(This is a posting I found on the Internet a few
years back. It got me to thinking, and thinking got me to writing.)
How To Teraform MARS
Thanks to ED REBER 70530,3632 for uploading this discussion!
This began as a reply to a request on information regarding
the terra-
forming of Mars. The following was put together from
many sources to show
some of the possibilities and requirements for such an
endeavor. I've
edited those forum messages for uploading to the library
here.
Hypothetical Senerio for the Teraforming of Mars
I am only going to mention up front that before humanity
engages in such a
project such as this, social hurdles must be met. Many
people, organizations,
and religions will protest some or any form of human
activity on Mars (or much
of the solar system) that 'changes the natural beauty',
exploits, or has any
effect on Mars' current conditions. Some scientists will
wish to study Mars in
situ for decades or centuries before colonization or
terraforming is done.
Speculation over current life, past life and fossils,
and the objects in
Cydonia will have to be addressed and answered. Much
has to be done, the least
of which - advances in technology, before this great
feat can be attempted.
Before detailed designs are formed, the current conditions
on Mars must be
known better. How much water exists on Mars in snow,
ice or permafrost? What
is the planet's soil composition -- planetwide. Are there
solid forms of
nitrogen -- nitrates -- in the soil? Is there sufficient
amounts of carbon-
dioxide in the soil? What form is it in? If in limestone,
how do we release it
into a form plantlife can use?
Assuming that we have done the orbital remote sensing,
sample returns and
analysis, and crewed exploration missions; and have found
that it is possible
to terraform the planet --- How do we do this?
First we must get the people and equipment out there to
do the
exploration, build advanced bases, create industries
to sustain these outposts
and settlements and begin the terraforming process. Unless
we come up with
fusion bottles and the USAF develops an economical magnetic
drive out of Area
51 ... publicly... the _only_ choice I can see is the
use of solarsail craft
to deliver cargo to Mars. Why? First is reusability --
they can be used for
decades if current designs hold up. Second is simplicity
compared to chemical
or nuclear rockets ... though skill is definitely needed
for programming &
navigation. Third; an inexhaustible fuel supply -- the
sun itself, or rather
the pressure the sun's light provides which the solarsails
use as old sailing
ships made use of the wind. Fourth; economics- the projected
cost of sending
20 tons to Mars via chemical rockets is well over $1
billion. For a 2km., 12
ton 'sunjammer'-- doing multiple trips -- it may
cost $200 million/trip, or
less.
There is some time involved. A 'solar clippership' with
a 2000 sail loading
factor (sail loading = total mass/sail area = expressed
gram / meter squared)
could take 23 tons to Mars in 400 days, 66 tons in 700
days, on a rendezvous
cycling route. These 'showboats' would transport pressurized
modules, prefab
structures, landers, fuel propellants, life support (ELSS),
traverse vehicles,
exploration equipment, and pilot plants to mine raw materials
from Mars and
it's moons for fuel and other consumables. A cache of
supplies would await the
first and following crewed missions making such journeys
much safer and better
prepared.
One of the most important pieces of hardware that projects
and missions in
space will make use of, I believe, are the next generations
of Solid Freeform
Fabrication (SFF) that has been developed over the past
five years. SFF
bypasses the machining process to develop/produce/manufacture
objects directly
from a computer design (CADD/CAM). Consider this to be
the first generation of
the 'replicators' of sci-fi fame. Several processes exist
which include
Stereolithography (STL) in which a UV laser solidifies
parts of a liquid
photopolymer a bit of a time, 'growing' parts, casts
or models out of the vat.
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) in which a laser joins
particles in a powdered
bed or box together to form 3-D parts. Fused Deposition
Modeling (FDM) which
make use of a melted incoming plastic (or other material)
fed though a
controlled head which builds up models a layer at a time.
Chemical Vapor
Deposition & Gas-phase SFF are under development
now. SFF is being explored by
AT&T, Texas Instruments, Ford Motor Co., Quadrax
Laser Technologies, Cubital,
3-D Systems, Inc., DTM Corp., Stratasys, Inc., among
others. Many of these
processes create models and parts in mere hours, far
less than the time needed
to machine or cast them in most, if not all, cases.
If the life sciences aboard space stations and lunar bases
develop workable
'hibernation' techniques that are more weight efficient
than 'traditional'
ELSS's, then perhaps the future Martian colonists will
be transported in
'zombie coffins' to Mars aboard solar sails or magnasails
(which by they're
operation protect their occupants from solar and cosmic
radiation with their
large magnetic fields). Going to sleep at a L-1 transfer
station and waking up
in the medical ward of Phobos Station would be far better
than enduring months
aboard any other cycling ship.
Now physically present on Mars, we can determine the possibilities
of
current or past life existing on the planet, what would
be entailed in
terraforming the planet, and be certain that the objects
in Cydonia region are
or are not the remnants of a cosmic 7-11 abandoned in
a bad stellar
neighborhood.
OK, so we've been living and working on Mars, developed
all our plans for
terraforming, and finally have been given the 'greenlight'
to proceed.
Well, it's a bit nippy and kind'a hard to breath 'round
here so increasing
the atmospheric temperature, pressure and composition
seems like a good place
to start.
Using the same technology used in Solar Power Stations
and solarsail
designs, we create large, highly reflective orbiting
mirrors to redirect the
sun's light to increase Mars' solar input. Redirecting
light to the poles
would help in melting the icecaps. Other mirrors might
orbit over the
terminator lines to redirect light into the pre-dawn
areas of the globe. Light
solarsail-type constructions could use the light pressure
to increase or
decrease their orbital attitude to direct sunlight to
different latitudes of
the globe at a sacrifice to total sunlight they are able
to redirect. (Perhaps
the reader has caught the stories on the MIR cosmonauts
and their experiment
with a PROGRESS resupply craft and a large orbiting mirror
they used to
illuminate European cities at night in an experiment
involving their solar
sail project ? ) Also important is to try to increase
the surface albedo of
the planet --- either by the chemical composition or
by spreading black carbon
over the poles (like spreading ash over snow covered
roads).
Free up Mars' permafrost layer and oxygen in the soil.
The most novel and
perhaps 'fastest' way of accomplishing this that I've
heard of is the use of
nanotechnology. Develop and construct 'nanites' to set
free upon Mars; where
they will free up the permafrost layer, liberate the
oxygen molecules in the
rocks and soil, prepare the soil composition for biologicals,
reproduce etc..
Nanites will have to developed in isolation because of
the inherent dangers of
the technology; and human habitats on Mars will have
to be protected or
abandoned as colonist wait on the Phobos and Deimos stations
for the duration
of the nanites operation. The process would end when
the atmosphere reaches a
certain level and the nanites automatically shutdown,
they are shut down on
command from orbit, or can be 'sterilized' from an orbiting
platform. In all
cases, the nanites should be biodegradable in the new
Martian atmosphere for
safety. Depending on the level of sophistication, a breathable
atmosphere
could conceivably be created in a decade, years, even
months!
After a period of time, shallow seas and lakes would begin
to form. Large
bodies of water would aid in the retention of solar energy,
so the bigger the
better. The bodies of water would also provide 'shelves'
and a medium in which
biologicals could be placed to start the life process.
Prokaryotes and
eukaryotes adapted genetically to Mars may be first to
aid in the formation of
an atmosphere. The goal will be to create an atmosphere
that is possibly
thicker than Earth's with high ozone contents to try
and prevent harmful UV
radiation from reaching the surface; as well as high
levels of CO2, water
vapor, methane, and such that cause 'greenhouse effects'
to help raise the
overall temperature of the planet. The oxygen content
should be such to
prevent human colonist from evolving smaller lung capacity
if possible in the
thicker atmosphere. The effects of the higher ATM. pressure
on the boiling &
freezing points of water might have to be addressed as
well.
If enough water does not exist on Mars that is necessary,
we can
transport or redirect the orbits of 'iceteroids' from
the belt, Jovian or
Saturn's systems. The impact of these on the planet in
'planned coastal
shelves and oasis' will generate heat. Jerome L. Wright's
book "Solar Sailing"
suggest how 'teams' of solarsails could tow the 'iceteroid'/comet
material and
Jim Oberg in his book "New Earths" theorized that the
impacts of said bodies
would create 'warm craters' to use as oases to terraform
the planet Mars.
The life forms tailored for Mars will have to be genetically
engineered for
the environment we create. They must deal with long seasons,
resist mutation
from radiation (as least until the problem is solved),
must assimilate the
foodchain we provide for them, yet be flexible enough
to adapt to their
environment to allow for things we have not taken into
account.
What kind of environment must our designed life forms
exist in?
A cooler environment with _long_ seasons. The Martian
day is 24 hours, 39
min., 35 sec. long --- similar to Earth's. The Martian
year is 686.98 terran
days long. The northern hemisphere's summer is longer
at 178 days with Mars at
perihelion (128.3 million miles from the sun) compared
to the 154-day winter
at aphelion (154.8 million miles from the sun). The southern
hemisphere will
consequently endure longer, harsher winters than the
northern hemisphere as
well as cooler, shorter summers. The seasons may vary
a bit more than Earth's
as well; orbit eccentricity is .093 compared to Earth's
.017 and axial tilt is
25.2 degrees compared to Earth's 23.4415 degrees. Manipulation
of the
'dawn/dusk' mirrors may change the resulting climate
conditions favorably, as
well as preventing large portions of the northern and
southern seas from
freezing into large icecaps.
To deal with this, genetic engineers will borrow heavily
from Earth's
arctic creatures; many that have an 'antifreeze' glycoprotein
in their blood
to prevent ice particles from growing as well as the
ability to freeze their
extremities, and later thaw them out with no ill effects,
to conserve body
heat (i.e. seals & sealions). Medical technology
already borrows from these
abilities to create medicinals for hypothermia and frostbite
victims.
Hibernation and migration will also play a large part
in the Martian wildlife
humans create.
Other forms of life? Plantlife that are water scavengers
and can survive in
cold climates, tailored to long seasons and spread rapidly
-- variations of
pines, firs, birch, oak, cherry, tumbleweed, cacti ?...
Boreal-type forests,
other sub-arctic forms.
A large mammal and avian population; rodents, snow owls,
desert hounds/fox,
seal/otter variations, bears, _warm-blooded_ lizards
( genetic engineers
required to read "Jurassic Park" beforehand! ) all are
examples.
The seas are the key to the ecosystem. Large numbers of
plankton and green
algae playing a part in the atmosphere, kelp a large
part of a foodchain. It
may be easier to create an ecosystem in the sea shelves
than on land.
Another thought would be to checkerboard the 'crater-lakes'
with 'solar
collectors' and kelp/plantlife fields/farms to produce
biostuffs, feed
resident aquatic life (foodstuffs), and harvest the aquatic
life's excreatments
for fertilizer --- all while contributing to the atmosphere.
If proper humidity levels cannot be obtained in some areas,
consider the
construction of 'power towers'-- or aeroelectric towers
-- in the equatorial
regions. Say, a 2,000 ft. tower, pump water to the top
of the tower and spray
though atomizers, it evaporates cooling the surrounding
air around the top of
the tower. The cooler denser air drops though the tower,
is forced though
multiple wind turbines, and out at the bottom though
diffusers. The tower uses
about 1/8th of the generated power to pump the water
to the top. Total
generated power could be about 400+ MW avg./ 600+ MW
peak. 250 cubic feet of
water a second would be used so canals to the seas would
be needed. A 25 mph
wind would blow at the base, temperature 30 degrees below
ambient. A heavy dew
would result in the area, equivalent to maybe 10 inches
of rain/ year near the
tower, 5 inches rain/year 2 to 3 miles away. Thus the
surrounding area would
be good agricultural land while providing power for a
settlement nearby. All
figures depend on the final atmospheric pressure and
average temperature in
the equatorial regions working in the lower gravity.
As for the 'new topography' of Mars...
The southern continent with it's longer winters and older,
heavily cratered
regions may become rough prairie/range land with many
large lakes (avg. 20km
dia.). Perhaps a moss-like spreading, large root system,
THICK stalk, dark
prairie-savanna grass can grow outwards from these oasis/
water hole/
crater-lakes. Large herds of woolly buffalo/ deer (healthier
red meat) etc.
hybrids could be raised, driven from one oasis to another
so not to overgraze,
and be 'farmed' for meat for the colonist and for export
to the belt to
supplement their flavored shrimp-paste foodstuffs. Excrement
becomes
fertilizer, hides -- cold weather clothing; waste nothing.
Most everything
below -65 degree lat. becomes a shallow (up to 1 km.
deep) sea, the 'Mare'
Australe, with the deeper 'Gulf' of Hellas protruding
north as far as -30
degrees. A small sea, the 'Mare' Argyre, lies about -50
degrees lat.,
southeast of Tharsis Montes and may contain an island
in the northwestern part.
If Mars is flooded to the datum line (remember, the larger
the bodies of
water, the easier to retain and regulate heat from solar
input), most of the
planet north of 40 to 45 degrees lat. will be flooded
by a 1 to 3 km. deep sea
--- 4 km around the Acidalium 'Deeps' --- all part of
the 'Ocean' Borealis.
One island 'continent', Elysium, would rise out of the
ocean around 30 degrees
north; dividing 'Mare' Amenthes to the west, from 'Mare'
Amazonis to the east.
Further west of Amenthes lies the Utopia 'Coast', pushing
to some 45 degrees
north. South-southwest of the coast lies the Syrtia Mts.
and Arabia
respectively.
Lying between 135 degrees W. and 40 degrees W. between
the 'Mare' Amazonis
and 'Mare' Ralus proper, would be some very interesting
territory. The eastern
shore of the Amazonis might have significant rainfall
and snowfall as
westerly blow cloud formations into Olympus Mons, Ascreus,
Pavonis, Arsia,
and Tharsis Montes in general. Clouds rise and produce
precipitation. Some
great skislopes mat develop around the three prince volcanoes
in time.
Rivers from rainfall/snowmelt would spread out from the
Tharis Montes
region in all directions. North to Lunae Pallas, south
to Thaumasia, southwest
to Phaethontis and Memnonia and east...east to the Chryse
Plantia and 'Mare'
Marineris (Valles Marineris), 3-1/2 km. below the datum.
Islands would dot the
sea, washes and slides that exist and would be created
by wind and water would
create rough beaches and bays; shoals and sandbars; elsewhere
fjords and
cliffs. The colder (deeper, icemelt fed) waters of the
Marineris would feed
into the shallower (warmer, more equatorial) waters of
the Ralus --- perhaps
producing challenging, tricky currents for sail enthusiasts
in some areas.
The area around the Chryse Plantia is my choice for a
port/starport city
and capitol --- Barsoom City, though Burrows and Bradbury
are names of choice
for other settlements --- those are all 'a given'.
Imagine awakening early one morning to step out on the
gardendeck of your
home. The home sits on a hill overlooking Barsoom. Looking
west in the 'false
dawn' at the snowcapped prince volcanoes and Olympus
Mons' peak to their right
rising over the horizon --- all illuminated by the dawn
mirrors high in the
brightening sky. Phobos moves along steadily in it's
low orbit with the
gossamer wings of a solar sail in close orbit; high above,
visible for a few
more days, lies Deimos --- each adding to the morning
glow. Gazing south, fog
obscures part of Marineris, Tharsis Montes lies barely
visible rising beyond
the mists. Below in the harbor lie many vessels, several
fishing and harvest
boats already are making for the tributary to the Marineris.
The sounds and
smell of the sea mixes with the calls of the shorebirds
and gulls overhead. To
the east is the great horne, past which the Marineris
gives way to the Ralus
to the northeast. The morning sky has during this time
shifted from a pale
off-white glow to a bright plum/orange dawn .... suddenly
punctuated by the
appearance of a small, bright sun rising in the east.
The warmth of the sun's
radiance becomes apparent and the morning mists begin
to burn off. Another
beautiful day on Mars.....
All wishful speculation, certainly signs of a healthy
imagination ?
What kind of timeframe are we talking about? Well, assuming
fewer social
barriers and successful use of nanotechnology, and the
desire to accomplish
this feat.... that’s to say _very optimistic....
Five years to create the mirrors and conduct an asteroid
roundup as well as
create a Skywatch to protect operations (we're closer
to the belt after all
and small meteors can do a lot of damage -- hey some
good can come out of SDI
after all! ).
Five years or more from completion of mirrors and 'iceteroid'
strikes to
where liquid water may exist on the surface. This is
dragging the planet
kicking and screaming. Nanotech may even shorten this
assumption a bit.
Five more years to where biologicals are introduced to
the shallow seas en
masse. Breathable atmosphere obtained during this period?
Five to ten years to where the atmosphere is stabilized
and regulated by
aquatic biologicals --- including greenhouse gasses and
high ozone levels.
Lichen, mosses, etc. growing out of the oases; and a
large, diverse sea
ecology develop over the next five years. UV threat minimal.
During the next ten years, various life forms are emplaced
as the weather
patterns settle down. Plantlife, insects and animals
bred and released.
Agricultural areas started up. Colonist begin to arrive
and settle in.
Fifteen to twenty more years, terraforming considered
complete. Life
spreading on it's own accord with some oversight in the
'outback'. Small
incubators started where necessary. Colonist/ immigrants
arriving in greater
numbers.
These new settlers, these 'Martians', have a brand new
world to discover,
with it's developing ecology and the violent changes
that result from the
terraforming process --- rain, atmosphere, rivers, waves...
Terraforming may be given a 'go' after three years of
exploration and 7 to
12 years of permanent settlers/explorers of Mars. So
if we reach Mars by, say,
2020 --- it may be a 'green' planet by 2080 or 2100 ?
Say, if we develop cloning techniques in the next 20 or
30 years and figure
out how birds, like canaries, can grow new nerve cells,
_I_ might live to see
that --- I'll only be about 110 to 140. After all, lunar
and Martian colonist
shouldn't have problems with trying to extend lifespans
as part of off-world
life sciences; quite the contrary ! --- the low gravity
and environment may
encourage it as will the need and desire for people.
Anyone want to set a tentative date for a climbing expedition
up the
escarpment of Olympus Mons early in the next century?
<_G_>
--- Ed Reber
"Vandervecken"
Feb.14, 1993
The sources, their subjects generally in
the order that I've presented
them in, include...
"Space Sailing" by Jerome L. Wright; 1992; Gordon
& Breach Science
Publishers;
ISBN 2-88124-803-9 (hardcover) ISBN 2-88124-842-X(soft)
Lib
of Congress CIP # 91-38093 This book is one of the best on the
subject
of the designs, uses, construction, & characteristics of
solar
sail ships I have come across.
"Project Solar Sail" edited by Arthur C. Clarke;
1990; Roc of Penguin
Books;
copyright World Space Foundation; ISBN 0-451-45002-7; As much
as for
the articles as well as the short stories for inspiration.
'Manufacturing Magic' article by Arlan Andrews
that appeared in the Sep
1992
issue of "Analog" in the 'Science Fact' portion. This article
dealt
with Solid Freeform Fabrication; it's methods, uses, and the
future
of the technology.
The April 1989 issue of 'Final Frontier'
dealing with "Life on Mars"--
...footprints...factories...a
new Earth... Articles that have shown
up in
other 'FF's' as well as Omni, Popular Science, etc.. have
also
contributed to this work,--- far too many to list.
Hydroponics, solar-ponds/kelp-farms, etc...
have been thought about for
years
as a means to fed our world's growing population --- the same
technology
could be used on Mars for different reasons.
The 'Power Tower' concept dates back to
1979. The Agbabian Assocciates in
El Segundo,
Calif. were working on 8,000 ft. concept that could
deliver
2,500-MW. (Popular Science -- Dec 1981) A 650ft. prototype
tower
was built in Spain in 1981 that could produce 50-70 kW; about
100
miles south of Madrid. (Popular Science -- July 1983)
The claim that 'birds can grow new brain cells'
comes from 'Discover'
mags'
June 1990 issue, 'A Brain Reborn' by G. Montgomery.
Reportedly,
Director of Field Research Center for Ecology &
Ethology,Fernando
Nottebohm, of Rockefeller Univ. have discovered
that
birds such as canaries can 'grow' new nerve cells, something
that
humans cannot do.
Mars information comes from such sources
as the Viking overview in the
"Mars
One Crew Manual"(1985); "The Space Almanac --- 2nd edition"
(1992);
and "Planets-- A Golden Guide"ISBN 0-307-24077-0
Add to this a lot of speculation and some inspiration
from reading the
works of Kim Stanley Robinson (author of "Green Mars"
and "Red Mars") and
this is what you get. Hope some of you enjoy!
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