Why not start life on mars now?

Question

Why won't we start life on mars now?
Taking green house gases up there and building huge mirrors and stuff.

I mean, scientist know how the earth started to form, why not do the same since we do have the technology?

Answer 1

Our grandchildren could, if they had the will, start to terraform Mars.

With an initial investment (admittedly, trillions of dollars worth) of energy that would release the carbon dioxide and water sequestered in the regolith... Mars can be made much more habitable than it is now.

Granted, it would take thousands of years to get a BREATHABLE atmosphere, but we could conceivably raise the average temperature above the freezing point of water and the pressure of the air to 1/2 to 3/4's of Earths, perhaps within 50 years! It depends on how much CO2 and water is sequestered, and we can only find that out by landing men and exploring.

So for many thousands of years, we still have to wear oxygen masks.... but THEN we would have an entire WORLD to colonize, and the human race's chances of extinction would drop dramatically.

A good return on investment I would say.

Answer 2

Yah! quite thought provoking!
Mars has huge polar Dry ice (i.e. solid CO2), to make mars inhabitable its temperature could be increased by vapourising the polar CO2 (to induce green house effect) by some sort of explosion, any guess! yes, thermonuclear explosion which would relese clean energy and with in 100 years the temp. could be earth like and blue green algae could be planted to produce oxygen. Even methods could be derived to divide CO2 to carbon & oxygen. Now u have Carbon, Oxygen, A little water (already proven) and sooting temperature, so, you can go there and start life. The distance is a problem, which means u will probably die while just returning from mars. This problem can also be solved if very high velocity mode of transport can be invented which is comparable to speed of light at least 50 % of it. Then the man going on mars visit will age slowly (remember time dialation in special theory). But, the big question is, why should we make mars inhabitable. The cost that will be incurred, if utilised in our earth could make it a better place to live. Even the cost of iraq war is so high that it could provide for food and education to the children of the entire word!

Answer 3

Mars' atmosphere is already 99% "greenhouse gases." Specifically, carbon dioxide.

And, NO, we do not have the technology or resources to accomplish the terraforming of Mars. There are actual experts who have pondered the question and their predictions are 40,000 years MINIMUM just to allow microbial life to exist on the surface of Mars. And that effort would literally take ALL of Earth's resources to accomplish. They also think it unlikely that we could ever terraform it to the point where a human could walk around without a spacesuit. (There are natural dynamics in play that would work against our attempts to do that...in other words, you can't fool Mother Nature, even on Mars.)

Seriously, it boggles me that so many people are so flippant about what is an INCREDIBLY ENORMOUS undertaking. Despite it being very easy to blurt out "mirrors" and "take gases up there," it's quite a different manner to do those things in such quantities and magnitudes to accomplish the job. All this small world [excrement] people blab about here on Earth really has stunted folks' sense of how big planets really are.

Answer 4

good thinking. I would be the first to volunteer to take up permenant residency on Mars :-D. Also humans could construct a subterreanean society on Mars - just like the Ocampa did (Star Trek - Voyager).

Answer 5

Jerry P is absolutely right. If there is already life up there, we should stay away from Mars. If we were to destroy life on another planet, it would be a scientific tragedy. We have already destroyed a good chunk of life on our planet, must we also destroy Mars? Even if we could be sure there is no life on Mars, our technology still is not up to speed for such a trip. Someone told me that a trip to Mars would be at least a four year journey (round trip), and most people would literally go insane being on a space ship for that long.

Answer 6

excellent question.i think we do have to start looking at new planets now,before the earth is destroyed or over populated.on my reckoning it would take about 100 years to prepare.mars is polluted with carbon dioxide.we would have to start by building huge generators to clear the carbon dioxide,once that was done we have to introduce plant life for emissions.and algaes.i dont thimk it impossible,but we do have to start as soon as we can.we have the scientists with the knowledge.we have means of getting there .lets start now before its to late.great question lets do it.

Answer 7

yes, we as mankind are so smart.
we go up there just to mess up another atmosphere.
we know nothing.
do you really think that a nation who ignored kyoto should manipulate another planets atmosphere too ?

Answer 8

I agree with you. Instead of spending money on all these weapons use it to fund space research and colonization.

Answer 9

it will take a long time to build mars like the earth. earth's civilization had been built since thousand years ago

Answer 10

problem is lack of water and huge requirement of money etc