Terraforming Definition and 19 Threads

There are several possible goals related to terraforming Mars. In the short term, Earthling visitors will need to stay indoors or venture out only in pressure suits. But there would be enormous convenience and safety benefits in raising the Martian atmospheric surface pressure from it current...

I find this video absolutely amazing, and have watched it over a dozen times now. It helps if you can use the spacebar to pause it and read the text, and arrow keys to back up 5 seconds. - This is NOT phone friendly! Big monitor and 1440p recommended. So two different questions for...

What are NASA's or any other space agency's current plans at terraforming Mars? I know we have a sequence of rover missions lined up, but are they aimed at anywhere? Before heading to college, I came to the conclusion that Mars ultimately lacked provenance because it had oddly shaped moons...

In an ebook I read recently, the author has a future society construct a shell around Ceres consisting of transparent orbital panels that are joined together into a solid sphere. They are made from a smart material of some kind, referred to as "Smart Diamond" that allows in sunlight but blocks...

I am in the process of writing a book, or at least attempting to, and I would like feedback regarding a couple of aspects of what I am writing about, such as your opinion how long until these technologies exist (or if they ever can or not,) difficulties needing to be overcome, etc., or if you...

Hi! I'm doing a research project titled "Is it possible to colonise Mars?" I'm currently researching how to raise the temperature and pressure - and I've discovered to do this that re-directing asteroids towards Mars containing Ammonia would be vital. However, where do these asteroids that...

Hi, Do you think there is any feasibility at all to terraform Mars be crashing Europa into it? Of course, you have the near impossible task of knocking Europa out of Jupiter's orbit and guiding into Mars without ruining its orbit...but if it worked maybe this would give Mars the extra mass...

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...

I thought a bit about the prospect of terraforming other worlds starting with the ones closest to us, Mars and Venus. Personally even though I don't mind the hype over Mars, I prefer thinking of Venus as the main target for terraforming. it's just a lot more tempting. for example: It's surface...

Dear PF Forum, Why nobody ever thinks of terraforming Venus? Many propose Mars, even as far as Europa (not the continent!) or Titan. Mars has very little atmosphere compared to Earth. Titan has thick atmosphere but too cold. I once read that Carl Sagan proposed the idea by spreading bacterias in...

According to this website, it might be possible, by blasting off layers and leaving the rocky cores, turning them into rocky planets like the Earth, instead of the gas planets that they are now. http://terraforming.wikia.com/wiki/Uranus http://terraforming.wikia.com/wiki/Neptune

Hi, I'm working on a commissioned story, the basic jist of it is aliens colonize earth, begin a lengthy process of terraforming it to fit their toxic homeworld atmosphere. I read somewhere chlorine is the most viable alternative to oxygen in terms of energy production and it's fairly common in...

could it be possible to use sf6 (sulfur hexafluoride) + photosynthetic bactera + hydrogen to transform mars's atmosphere into a breathable atmosphere that is also warm enough for survival? If somone could produce ozone efficiently, would it be possible to create some kind of radiation shield on...

Hi. So what'ya think? I've always been fascinated by this! The main problems are: Temperature Air Pressure Air composition Very weak magnetosphere The temperature and air-pressure problems are linked and could be solved by a heating up the planet. Any good ideas? But, the main obstacle is...

So now that the Phoenix Land has all but confirmed to us that there's plenty of water on Mars, this will then spark increased interest in colonizing it. So the main obstacles to Mars being habitable are: 1) Low atmospheric pressure 2) Low temperature 3) poisonous atmosphere 4) absence/scarcity...

I've always wondered if Venus, which has many similarities to the Earth, would have had an Earth like habitat if/when it was further away from the sun like the Earth is. I also don't know if or how orbits and day length are affected by distance from the sun as well. On the assumption that Mars...

a great posibility for a planet to spread life to is ganymede. i mean, its got the basics for life; water oxygen and light ( not that much for days are are about 3.2 Earth days). the only problem is its darn cold and its atmosphere is so dense that for a human it would be like brathing on top...

Mars is likely to be the first planet that we might decide to terraforum. Problems with Mars is its low atmosphere and cold temperatures. I have seen many strange concepts for terraforuming Mars. Like nuking Mars (not a good idea) to building factories to pump out green house gases...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/news/story/0,12976,1179710,00.html personally, i think we need to wait until we have a more conclusive look at what current life there is (if any) on Mars and then decide if this is an ethical idea...even then, it may be absolutely impracticle...