Free Republic

US scientists have thought up a new way to create a second home - by warming up the atmosphere of Mars. Mars - which used to be warm and wet - has an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide. But because the red planet's atmosphere is so thin, the planet is now freezing cold. But Margarita Marinova, of Nasa Ames research centre in California, and colleagues report in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets that artificially created greenhouse gases could set the Martian climate simmering. "Bringing life to Mars and studying its growth would contribute to our understanding of evolution, and the...

Finding life on Mars has proved an elusive dream for decades. But scientists now believe they may be able to do it for themselves - by turning the Red Planet into a blue world with streams, green fields and fresh breezes and filling it with Earthly creatures. The idea - known as terraforming - sounds like science fiction. But turning Mars into an Earthly paradise is being taken seriously by increasing numbers of researchers. They believe that, billions of years after its last seas and rivers dried up, Mars could be restored to its ancient glory thanks to human ingenuity....