Should Mars be terraformed?

[Hum]

^ Radiation is not 'minor', Neo.

And I quoted above, from the 'experts' themselves. ;)

I'm all for going to Mars -- but you can't simply ignore the details to pull it off.

[DocM]

Correct. The mitigation strategies I posted are possible and necessary because the danger is very real. All the more reason to get started flight testing them ASAP.

[Wolfbane]

My 2c. I think we need to worry about,

* Solve today's power crisis

* Solve today's food crisis

* Solve issues with many incurable deceases

* Reach to moon effeciently

Then we should talk about reaching to Mars and terraforming it.

1) Nuclear

3) Yes, I would tend to agree that death is incurable. I would have to disagree that there are too many deaths however, because our population is not decreasing, rather the opposite is happening. /takes-bad-spelling-literally-cos-it's-rude-to-correct-according-to-some-members

[DocM]

Latest UN report says the world population will peak in 2060-2070 then begin a slow decline.

[neoadorable]

For the record I don't believe radiation in deep space is much more of a concern than a bird knocking out your jet aircraft. This fear is a result of not having done enough space travel. I reiterate the comparisons I made

before - its our there be dragons.

[kaffra]

Creating the atmosphere shouldn?t be too much of a problem technically but at a big cost & time.

But keeping the atmosphere there would be difficult as the is no magnetosphere to protect against the sun.

there are alot of research in studying earths core and models being built, maybe in a few decades there is a better undserstanding.

[Guest seanseany]

So what exactly gives us the right to destroy another planet and then turn it into something that suits us ? Yes terraforming will destroy Mars as it is now, you cannot argue with that.

Last time i checked no one owns any planets . So what happens if life is found to be present on Mars ? I don't mean little green men , maybe something as simple as bacteria based organisms. Do we really have a right to do as we wish in the universe ?

I'm all up for exploration and the hunt for answers that may be beneficial to mankind but personally i think we should sort out this planets problems first.

Edit : Typo

[neoadorable]

Sean, the thing of it is you will never solve this worlds problems completely, and the longer we remain a one-world society the more severe will these problems become and the more they will be joined by new problems. Your best bet in resolving issues like poverty is new wealth and employment. Space can bring about a new industrial-scientific revolution, imagine the good that will do.

As for what gives us the right to change Mars, I agree there's some moral issue there. I'm not for terraforming, but just settling there will cause enough of a change. I believe we have the right because we were chosen, by evolution or a higher power, your choice. Asking what right do we have is healthy but redundant, its like asking what right we have to breathe oxygen. We should be grateful for the things we have, but we also have a right to them by virtue of our existence.

[Wolfbane]

So what exactly gives us the right to destroy another planet and then turn it into something that suits us ? Yes terraforming will destroy Mars as it is now, you cannot argue with that.

Mars as it is now is a barren piece of rock.

Last time i checked no one owns any planets .

Good point, that's a good reason why we can do whatever we wish with other planets - nobody owns them, and nobody is harmed by us using them.

So what happens if life is found to be present on Mars ? I don't mean little green men , maybe something as simple as bacteria based organisms.

Even if there were bacteria on Mars, there's bacteria on Earth too, and nobody cares about accidentally killing them (and for good reason, they're bacteria). Are you seriously suggesting bacteria can own a planet?

Do we really have a right to do as we wish in the universe ?

It's sad really - all successful species' exploit their environment, but humans are the only species (or rather certain members of the species) to feel guilty about it.

I'm all up for exploration and the hunt for answers that may be beneficial to mankind but personally i think we should sort out this planets problems first.

Sure, who needs progress, it's better to **** around essentially bashing our heads against a wall, rather than develop.

[ShareShiz]

What we need to do is send some algae to mars to try to create and atmosphere and ****. However, we will end up failing. Then to figure out why we failed we will send humans there just to say WTF happened. On the way down on Mars we will encounter a problem and a few people will die. You will soon run out of oxygen, you decide what the hell I'm good as dead, ill just take off my mask. Surprise surprise, you can breath. Ohh ya and you got some crazy ass robot you bought with you that is hunting you down, you have no communication, and your only option. get to the rover landing site before the killer robot takes you out. Think thats not enough the rocks move and they are really bugs, they glow at night. You can put them in a jar to make a light when it is pitch black.

In the end you get to the other space ship float away and live happily ever after

[neoadorable]

So Red Planet is a favorite among trolls heh heh? What's the matter, Mission to Mars too sentimental?

And Wolfbane, you are my hero!

[Ci7]

As for what gives us the right to change Mars, I agree there's some moral issue there. I'm not for terraforming, but just settling there will cause enough of a change. I believe we have the right because we were chosen, by evolution or a higher power, your choice. Asking what right do we have is healthy but redundant, its like asking what right we have to breathe oxygen. We should be grateful for the things we have, but we also have a right to them by virtue of our existence.

it is like asking who give us the right to domesticate/subjecting animals

Latest UN report says the world population will peak in 2060-2070 then begin a slow decline.

actually heard some reports saying it would be around 15 to 20 billion by 2100 :s

[bjoswald]

No! We can't even take care of the one we're on now.

[psreloaded]

I would say yes, Mars should be terraformed. The earth is not growing larger or better as it is.

besides, its just a piece of rock... might as well be of some use... :p

[yowanvista]

What's the point of terraforming a planet with a dead core? The atmosphere would be stripped off by the sun without a stable magnetic field generated by movement of molten metals in the outer core.

[DocM]

Studies show that on Mars atmospheric stripping is a very slow process taking tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of years. Being further away from the Sun both sunlight and the solar wind are much, much weaker than at Earth.

[Wolfbane]

What's the point of terraforming a planet with a dead core? The atmosphere would be stripped off by the sun without a stable magnetic field generated by movement of molten metals in the outer core.

Planet core warms (either by giving it atmosphere or by a more direct method of heating the core), planet core melts and begins generating a magnetic field (never mind the amount of time this would take), atmosphere stays :)

(yes that's exactly 100% accurately how it works /s)

[seta-san]

the planet can't support life. it has little to no convection currents and thus it has little to no magnetic field.

[DocM]

Artificial magnetospheres of several types are being worked on in both the US and UK. Not as hard as it sounds, especially if you limit the coverage to inhabited zones and use the new generation of miniature zero-maintenance reactors to power them.

[neoadorable]

Were going to Mars to expand our spacefaring abilities, to eventually mine resources, start new industries, expand our economy, and gain new science. Were not going there to open a new club med and no one is saying it's going to be fun, so id imagine the first few thousand people to go there will be hardy enough to not worry about magnetism. They would know the risks.