Along with the "In the future it is quite possible..." caveat we will still need to get help from the Vulcans to create additional planetary gravity on Mars strong enough to retain an atmosphere.
Don't hold your breath.... so to speak.
Oh, and the added gravity will also cause a stronger tidal force that will cause Phobos to tear itself apart and crash onto Mars sooner than expected. Splat.
The calculations indicated that a 1-2 Tesla (10,000 - 20,000 Gauss) magnetic field generator positioned at the gravitationally stable L1 Lagrange Point between the Sun and Mars, would provide enough protection for gases to accumulate in the atmosphere over time, and provide immediate reduction of radiation on the surface of Mars. They do no say how long it would take, or how difficult it is to generate such fields.
Interesting - I had not seen your link, until just now, but that sort of protection is exactly what I was thinking of.
Now, that said, the article at the link refers to 1 - 2 Tesla, or 10,000 to 20,000 Gauss. Where? At the surface of the “inflatable generator”? 10 kGauss is a STRONG field —much stronger flux density than you’d see at the surface of a conventional ceramic magnet, for example, and I challenge anybody to pull apart by hand (in the direction of magnetization) a couple of 6” diameter ceramic ring magnets (like those found in a medium price guitar speaker.)
For another comparison, Earth’s magnetic field at the surface ranges from 0.25 - 0.65 Gauss.
Would be under pressure load from solar wind, need to accelerate diverted solar plasma for counter-thrust to hold position.
Actually, not a bad idea.
Thank you for reinforcing my argument that any flights of fancy regarding a manned mission to Mars should be set aside until we can overcome the physics restricting us to chemical-based escape from Earth’s gravity.
Thanks!