Terraform Mars

[Eric Hahl]

There has been talk about terraforming Mars on science type shows, and how it could be done.

I'm having a hard time believing any of it though as my understanding is that Mars lost its ability to hold onto an atmosphere when the core solidified. No molten core, no magnetic field to protect the planet from the Sun equals no atmosphere. Any gas produced would just be carried off with the solar winds or irradiated.

What am I missing?

[varmint]

fascinating video about farming on mars. so many details i'd never thought of.

[GH85Carrera]

Wait, you are using logic and that is not allowed for most TV shows.

Yep, with no mouton core, no solar wind protection, no atmosphere. But wait, just build a really big solar shield to stay between the sun and Mars, yea, that's the ticket!

[Arizona_928]

Nuke the north and south poles.

Rome wasn't built in a day

[varmint]

had a recurring dream. i was farming on mars. same level of tech as that matt damon movie from a few years back. one morning it was my turn to clean the chicken coop. i'd take the hens out of their boxes and gently toss them in the air. they couldn't quite fly, but in the low gravity but they'd sort of slowly bounce around the dome.
then i'd be in high school, naked and late for an exam.

[Eric Hahl]

^
Oh man, TMI, LOL.

[sc_rufctr]

Terraform Mars

Technically extremely difficult but possible and we could do it but we never will because we're not united... And never will be unless society as a whole changes for the better. So how likely is this? Looking at our history, very unlikely.

And I'd say the same to Elon's face. All of this is a Pipe dream at best IMO.

[917_Langheck]

Science cannot terraform the earth to stave off CO2- and CH4-induced climate modulation (irrespective if you subscribe to such hypothesis or not, science cannot effect such change at this time) so, "how on Mars"? (let alone how on Earth) would it be able terraform Mars?

Great movie trick, however, and as Star Trek envisioned the flip phone, maybe something will come of it. "Carbon capture" has been demonstrated to work as a proof of concept, but it is completely out of scale in being effective on any meaningful timeline. (Not to say it's not worth trying, but gaseous production far outstrips any possible sequestration process available at present, or the near future; all of Earth's response mechanisms work only at geologic timescales, punctuated equilibrium notwithstanding.)

[911boost]

Why would they not just start the reactor Quaid?

[sc_rufctr]