What are Some Schemes for Terraforming Mars?
In the long run, it seems obvious that mankind will need more room. Although it is likely that the Earth could hold many more billions of people without crowding — as long as the productivity of farming is increased and we make a transition to renewable energy — eventually people will need to live off planet. The most obvious target for such colonization is Mars, which is located only 60% farther away from the Sun than the Earth is, and is the only inner planet besides Earth that has a mild temperature and pressure. Mars’ surface area is about 29% that of the Earth’s, an area comparable to that of all the continents combined, including Antarctica. The hypothetical process of making another planet more Earth-like has been called terraforming, and terraforming Mars is a frequently mentioned possibility in terraforming discussions. To make Mars habitable to humans and earthly life, three major modifications are necessary. First, the pressure of the atmosphere must be increased, as the p
In the long run, it seems obvious that mankind will need more room. Although it is likely that the Earth could hold many more billions of people without crowding — as long as the productivity of farming is increased and we make a transition to renewable energy — eventually people will need to live off planet. The most obvious target for such colonization is Mars, which is located only 60% farther away from the Sun than the Earth is, and is the only inner planet besides Earth that has a mild temperature and pressure. Mars’ surface area is about 29% that of the Earth’s, an area comparable to that of all the continents combined, including Antarctica.
