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While many researchers have imagined ways to use Mars's carbon dioxide to terraform the planet and make it habitable, a new study suggests that the red planet does not have a single source. just does not have enough carbon dioxide to be possible.
Source: NASA
Could we make Mars similar to Earth? No existing technologies, suggests a new article
Mars has existed for many years as a "planet B" full of hope – a secondary option if the Earth can no longer support us as a species. From science fiction stories to scientific investigations, humans have long considered the possibilities of living on Mars. An essential element of many concepts of Martian colonization is terraformation – a hypothetical process of changing conditions on a planet to make it habitable for life on Earth, including humans, without the need for vital support systems.
According to a new document, with existing technologies, Terra terraforming is simply not possible. According to authors Bruce Jakosky, a global scientist and principal investigator for NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission studying the Martian atmosphere, and Christopher Edwards, an badistant professor of global science at Northern Arizona University, he is simply not possible to terraform Mars with current technologies. [Shell-Worlds: How Humanity Could Terraform Small Planets (Infographic)]
The illustration of this artist shows the polar cap of Mars in early spring in the southern hemisphere. According to a new study, Mars' polar ice caps contain a significant amount of carbon dioxide but not enough to terraform the planet. Credit: Ron Miller / Arizona State University
To successfully make Mars look like Earth, we should increase temperatures, keep the water stably in liquid form and thicken the atmosphere. In this article, Jakosky and Edwards explained that by using the greenhouse gases already present on Mars, we could, theoretically, raise temperatures and change the atmosphere enough to make the Earth similar to Earth. . The only greenhouse gas on the red planet that is plentiful enough to provide significant warming is carbon dioxide (CO2), they noted. Unfortunately, they found, there is simply not enough CO2 on Mars to make the planet similar to Earth.
On Mars, CO2 is present in rocks and polar ice caps. Jakosky and Edwards have used data from various rovers and spacecraft observing and studying Mars for the last 20 years to essentially make an inventory of the planet's stored CO2.
They have documented all Mars surface and subsurface CO2 reservoirs and how much gas exists and could be put in the atmosphere of the planet to change it. However, while there is significant CO2 on Mars, there is only enough CO2 available to triple the atmospheric pressure of Mars, noted Jakosky and Edwards. To successfully terraform Mars, the atmosphere should be high enough for humans to walk around without space suits. But if tripling the atmospheric pressure of the red planet might seem like a lot, it's only one-fiftieth of the CO2 needed to make the atmosphere habitable to the creatures of the Earth.
In addition, the amount of accessible CO2 would increase the planet's temperature by less than 18 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). And since temperatures on Mars are averaging minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 60 degrees Celsius), with winter temperatures low enough for CO2 to condense in the ice, that would not make enough difference, according to the authors. # 39; study. Moreover, even though there was more CO2 on Mars, most of them would be very difficult to access, and it would take a lot of effort to release this gas into the atmosphere. 39 atmosphere of the planet, according to the newspaper. For example, CO2 could be released from polar ice by detonating it directly with explosives – a preferred option by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk – or by using explosives to raise dust in the atmosphere. According to the paper, they absorb solar energy
There are a number of suggested and theorized methods for humans to access and release CO2 on Mars. But many of them would be very difficult, and as Jakosky and Edwards discovered, it would still not be enough CO2 to terraform the planet. Jakosky and Edwards both told Space.com that future technologies may be able to find an alternative solution to terraform the red planet. However, "with the current technology, we simply do not see that there are viable options," Edwards said.
Mars was the "obvious" choice of terraforming for many years. "Mars is the closest and easiest planet to access, and it is the only planet that can be described as having a climate where we could rise to the surface today. and work there, "Jakosky told Space.com. The attractiveness of Mars terraforming is perhaps also a part of mythology: there has been a lot of science fiction written on Mars, Edwards adds, but future technologies may allow humanity to change Mars in an impossible way today. "I think our efforts are better spent to make sure the Earth keeps its environment pleasant," said Jakosky.
The journal was published today (July 30) in the journal Nature Astronomy. 19659005] Send an email to Chelsea Gohd at [email protected] or follow her @chelsea_gohd . Follow us @Spacedotcom Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com.
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