In the future, humanity wants to create a colony on Mars. First of all, it is needed in case a global catastrophe like a nuclear war or an asteroid impact occurs on Earth. Secondly, by creating a settlement on the Red Planet, it will be easier and cheaper for scientists to explore distant space. But in order to create a colony on Mars, many problems need to be solved. In particular, it is necessary to make the planet at least a little more comfortable for human life. Now the average temperature on Mars is about -64 degrees Celsius. Therefore, before building a Martian base, the planet needs to be warmed up somehow. Recently, scientists have proposed the cheapest way to do this.
Scientists have found the best way to make Mars a comfortable planet. Image source: sciencealert.com
Contents
- 1 Why the climate on the planet is changing
- 1.1 Greenhouse effect on Earth
- 1.2 Greenhouse effect on Mars
- 2 How to turn Mars into Earth
Why the climate on the planet is changing
Scientists have been trying to find a way to warm Mars for a long time. It is believed that the easiest way to achieve this goal is to create a greenhouse effect on the planet. The authors of the scientific publication Science Alert recently spoke about this.
The greenhouse effect on Earth
Greenhouse warming is happening too fast on Earth. Humanity is releasing huge amounts of substances like carbon dioxide and methane into the air. They create a thick layer in the atmosphere that prevents the heat generated on the Earth's surface from escaping into space. As a result, the air temperature on our planet is rising. And experts from all over the world are trying to stop this process in order to prevent the intensification of global warming, which could kill not only animals but also many people.
Schematic representation of the greenhouse effect on Earth. Source: kipmu.ru
Greenhouse effect on Mars
For Earth, the greenhouse effect is an evil that millions of people around the world are fighting. But for Mars, this effect would not hurt, because it can increase the air temperature to a level comfortable for living organisms.
The Greenhouse Effect Could Well Turn Mars into a Second Earth. Source: thespaceway.info
It is possible to create a greenhouse effect on Mars in the same way as on Earth. To do this, you need to pump the rarefied atmosphere of the Red Planet with greenhouse gases and a layer that prevents heat on the surface from escaping into space will appear on its own. But the problem is that there are few greenhouse gases on Mars – if scientists decide to use such a strategy, resources will need to be delivered from Earth or mined from under the surface of the Red Planet. This is very time-consuming and expensive.
Global warming: is a catastrophe inevitable?
How to turn Mars into Earth
Recently, an article appeared in the scientific journal Science Advances that states that there is another way to create a greenhouse effect on Mars. There is a large amount of aluminum, iron and other metals on its surface. The authors of the new study proposed grinding them into a fine powder and then spraying them throughout the Martian atmosphere. They, like carbon dioxide and methane, can retain heat on the surface of Mars.
This is not just a guess, because the proposed method has been proven to work at least as a result of computer modeling. In simple terms, the scientists asked the computer to recreate what would happen to the climate on Mars if tiny particles of shiny metals were sprayed into its atmosphere.
The image shows a new plan to terraform Mars. Source: sciencealert.com
Modeling has shown that with a constant emission of “metal dust” at a rate of 30 liters per second, the air temperature on Mars will be able to rise to a comfortable temperature for people of +28 degrees Celsius. True, it will take several decades to achieve this result. But after warming, frozen water will melt on Mars and other processes important for terraforming will begin.
Perhaps a human colony on Mars will look like this. Source: humanmars.net
Scientists are confident that if the climate on Mars becomes warm, bacteria capable of photosynthesis will be able to live there. This means that after warming, Mars may have much more oxygen, which is essential for human life. It turns out that creating a greenhouse effect may be the very first and most important step in terraforming Mars.
What do you think about the scientists' new idea? Share your opinion in the comments on our Zen channel.
But it is important to understand that in order to live on Mars, people need to do more than just make the planet warm and saturate it with oxygen. There is also a high level of radiation there – perhaps metal particles sprayed into the atmosphere will improve the situation a little, but that is not a fact. Also, Mars has few of many resources that will need to be mined from somewhere or sent from Earth. And finally, many residents of the Martian colony will probably feel unwell away from their home planet, and this needs to be taken care of in advance.