Now Nasa looks to change Mars into a garden of Earthly delights

The Guardian Unlimited ^ | 3/28/2004 | Robin McKie

[RockinRight]

Alarmist article from the Guardian. Personally, I think we SHOULD terraform Mars (preferably through private sector, that's another day's topic however) and here's reasons why:

Mars is similar to Earth in many ways-day length, has seasons, has water

Mars would be a New "New World"

Mars has most of the resources already to become Earthlike, and those it does not exist in comets nearby

By the time we have colonies established on Mars, our technology should make terraforming relatively easy (although time-consuming and somewhat costly)

It would be damn cool.

Instead of Red States...we'd have an entire Red Planet!

[RockinRight]

For your space ping list, Kevin.

[yobid]

CALLING ALL LEFTEST AND LIBERALS next flight for the red planet is leaving in T minus ten minutes......

[dfwgator]

Good excuse to post one of my favorite XTC lyrics:


Welcome to the garden of earthly delights.
Welcome to a billion Arabian nights.
This is your life and you be what you want to be.
This is your life and you try it all.

This is your life and you be what you want to be
Just don't hurt nobody, 'less of course they ask you
In the garden of earthly delights.

[RightWingAtheist]

I say keep the red planet red, for now. There's still precious little we know about it, and I prefer for us to explore every nook and cranny of the planet before we try to modify it.

[The_Victor]

'The idea of terraforming Mars is extreme, but it is not cranky - that is the truly horrible thing about it,' said Paul Murdin, of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge. 'If it was just a silly science-fiction notion, you could laugh it off. But the idea is terribly real. That is why it is dreadful. We are mucking up this world at an incredible pace at the same time that we are talking about screwing up another planet.'

The left would rather the universe be void of mankind.

[yobid]

But I heard the red planet is off limits due to environmental concerns.

/s

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

We ARE on our way to the planet MARS.

Amazing.

.

[RockinRight]

I do too, I mean eventually we would terraform. Spend 50 years just exploring and all that. Then we'll see.

However, if we ever establish permanent colonies, terraforming will be inevitable.

[Nyboe]

terraforming will take decades maybe centuries, we should start ASAP.

I need to get off this liberal rock! :)

[plain talk]

Exactly. Mars is the natural choice for terraforming. Only question is how to do it. Seems it would be a daunting challenge.

We are mucking up this world at an incredible pace at the same time that we are talking about screwing up another planet.'

ha ha ha ha ha. What an idiot.

[ElTianti]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but mars doesn’t have a magnetic field like earth that deflects solar and cosmic radiation. How would this problem be solved?

[brownsfan]

"...at the same time that we are talking about screwing up another planet."

And how exactly does one screw up a barren world? Meh.
God gave us these abilities to see what we'd do with them. Let's use them. Colonize and terriform, explore, it's what we do best.

[RockinRight]

There are several possibilities.

First off, most of what keeps radiation off Earth is in fact the atmosphere, not the magnetosphere.

Secondly, creating an artificial magnetic field on Mars is not out of the question if solar-powered electromagnets are used at each pole. In 30 or 40 years I don't think this would be an impossible task.

It is true that the magnetosphere keeps our atmosphere from being blown away by solar wind, and on Mars, it may have to be "topped off" every thousand years or so.

Another possibility is finding a way to reactivate Mars' core to create a magnetic field. Perhaps rerouting an asteroid to make Mars a larger Moon that would tug at the core, melt it and create a magnetic field (the Moon is what keeps Earth's going). Phobos and Deimos, Mars' current moons are simply way too small to have that effect.

[Mark17]

How would this problem be solved?

I wonder if these people have really considered the logistical nightmare of this whole thing?

[pawdoggie]

And how exactly does one screw up a barren world? Meh. God gave us these abilities to see what we'd do with them. Let's use them. Colonize and terriform, explore, it's what we do best.

Come on, man! Get with the program. We have to protect the old growth craters.

[brownsfan]

"I do too, I mean eventually we would terraform. Spend 50 years just exploring and all that. Then we'll see. "

Why? So we can determine there's some form of bacteria that is native to Mars? So what? It won't change anyone's mind about anything. Those that want to believe we are the only creation in the universe will say it was spread by an asteroid hit here. Those that believe the universe has life elsewhere will feel vindicated, but they would hold that belief if life is found on Mars or not.
Explore while we are there terraforming, but terraform and colonize.
Perhaps if we can turn our collective attentions in that direction, we can avoid killing each other to extinction here.

[RockinRight]

Such as??

[boris]

We could drop an ice comet or asteroid on it.

The real problem is a martian colony--with or without terraforming--would cost trillions. While fighting the terrorists, where does the money come from? I don't see it anywhere.

--Boris

[orionblamblam]

> I wonder if these people have really considered the logistical nightmare of this whole thing?


Yes.