Scientists Have An Idea For Making Mars Habitable, And It's Wild
Scientists want to engineer a magnetic field, thereby allowing colonizing Earthlings to terraform the planet. But it'd take a lot of effort.
Mars is very much uninhabitable for humans, but a group of scientists has a bold plan to someday change all that. The rocky planet is a lifeless expanse, typified by its rusty-red surface and incredibly low temperatures. When it comes to challenging environments for life, Mars is certainly among the most hostile in the galaxy.
Still, because of its proximity to Earth, Mars has long been a fascination of humankind. Since at least the 1800s, writers have ruminated on whether Martians exist, while modern-day storytellers have considered what it might be like for explorers to try and terraform the planet. But despite our imaginations — or the plans of billionaires such as Elon Musk — humans are still a long way from calling Mars home.
Still, many researchers are confident that people will one day be able to settle on the red planet if we can overcome some major challenges. Chief among them is a lack of an atmosphere, which, at present, makes the prospect of terraforming Mars a near impossibility. Some have suggested creating a series of closed, self-sustaining structures across the surface, effectively negating the need for an external source of oxygen. However, this would still leave the occupants of Mars at the mercy of radiation from space, thereby requiring even more engineering to ensure people remain safe. But a new paper from a team of scientists has an even more ambitious goal - kickstarting Mars’ magnetic field so that it can help generate a protective atmosphere around the planet.
Mars already has a magnetic field, but compared to Earth’s, it’s relatively weak and sporadic. The team, which includes NASA’s chief scientist James Lauer Green, proposes several methods to improve its strength and reliability, including restarting the planet’s iron core or establishing a giant loop of solid-state batteries. Needless to say, each of the suggestions would require an enormous amount of resources, all of which would have to be flown to Mars. But as the researchers explain, power for the project could come from nuclear fission reactors, which have long been considered a necessity for Mars colonization.
Still, while it seems it’ll be some time before Earthlings are taking over Mars, it should give us plenty more opportunities to learn all we can about the planet. From uncovering unique rock formations to scoping out a spot for a future condo by an ancient lake, scientists will still be busy for a while. And who knows, maybe they’ll eventually come across some Martians who might be able to help get the magnetic field in shape for us Earthlings.
Source: Cornell University