraforming” aka dome cities or underground cities. And that is how colonization also starts in Robinson’s novels.

People who think it can never happen or is not possible or ignoring all the trends of human history where humans constantly expand and adapt their surrounding to themselves.

3

avheuv t1_j75dloe wrote

Mars gravity is 1/3 that of Earth. That won't be changing with any terraforming.

2

cr1ter t1_j75hpl4 wrote

I say we smash it with enough asteroids to double it size, if we do it one after another maybe we can heat it up enough to get the core going again and then wait a few million years before the surface is cool again so we can continue terraforming it.

2

TheFrontierzman t1_j75o8hi wrote

Ha. Okay. We can even keep plants in our yards alive.

Let's terraform the sun too.

2

Protonic_Descendent t1_j76d2j8 wrote

Unfuck planet Earth before you even think of Mars.

2

dinoroo t1_j76q79z wrote

Being life to Mars and make Earth a planetary preserve. Can’t ruin anything on Mars. It’s already dead.

1

FalangaMKD t1_j76g6ef wrote

Teraforming Mars is an impossible idea unless we know how to create a magnetic field around it, which we never will. But i enjoy science fiction myself anyways.

2

stu54 t1_j76t3uv wrote

We know of ways to build that magnetic field, but it is pretty clear that humanity is not able to pull together and complete mega projects like that right now.

1

FalangaMKD t1_j76vssu wrote

Magnetic field on planetary scale? I mean, we do, but in theory

1

lyman_alpha_blob t1_j77ymu7 wrote

There isn't enough water on Mars

2

roc_10009 t1_j78589a wrote

No ozone layer, not enough gravity to keep an atmosphere.

2

wnfakind t1_j755plx wrote

To bad this wouldn’t happen

1

Olds77421 t1_j75p0sl wrote

"You can terraform Mars when you finish saving the planet at home."

The planet at home. 🌎🔥🌏🔥🌍🔥

1

rjolivet t1_j75y8f9 wrote

What about just not Marsaforming Earth ?

1

_AManHasNoName_ t1_j75yrd9 wrote

A unilateral wet dream. The lack of magnetosphere alone proves it is a waste of time and resources. I don’t mind sending Phony Stark there on a one way trip there though.

1

Kanelbullah t1_j763mbo wrote

It's not fully terraformed until we have poluted the hell of that planet.

1

BuckaroooBanzai t1_j7690rh wrote

Until that magnetosphere gets going again Mara is in for a bad time

1

Keisari_P t1_j76b6v5 wrote

I have an idea for terraforming both Mars AND Venus. Or atleast transform the atmospheres to be survivable for human using only respirator, without need for pressurized suit.

Premesis:

  1. Venus has too much gas (CO2). Too high pressure and greenhouse effect.
  2. Mars has too little gas. Too low atmosperic pressure, ang greenhouse effect.
  3. There is 90× as much gas in Venus that is needed in Mars. Altough maybe only just enough nitrogen for one planet for earth like atmosphere.
  4. Venus is closer to the sun, while Mars is furher away.
  5. Solar sail can be used to propel stuff away from the sun.

tecnological requirements:

  1. Space elevator; (perhaps with graphene cables)
  2. orbital manufacturing, using mainly CO2, sulphuric acid and sunlight;
  3. functional solar sail (not absolutely nesessary as Venus has enough excess gas to be used as propellant).

Steps to carry out the step 1. Build a space elevator in Venus.

step 2. Build a manufactacturing facility on top of the space elevator that runs with material sourced from the atmophere of Venus, and solar energy.

step 2.5. Use the facility to build more space elevators and orbital manufacturing facilities.

step 3. Build a massive fleet of solar sail freighters that will carry needed amounth of Venus atmosphere to Mars in solid state.

step 4. Pump atmosphere to pressurized shaded containers in the orbit, for cooling below freezing tempersture.

step 5. Send packaged athmospere towards Venus on Solar sail freighters. Part of the cargo can be used as propellant if needed, or if solar sail isn't feasible.

step 5. Reusing the freighters The freighters could be reusable by using combination of gravitational slingshot around Mars and ejection of the cargo at high velocity to gain needed thrust to get back to Venus (slow orbital speed around sun). Don't know if solar sail could be used to actually "sail" croswind, as to slow down the orbital speed around the sun. If it works, then the sail could be used to manouver the return flight. If not, it would be retracted and only deployed to adjust speed to regain orbit with Venus.

step. 6 repeat untill Mars has enough atmosphic pressure and greenhouse gasses.

step 7. perhaps create a small organic moon of the rest of the excess gas around Venus and mars for later use and topping up the atmosphere when needed.

An other idea to trap CO2 from atmosphere of Venus:

We could create billions of tons of artificial diamonds out of the atmospheric CO2 on Venus. Diamonds would not corrode from sulphuric acid rain that Venus currently experiences. Later there might be ways to trap CO2 with syntethic photosyntesis to decrease atmospheric pressure.

1

Bt5oo t1_j76bqkh wrote

We don’t deserve another planet, we’d only ruin it again.

1

dinoroo t1_j76q4w8 wrote

Better to bring life to a dead world than kill a living one.

2

Desinator24 t1_j76qas8 wrote

Pshhh. We can’t even terraform Earth.

1

soyjuice t1_j7pvwa1 wrote

Elon Musk licking his lizard lips

1

rawrc t1_j74kpug wrote

damn I didn't know that we were that far along already

0