What is Terraforming?
Terraforming a planet is a complex process which involves the implementation of a series of methods to change the climatic conditions and ecology of the planet to make it sustainable for human life. Learning the biosphere of Earth could help find new ways to create a habitable environment on other worlds.
The term “terraforming” was first introduced in a science fiction story “Collision Orbit” by Jack Williamson and published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1942.
Why Terraforming?
Finding a habitable planet in our universe is rare. For a planet to be habitable like Earth, it must fall within the Goldilocks zone. Even an exoplanet like Gliese 581d, which is expected to be in the habitable zone, is 20 light years away.
With current technologies, it is impossible for humans to travel a distance of 20 light years to reach a habitable planet. Our current rockets can travel only at a speed about one ten-thousandth the speed of light. It would take hundreds of years to reach there, but unfortunately, the human lifetime is limited to less than 100 years.
So, we must expand our choices to our nearby planets in our own solar system. But unfortunately, our planet is the only habitable planet in our Sun’s family. The video shows what Earth will look like if it goes down a disastrous path.
According to Stephen Hawking, “Because we are rapidly depleting the finite natural resources that Earth provides, and because our genetic code carries selfish and aggressive instincts, our only chance for long-term survival may be to spread out into space.”
Terraforming Mars
Mars and Venus are the planets that currently fall near our Goldilocks zone. In 1961, Carl Sagan proposed an idea for terraforming Venus, published in the journal Science, and “Planetary Engineering of Mars” (1973), published in the journal Icarus.
The chances are very low for terraforming Venus due to the presence of highly concentrated sulphuric acid in its clouds. Mars has been a long-term choice for terraforming. There have been numerous debates about terraforming Mars.
Similar to Earth, Mars has polar ice caps. The presence of minerals like hematite, goethite, and jarosite suggests that liquid water once existed on the surface of Mars.
Various methods like the greenhouse effect and hydrogen bombs have been proposed to release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, heating up Mars to terraform it. The video below depicts the terraforming of Mars.
Credits: Wikipedia, Streincorp
