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

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

[NCSteve]

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

I suggest suicide, Mr. Murdin. The universe is obviously hopeless so you have nothing more to live for. Bye bye, now.

[beezdotcom]

We're not even being allowed to terraform THIS planet - what makes anybody think we'll ever get the chance on Mars?

[No.6]

'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.'

... said Mr. Murdin, as he threw out his fast-food lunch and headed off to drive to the airport in his Escalade to fly to an environmental conference in Buenos Aires focussing on how the developed world uses too many resources.

/rolleyes

[LRS]

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

Protect the Spotted Microbe NOW! The old growth craters are their nesting sites!

[orionblamblam]

> The real problem is a martian colony--with or without terraforming--would cost trillions.


ERRRRR. A first mission to Mars could, if operated correctly, cost no more than $30B, or about 2 years worth of NASA budget. Each subsequent mission should cost $4B or less (or the financial equivalent of 3-4 per year out of the existing NASA budget). A true colony, as in self-sustaining, should be attainable in 20 or fewer missions... that's about $100B, or about 3 months worth of Social Security.

[Pete'sWife]

The Genesis Device?

[beezdotcom]

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.

Make it a penal colony, and recoup the costs from defunding the prison system.

[JasonC]

Of course we will terraform Mars, and millions of people will live there. The only real question is when we will have the technology and capital for it. It will create wealth on a scale of tens of trillions of dollars, minimum. All these gossamer quibbles by green wackos will not stop such a freight train.

[SouthernBoyupNorth]

It is only a matter of time before we have to expand or die.
If the only life on mars is microbes... well I am sorry but I feel that we the more advanced life form take priority over a bunch of bacteria. As for terraforming THAT is going to be costly logistically, monetarily, and time wise. That is in the future we cant do a thing until we can "commute" there on a fairly regular basis. It is possible to do with todays tech but no one wants to foot the bill much less risk the kind of radical destruction and crap that will spring forth from the frothing liberal left...

[Dead Corpse]

Open it up for private investment. I wanna work for Cohaagen.

[MeanWestTexan]

To Heck with the Leftists and Liberals. They can have this world. I'm for founding New Israel.

[RockinRight]

[Dead Corpse]

As long as I get a few nights with Melina or Lori... ;-)

[AD from SpringBay]

John Carter of Mars bump?

[Drammach]

Logistical nightmare

That's about it..

First, Mass.. Mars is smaller than Earth, and this may have something to do with the thin atmosphere..
Second, Atmosphere.. It's already primarily CO2, just thin.. Increasing CO2 isn't going to have the "global warming effect they think..
And you need all those "other" gasses too.. Otherwise, you don't have a breathable atmosphere.. ( Biggest is Nitrogen.. Most of Earth's atmosphere is actually Nitrogen, not Oxygen.. or CO2.. )

Third, water.. Even if there is water on Mars, there evidently isn't enough to stay on the surface..
Ice asteroids or water of some sort would still have to be "imported" from somewhere in space..

Fourth, Time..
Regardless of whether all those other requirements could be met, it will take a Minimum of 300, 400 years to make Mars even marginally habitable..
That's if we were technologically able to handle the massive task in the first place..

Fifth, the aforementioned technology..
We don't have it..
We would be hard put to replicate our voyages to the moon right now.. let alone getting to Mars, much less launching a massive terraforming project there..

A logistical nightmare, indeed..

[Little Ray]

I just love it - morons dedicated to preserving the "pristine" environments of lifeless or near lifeless balls of rock. This would be funny if it wasn't sad. These folks are living proof that the "intelligentsia" needs purging. Cutting 'em off from public funding would be a start - cutting 'em off from oxygen with a rope would be even better!

[AbeKrieger]

Let's make sure we protect as yet-undetected alien microbes, but keep the ripping of unborn human children out of the womb "safe" and legal.

I'd rather save an Earth-baby.

[boris]

Where do your numbers come from?

--Boris

[COBOL2Java]

In addition, two different groups of scientists yesterday revealed they had found traces of methane in the Martian atmosphere. The gas is a waste product of living creatures and could be a byproduct of Martian microbes living in the Red Planet's soil.

Beans on Mars! Who knew?

[COBOL2Java]

What's the big deal? Just get Kirk to explode the Genesis Experiment on Mars! Do I have to think of everything? :0)