The population of the Earth is rapidly increasing, and soon humanity will become cramped on the planet. Futurists see the colonization of the solar system as the most likely scenario for the future. It is possible that people will have to do terraforming - the engineering change of other worlds.
Bombard Mars
In September 2015, speaking in one of the humorous television shows, Elon Musk proposed bombarding the poles of Mars with nuclear warheads. In his opinion, this will allow dry ice to quickly evaporate from the surface of the planet from carbon dioxide. CO2 will enter the atmosphere and cause the greenhouse effect. Temperature and pressure will begin to rise gradually, ice will melt even faster, and, possibly, liquid water will appear on the surface. After that, unicellular algae can be sent to Mars and wait until they create an atmosphere there suitable for humans. This will take several thousand years. Musk was kidding, of course. There simply won't be enough nuclear weapons on Earth for the plan of Tesla's founder to work. Scientists suggest heating the surface of the Red Planet in other ways. For example, collide Mars with an asteroid or use a huge orbital mirror,which would concentrate solar energy and direct it to the Martian polar ice caps. However, with the current level of technology development, it is almost impossible to implement all these scenarios. In addition, efforts to turn Mars into a habitable planet could be in vain, scientists from the University of Colorado say. After analyzing the data obtained by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey, they concluded that there is not enough carbon dioxide on the Red Planet - in the rocks and polar caps - to form a dense atmosphere. However, Elon Musk, who dreams of building a colony on Mars, believes that a huge amount of carbon dioxide is absorbed in the Martian soil. When the planet heats up, a powerful release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere will occur,and this will start the process of terraforming - the transformation of Mars into the semblance of the Earth.
Create an atmosphere on Venus
Venus, on the other hand, requires cooling. The average temperature at its surface is about 452 degrees Celsius, and the pressure is about 90 bar. Otherwise - in terms of mass, gravity and the level of solar radiation - Venus resembles Earth. Moreover, according to the calculations of scientists from the Goddard Institute for Space Research, about two billion years ago, the climate of Venus was similar to Earth. The planet had liquid oceans, the temperature was a comfortable 15-17 degrees Celsius. Carl Sagan proposed sowing cyanobacteria in the atmosphere of Venus. Through photosynthesis, they convert carbon dioxide into organic matter and release oxygen. True, it is not clear whether the bacteria themselves will survive in the harsh Venusian conditions. In addition, physicist Martin Fogg estimates that the process of converting carbon dioxide into organic matter would take about a million years. A faster way to make Venus habitable is to let in a lot of hydrogen into the atmosphere so that all the carbon dioxide it contains is converted into graphite and water. Iron filings can be sprayed over the planet as a catalyst. It is believed that as a result, the pressure will drop to three bar, the greenhouse effect will disappear, and water will appear on the surface. In the most favorable scenario, it will cover up to 80 percent of the planet. However, as noted by the staff of the John Glenn Research Center (NASA), all these methods will not help, if not deal with the main problems: sulfuric acid clouds and too long sunny day equal to 117 Earth days. If you figure out how to get rid of these troubles, Venus is quite suitable for terraforming.so that all the carbon dioxide contained in it turns into graphite and water. Iron filings can be sprayed over the planet as a catalyst. It is believed that as a result, the pressure will drop to three bar, the greenhouse effect will disappear, and water will appear on the surface. In the most favorable scenario, it will cover up to 80 percent of the planet. However, as noted by the staff of the John Glenn Research Center (NASA), all these methods will not help if you do not deal with the main problems: sulfuric acid clouds and too long sunny day equal to 117 Earth days. If you figure out how to get rid of these troubles, Venus is quite suitable for terraforming.so that all the carbon dioxide contained in it turns into graphite and water. Iron filings can be sprayed over the planet as a catalyst. It is believed that as a result, the pressure will drop to three bar, the greenhouse effect will disappear, and water will appear on the surface. In the most favorable scenario, it will cover up to 80 percent of the planet. However, as noted by the staff of the John Glenn Research Center (NASA), all these methods will not help, if not deal with the main problems: sulfuric acid clouds and too long sunny day equal to 117 Earth days. If you figure out how to get rid of these troubles, Venus is quite suitable for terraforming.the greenhouse effect will disappear and water will appear on the surface. In the most favorable scenario, it will cover up to 80 percent of the planet. However, as noted by the staff of the John Glenn Research Center (NASA), all these methods will not help, if not deal with the main problems: sulfuric acid clouds and too long sunny day equal to 117 Earth days. If you figure out how to get rid of these troubles, Venus is quite suitable for terraforming.the greenhouse effect will disappear and water will appear on the surface. In the most favorable scenario, it will cover up to 80 percent of the planet. However, as noted by the staff of the John Glenn Research Center (NASA), all these methods will not help, if not deal with the main problems: sulfuric acid clouds and too long sunny day equal to 117 Earth days. If you figure out how to get rid of these troubles, Venus is quite suitable for terraforming.how to get rid of these troubles, Venus is quite suitable for terraforming.how to get rid of these troubles, Venus is quite suitable for terraforming.
Build a dome on the moon
It is logical to make the moon much closer to us habitable. According to American and British scientists, it could have been habitable in the past. Now the satellite of the Earth is not the most hospitable place. The temperature there ranges from minus 180 to plus 120 degrees Celsius. There is no intrinsic magnetic field, and therefore cosmic radiation sterilizes the surface. The atmosphere is so thin that it actually does not exist either, which means that the threat of falling meteorites is constantly present. But the Moon has one of the main conditions for terraforming - water in the form of "icy permafrost" in the region of the poles. In 2012, its location was studied by the Russian LEND neutron telescope, aboard the American LRO probe. The problem of holding the atmosphere and delivering the volatile elements necessary for life (hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon) to the moon,most often they suggest solving with the help of comets. It is believed that these objects, upon colliding with the Moon, will disperse gases and water vapor, thus creating an atmosphere. The impacts will also release the water contained in the lunar regolith and natural water bodies will form on the surface. The transfer of momentum from comets will accelerate the rotation of the moon, which will help to keep the atmosphere.
But the bombardment of the Moon by space objects can tangentially touch the Earth.
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A safer option is to make only a small part of the satellite livable. Researchers from NASA propose creating a microclimate in the Shackleton crater, in which water ice was discovered several years ago, so that plants grow and there is a breathable atmosphere. At first, robots will do this: they will erect a dome and install solar mirrors.
Alfiya Enikeeva