Mars terraforming not possible with current technologies

Terraforming or creating a livable environment on Mars, which would allow humans to explore without support of life, is still a wacky dream, say scientists who have found that existing technologies are unable to form a terrestrial atmosphere on the red planet. Sci-fi writers have long described terraforming, the process of creating an environment similar to Earth or inhabitant on another planet, in their stories. Scientists have themselves proposed terraforming to allow for the long-term colonization of Mars.

A solution common to both groups is to release carbon dioxide trapped in the surface of Mars to thicken the atmosphere and act as a blanket to warm the planet.

However, according to scientists at the University of Colorado, Boulder in the United States, Mars does not hold enough carbon dioxide that could practically be put back into the atmosphere to warm the planet.

Transforming the Martian hospital environment into a place that astronauts could explore without the support of life is not possible without a technology far beyond current capabilities, according to the researchers.

Although the current atmosphere of Martian itself is mainly composed of carbon dioxide, it is far too thin and cold to support liquid water, an essential ingredient for life.

On Mars, the pressure of the atmosphere is less than one percent of the pressure of the Earth's atmosphere. Any liquid water on the surface would evaporate very quickly or freeze.

Proponents of Mars terraforming propose to release gases from a variety of sources on the red planet to thicken the atmosphere and raise the temperature to the point where liquid water is stable at the surface.

These gases are called "greenhouse gases" for their ability to trap heat and warm the climate.

"Carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O) are the only greenhouse gases likely to be present on Mars in sufficient abundance to provide significant warming of greenhouses" said Bruce Jakosky of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Although studies examining the possibility of terraforming Mars have already been done, the new result benefits some 20 years of additional observations from Mars.

"These data provided substantial new information on the history of readily volatile (volatile) materials such as CO2 and H2O on the planet, the abundance of volatile matter locked up on and under the surface, and the loss of gas from the atmosphere to the space, "said Christopher Edwards of Northern Arizona University in the United States.

Researchers analyzed the abundance of carbonaceous minerals and the presence of CO2 in polar ice using Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite data from NASA and Mars Odyssey, and used data on the loss of the Martian atmosphere in the space. Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spaceship.

"Our results suggest that there is not enough CO2 remaining on Mars to provide significant warming of the greenhouse if the gas was to be put in the atmosphere," Jakosky said. .

Although Mars has significant amounts of water ice that could be used to create water vapor, previous analyzes show that water can not provide significant warming through it -even.

Temperatures do not allow enough water to persist in the form of steam without first having significant CO2 warming, according to the researchers.

Taken together, the results indicate that terraforming Mars can not be done with currently available technology. All these efforts must be very far in the future, the researchers said.