52 replies to this topic

[The Man]

The terraforming (literally, "Earth-shaping") of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth in order to make it habitable by humans.

Basically, yeah. If Humans are to migrate and expand the civilization to other parts of the universe, we must be able to terraform planets. Personally, I think it can be made possible with future technology, but at the time being, it just isn't. Someday.

^Artist conception of terraforming on mars
Wiki Article

What do you guys think of terraforming?

[Pawnator]

Yes, I don't see why not.

[DestroyMan]

i dont think we should ruin even more planets just so humans can live

[Weiman]

Meh, I really dont see this happening It has to do with chemical processes always reaching for the energetically most favorable state. If you're going to terraform mars you need A: HUGE AMOUNTS OF WATER. B: HUGE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY C: HUGE AMOUNTS OF OXIGEN. Of course plants can convert the high amount of CO2 in the Mars atmosphere to O2, but then you're not there yet..

[Fuzzle]

just like the earth millions of years ago, there wasnt any oxygen in the atmosphere, unti after all the storms etc.., then it came( forgot where i learned that, maybe like 4 years ago xD). So yeh, why not on mars, im sure when were all fuken dead , and then like 100 years later, some human being will be smart and travel to mars and make some cool life over there. Then PP will apear over there.

[Pawnator]

i dont think we should ruin even more planets just so humans can live

How can we ruin Mars? It's already uninhabitable.

[Vengeance]

Meh, I really dont see this happening It has to do with chemical processes always reaching for the energetically most favorable state. If you're going to terraform mars you need A: HUGE AMOUNTS OF WATER. B: HUGE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY C: HUGE AMOUNTS OF OXIGEN. Of course plants can convert the high amount of CO2 in the Mars atmosphere to O2, but then you're not there yet..

Well, yup, plants pretty much solve C, and in theory, within a decade or so, we should have nuclear fusion properly set up and working, and that's a huge amount of energy right there : huge amounts of water I believe would be easy enough to form from the aforementioned oxygen plus (obviously enough) crap loads of hydrogen. Where exactly we get that from I'm not sure, but does Mars have any/enough of that in its atmosphere?

[Pawnator]

Where exactly we get that from I'm not sure, but does Mars have any/enough of that in its atmosphere?

Mars has tons of water, it's just frozen. The rest evaporated out of the atmosphere, if I recall correctly.

[ST1DinOH]

i dont think we should ruin even more planets just so humans can live

jesus emo...

Meh, I really dont see this happening It has to do with chemical processes always reaching for the energetically most favorable state. If you're going to terraform mars you need A: HUGE AMOUNTS OF WATER. B: HUGE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY C: HUGE AMOUNTS OF OXIGEN. Of course plants can convert the high amount of CO2 in the Mars atmosphere to O2, but then you're not there yet..

the idea is taking whats already there and utilising it. so heating up the planet, providing an atmosphere, ect...ect...

the problem isn't obtaining, creating, generating the required atmosphere...it's containing it.

thats the problem.

without a molten core generating shielding from the suns radiation, and without sufficent gravitational forces (see mass) to hold the atmosphere it will all drift off into space. thats why mars is without an atmosphere today...

it had one, the planet cooled and the core stopped spinning, causing the suns radiation to fucking rape the surface of mars.

our best be is not going to be terraforming...terraforming would take thousands of years to get right (balance). we'd need to somehow heat up mars's core to allow it to spin again and provide the shielding, and we'd probably need to somehow increase the planets gravitational pull...or spin it much faster than it is.

you can imagine screwing with a planets gravitational pull could cause a lot of problems in the solar system...

complete waste of resources TBH.

why not just build habitats that provide you with controlled environments in which you can produce all the food/oxygen/water you want in manageable quantities and not have to worry about it escaping into space.

the people who are currently living in the science labs on antartica are a prime example of this type of environmental conditioning...where you don't attempt to condition the environment you condition the way you interact with it.

we will see single unit outposts, then bases, then space station, and finaly large domed structures way before mars will ever be inhabitable as a result of terraforming.

it's a novel concept...but it's a pipedream.

whiel it can be done, we much better suited in finding a handfull of planets out there that already have the propper conditions which are in reach. out of the thousands and thousands of earthlike planets out there (drake equation) there just has to be some we could travel to and adapt to within reason.

but the first step is going to be enclosed structures that can contain and seperate a liveable environment from the inhabitable martian environment.

[Pawnator]

we'd need to somehow heat up mars's core to allow it to spin again and provide the shielding, and we'd probably need to somehow increase the planets gravitational pull...or spin it much faster than it is.

Maybe you could use a cosmic ring?

[Vengeance]

... there just has to be some we could travel to and adapt to within reason.

I'm not sure about the travel bit... it's going to literally have to be cryogenic freezing and aiming thousands of people at a system with some sort of computer navigating them and bringing them down on the right planet... With the distances we're talking, the precision of direction is going to have to be incredible, and even then, with solar sails or an equivalent method of propulsion, we're talking probably anything from hundreds of years upwards, and that upwards could be in to the millions... That or we develop wormhole technology, but to be honest, that's still *very* firmly in the realm of science fiction, or at least having any sort of control over them is.

I think you're right though about it being more likely we'll just live in essentially more space stations. Seems more likely, overall...

[cadetduke]

we will see single unit outposts, then bases, then space station, and finaly large domed structures way before mars will ever be inhabitable as a result of terraforming.

Agreed completely. Plus if we Terraform there's a chance for Reavers (Serenity reference...yay)

[Pawnator]

Whether it be in the form of terraforming or ark domes, I think that Mars is the most important stepping stone for our species in the near future.

[cadetduke]

Whether it be in the form of terraforming or ark domes, I think that Mars is the most important stepping stone for our species in the near future.

I heard that within the next decade there will be another moon landing to start construction on a space station. Besides, wouldn't we have to go and setup shop there first before traveling to Mars? It would make for an easier launch. So while I agree Mars is an important stepping stone. The Moon is most important right now.

[teh_dmg_ctrlerer]

This all makes me think of the movie Mission to Mars.

[Master C]

Is it more viable then travelling billions of light years away hoping for the opportunity of a planet that mimics the earth's atmosphere? I dunno.

[teh_dmg_ctrlerer]

Titan AE also comes to mind with this thread.

[ST1DinOH]

I'm not sure about the travel bit... it's going to literally have to be cryogenic freezing and aiming thousands of people at a system with some sort of computer navigating them and bringing them down on the right planet... With the distances we're talking, the precision of direction is going to have to be incredible, and even then, with solar sails or an equivalent method of propulsion, we're talking probably anything from hundreds of years upwards, and that upwards could be in to the millions... That or we develop wormhole technology, but to be honest, that's still *very* firmly in the realm of science fiction, or at least having any sort of control over them is.

I think you're right though about it being more likely we'll just live in essentially more space stations. Seems more likely, overall...

not exactly...

we are on the verge of a lot of very cool scientific shit. tech that will make it possible to travel farther, faster and safer through space. just the nano tech advancements alone (carbon nano tubes/rods and triple layer nano photovoltaic cells) will help tremendously.

mainly on the space vehicles and eventual habbitations...but hopefully on the whole "escaping the earths gravitational cage" problem...

if we built that space elevator it would revolutionize space exploration/travel.

imagine being able to build/design craft in space, that do not require the fuel comsuption/storage to reach zero gravity. it would be spec-fucing-tacular to have that capability.

pressing D-up is a whole lot easier than using thousands of pounds of solid pressed rocket fuel to get us up there.

a whole hell-of-a lot safer to.

once we break free of thoes shackles we are free to do whatever...like when forrest's leg braces came off and he could run fast...

thats when all the other cool shit gets a whole lot more do-able and realistic.

we aren't going to fully understand and appreciate all the bennifits of these advancements untill we begin to utilize them. once they are in use there will be this brief period of time where many, many advancements take place over a short period of time. this will be the dawn of the true space age, much like the advent of human flight, within 5 or 10 years (probably much more rapidly now) we will see this technology grow, change, and evolve at an insanly fast pace. one breakthrough after another each one leading to the next.

Whether it be in the form of terraforming or ark domes, I think that Mars is the most important stepping stone for our species in the near future.

indeed...

the moon and mars will be vital in any further exploration of "deep space". we need to use these as jumpping off points and as a source for raw materials.

the moon alone contains a shit load of a type of helium (helium-3, a variant of the gas used in lasers and refrigerators) that would provide abundant energy for the lunar base and earth (beamed back to us in microwaves).

mars has it's own similar uses as well but not much is know yet.

I heard that within the next decade there will be another moon landing to start construction on a space station. Besides, wouldn't we have to go and setup shop there first before traveling to Mars? It would make for an easier launch. So while I agree Mars is an important stepping stone. The Moon is most important right now.

yes and no...we could very easily go to mars without establishing the moon but it's a much more logical step. mainly because it's closer and we would have quicker response times if there were any issues, and the turnaround on supply runs would be much quicker.

the distance between the earth and mars will be much less of an issue in the coming decades. much like our current transportation. 100 years ago getting from california to main was something that could take years, now it takes days by car, and hours by plane.

such will be the case with space travel once we get the ball moving.

the moon is nice, but mars is the ultimate real goal. it's bigger therefore it has much more potential than the moon. so depending on the way and speed in which these advancements happen, it's possible we could be on mars before the moon, but not likely.

sorry for the book guys...i'm stoned.

[Shadowstar]

I think that it is a great idea, but impossible to achieve. Its just too darn expensive to achieve. The only way that it could work is if most of the countries of the world united in one effort.