Terraforming Mars: Possibility or Pipe Dream?

In summary, the conversation discusses the possibility of terraforming Mars and the ethical, practical, and scientific issues involved. The feasibility of using algae to produce oxygen on Mars is also discussed, with calculations estimating that it would take approximately 1.2 years to produce enough oxygen to create a breathable atmosphere. However, the process of oxygenating the Earth's atmosphere took over 1 billion years, raising doubts about the feasibility of terraforming Mars in a humanly reasonable time scale. The conversation also touches on the importance of maintaining our own ecosystem before attempting to create one on another planet.
  • #1
juanitosguitar
1
0
Hey guys, I am doing a project for two of my classes, technical writing and Unifying Concepts in Physics. I am researching the feasibility of terraforming Mars to present for my final presentation. I need to present some quantitative data by putting out a survey, so here are two questions I'd like to ask:

1. Do you think it is possible to terraform Mars?

2. If so, what method would you propose to do so?

I'd appreciate any help y'all can give me. I look forward to reading your responses in search for new ideas.
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
  • #2
Have you discussed whether or not this is an appropriate topic with your tutor? The terraforming of a planet is an incredibly speculative mega-mega-project, how does it relate to "Unifying Concepts"?

Also if this is a technical writing assignment then surveys asking people if X is possible isn't the best dataset for a physics paper. Hard data detailing the geological, climatic and ecological differences between the worlds and the quantity of resources needed to decrease that disparity would seem more appropriate. Have you been told you specifically need a survey?
 
  • #4
Whenever discussions of terraforming come up, I like to point out that it took over 1 billion years to oxygenate the Earth's atmosphere. Imagine the Earth's oceans full of green algae cranking out oxygen as fast as they can, and it still took a billion years. When you ask if it is possible to terraform Mars, how long are you willing to wait.? A billion years? No? OK, let's speed it up by a factor of 1000. A million years? Still too long? Generating a planetary quantity of a gas like oxygen in a humanly reasonable time scale looks all but impossible.
 
  • Like
Likes 1oldman2 and berkeman
  • #5
The algae didn't have "creating an oxygen atmosphere" as goal. They produced some oxygen as by-product. Terraforming would design bacteria to release as much oxygen as possible, a completely different situation.
 
  • #6
mfb said:
The algae didn't have "creating an oxygen atmosphere" as goal. They produced some oxygen as by-product. Terraforming would design bacteria to release as much oxygen as possible, a completely different situation.

Sure. But if you wanted to do it in, say 1000 years, you would have to design algae that were 1 million times better at producing oxygen. This seems very unlikely.
 
  • #7
phyzguy said:
Sure. But if you wanted to do it in, say 1000 years, you would have to design algae that were 1 million times better at producing oxygen. This seems very unlikely.
We produce insulin in E.coli, a bacterium with a natural insulin production rate of exactly zero. The increase rate is undefined.

The algae did not have any evolutionary advantage from emitting oxygen - "better" does not make sense in that context. Oxygen was simply a waste product.
 
  • #8
A great place to start in leaning to teraform Mars would be to learn to maintain the system we have. As long as we cannot even maintain a working eco system how in the world could we ever expect to create one?
 
  • Like
Likes 1oldman2 and berkeman
  • #9
mfb said:
We produce insulin in E.coli, a bacterium with a natural insulin production rate of exactly zero. The increase rate is undefined.

Even an infinite oxygen production rate could be insufficient. Is there enough water on Mars to produce the required amount of oxygen for a breathable atmosphere? If not, than photosynthesis is no option at all.

[edit]I just answered the question by myself: With 5770 kg/m² oxygen in Mars the O2 partial pressure would be the same as on Earth. The bioproduction of this amount of oxygen would require at least 3250 kg/m² water. According to current estimations there are 11000 kg/m² water available on the surface of Mars. That means it could work in principle (assuming we have the required organisms).[/edit]
 
Last edited:
  • #10
phyzguy said:
Whenever discussions of terraforming come up, I like to point out that it took over 1 billion years to oxygenate the Earth's atmosphere. Imagine the Earth's oceans full of green algae cranking out oxygen as fast as they can, and it still took a billion years. When you ask if it is possible to terraform Mars, how long are you willing to wait.? A billion years? No? OK, let's speed it up by a factor of 1000. A million years? Still too long? Generating a planetary quantity of a gas like oxygen in a humanly reasonable time scale looks all but impossible.
Sounds like this also includes the origin of life and evolution of the organisms that generated the oxygen.
Without the initial steps it could be much faster.
 
  • #11
BillTre said:
Sounds like this also includes the origin of life and evolution of the organisms that generated the oxygen.
Without the initial steps it could be much faster.

I don't think so. Even after the appearance of photosynthesizing organisms, it took several billion years for oxygen to accumulate to current levels. See this wiki article. I'm sure it could be sped up with engineering and so on, I just doubt it could be sped up enough to happen on a human time scale of hundreds to thousands of years.
 
  • #12
OK.
Seems filling the oxygen sinks took a while before the atmosphere was much affected.
 
  • #13
Like the oceans?

Rough estimate: Splitting water to oxygen and hydrogen (which is not what algae do, but I don't care about a factor 2 here) need 16 kJ per gram H2O, or 18 kJ per gram of O2. This old paper has algae that can use ~10% of the input light for oxygen production (table 2).

Total sunlight hitting Mars is 20 PW, if we can use it fully for algae we get 22 million tons of oxygen per second. 5770 kg/m² multiplied by the surface area of Mars is 8.3*1014 tons. At the calculated rate, we need ...

... 1.2 years.

We don't have a method to cover the whole surface in a thick layer of algae and the surface will absorb some oxygen, but the 10% of the 1969 paper is certainly not the best possible result, and no plan wants to be done in 1.2 years.

Edit: http://nautil.us/issue/43/heroes/make-mars-great-again from a planetary scientist with a 100-year estimate for temperature and a bit more for oxygen.
 
Last edited:
  • #14
Closed pending moderation
 
  • #15
Well, it looks like this 1-post newbie was looking for help cheating on his homework and we obliged. Doh! Thread will remain closed.
 

1. What is terraforming Mars?

Terraforming Mars is the process of altering the environment of Mars to make it more habitable for human life. This could include increasing the planet's temperature, creating an atmosphere, and providing a sustainable source of water.

2. Is terraforming Mars possible?

While there are many proposed methods for terraforming Mars, the process is still largely theoretical and has not been tested on a large scale. It would require significant resources, technology, and time to successfully terraform Mars, making it a challenging and complex task.

3. Why do we want to terraform Mars?

Terraforming Mars has been proposed as a potential solution to the challenges of overpopulation and resource depletion on Earth. It could also serve as a backup plan in case of a catastrophic event on Earth that threatens human survival.

4. What are some proposed methods for terraforming Mars?

Some proposed methods include releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to increase the planet's temperature, melting the polar ice caps to release water, and introducing genetically modified plants to produce oxygen. Other ideas include building large mirrors in space to reflect sunlight onto the planet and using nuclear bombs to create underground habitats.

5. What are the potential challenges and risks of terraforming Mars?

Terraforming Mars would be a massive and expensive undertaking, with potential risks and consequences. Some challenges include the harsh environment on Mars, the lack of a magnetic field to protect from solar radiation, and the ethical implications of altering another planet's ecosystem. There is also a risk of introducing harmful bacteria or disrupting the delicate balance of the planet's environment. Additionally, the long-term effects of terraforming on Mars are unknown and could have unintended consequences.

Similar threads

Stargazing Join the occult (Dec. 7th/8th, Moon will occult Mars.)
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
2
Views
1K
Can UV Light be the Key to Changing Venus' Atmosphere?
    • Science Fiction and Fantasy Media
Replies
6
Views
2K
I Travel from Mars to Earth question......
    • Classical Physics
Replies
10
Views
1K
Can the Moon sustain an atmosphere after terraforming?
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
5
Views
7K
A Is Detecting Distant Asteroids/NEOs from the ISS Possible?
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
8
Views
2K
Effect of time dilation on a satellite
    • Sci-Fi Writing and World Building
Replies
32
Views
4K
Spaceship concepts from The Dream Machines
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
1
Views
4K
NASA [NASA] Cosmological projects instead of space exploration
    • Aerospace Engineering
Replies
2
Views
2K
I The use of 3D reconstruction techniques to build a galaxy model
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
4
Views
2K
Writing: Input Wanted Any food-stuffs good for decades with totally non-metallic packaging?
    • Sci-Fi Writing and World Building
Replies
11
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top