B Could anything heat back up the core of Mars?

[Isopod]

My understanding of why Mars lost its atmosphere was because it cooled down too much internally and that when this happened, the planet lost its magnetic field that helped protect it from solar winds (which then ended up stripping away the planets atmosphere). Is there anything that people could engineer to restart a planets magnetic field so that it could sustain an atmosphere once more again?

 

[Vanadium 50]

Where would you get the energy?

 

[PeroK]

I suggest you send an email to Elon Musk. He might have some ideas!

 

[Hornbein]

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My understanding of why Mars lost its atmosphere was because it cooled down too much internally and that when this happened, the planet lost its magnetic field that helped protect it from solar winds (which then ended up stripping away the planets atmosphere). Is there anything that people could engineer to restart a planets magnetic field so that it could sustain an atmosphere once more again?

In order to have a magnetic field like Earth a planet has to have a liquid core. Melting the core of Mars would be quite a chore. A Dyson sphere might gather enough energy. But then you would have to wait a long time for the surface of Mars to cool down enough to be habitable.

A more feasible way would be a collision with a big heavenly body, like one of Jupiter's moons. That generates a great deal of heat.

 

[anorlunda]

A more feasible way would be a collision with a big heavenly body, like one of Jupiter's moons. That generates a great deal of heat.

Yes, that's a good way to do it.

Moving it to orbit Jupiter in a Trojan point of Io might be another.

But if you're talking about methods within the reach of mankind, no.

 

[Bandersnatch]

But then again, you don't need to worry about the lack of a magnetic field, if you already have the capability to create a breathable atmosphere within sensible timescales (decades? centuries?).
The loss of the atmosphere is a slow process, taking millions of years. It won't be of significant concern to the terraforming civilisation in the same way as wind erosion or plate tectonics don't prevent anyone from building houses.

 

[ohwilleke]

View attachment 299024

My understanding of why Mars lost its atmosphere was because it cooled down too much internally and that when this happened, the planet lost its magnetic field that helped protect it from solar winds (which then ended up stripping away the planets atmosphere). Is there anything that people could engineer to restart a planets magnetic field so that it could sustain an atmosphere once more again?

The second law of thermodynamics will be fighting you kicking and screaming. So, basically, no, not without some far, far future science fiction or fantasy technology.

 

[Isopod]

Where would you get the energy?

Nuclear fusion?

In order to have a magnetic field like Earth a planet has to have a liquid core. Melting the core of Mars would be quite a chore. A Dyson sphere might gather enough energy. But then you would have to wait a long time for the surface of Mars to cool down enough to be habitable.

A more feasible way would be a collision with a big heavenly body, like one of Jupiter's moons. That generates a great deal of heat.

I'm going to read up on Dyson Sphere's now, thank you :D

But then again, you don't need to worry about the lack of a magnetic field, if you already have the capability to create a breathable atmosphere within sensible timescales (decades? centuries?).
The loss of the atmosphere is a slow process, taking millions of years. It won't be of significant concern to the terraforming civilisation in the same way as wind erosion or plate tectonics don't prevent anyone from building houses.

How do people know that the loss of Mars atmosphere took millions of years and is there anything that people could do to slow down the loss of a man-made atmosphere?

 

[Klystron]

is there anything that people could do to slow down the loss of a man-made atmosphere?

Live under semi-transparent domes that admit EM wavelengths beneficial to humans but inhibit damaging items. Domes keep out poisonous gases, dust and harmful radiation. Domes also allow isolating plants and crops from industry, industry from human animal habitats, help maintain correct partial pressures of gas, that is, an atmosphere, and can be polarized to simulate night and day.

Polarized glass technology exists, consists mainly of sand with a few improvements, non-toxic and relatively inexpensive and non-invasive. Domes scale and interconnect easily and support or incorporate solar electricity production. Domes effectively roof natural cave systems. Tessellated panels combine to create larger structures as needed. Small domes easily fit within large, providing necessary redundancy.

English dome derives from Latin domus, home.

 

[Bandersnatch]

How do people know that the loss of Mars atmosphere took millions of years

The papers I've seen attempt to account for all known physical processes that remove/add gasses over time, which give you the estimated rate of loss for any assumed initial atmosphere.