[space] NASA actually ran the numbers on terraforming Mars, and the math didn't work out the way science fiction promised

[DiamondDallas86]

Terraforming means transforming an entire planet's climate, atmosphere and surface to make it habitable for humans and other Earth life, and Mars has long been the favorite candidate, since it once had a thicker atmosphere, flowing water and possibly even conditions that could support life billions of years ago. The most commonly proposed approach involves releasing carbon dioxide currently trapped in the Martian surface and polar ice caps back into the atmosphere, thickening it enough to trap heat and eventually allow liquid water to exist on the surface again

A NASA sponsored study concluded this specific approach simply does not work with current technology, or possibly at all. Mars does not retain nearly enough accessible carbon dioxide to meaningfully thicken its atmosphere this way, the numbers just do not add up no matter how the release process is imagined. Even setting that problem aside, Mars lacks a protective magnetic field, having lost it somewhere between three and four billion years ago, which means solar wind has been continuously stripping away atmosphere and surface water ever since, and would keep undoing any artificial atmosphere humans somehow managed to create

Some scientists have proposed placing an artificial magnetic shield between the sun and Mars specifically to solve that problem, but this remains firmly in the realm of theoretical engineering rather than anything close to achievable soon. Even under the most optimistic timelines discussed by researchers, full terraforming would likely take many centuries at minimum, and some estimates run into the thousands of years, making it a multigenerational undertaking rather than something any single human lifetime could realistically expect to see completed

Mars Terraforming Not Possible Using Present-Day Technology - NASAwww.nasa.gov

[Leo70]

Not having enough accessible carbon dioxide to even attempt the most common proposed method is the detail that undercuts a huge amount of casual Mars colonization optimism

[Marcus82]

The missing magnetic field problem is the part that really gets me, you could theoretically build the atmosphere back only to have it slowly stripped away by the sun all over again

[Dean95]

An artificial magnetic shield between the sun and an entire planet is such an enormous engineering ask, that alone puts this firmly in speculative science fiction territory for now

[StringTheory97]

Good reminder that NASA actually studying and debunking a popular proposed method is more valuable than just leaving the idea as vague, unexamined speculation

[RogueAI32]

Multigenerational timelines measured in centuries or millennia really change how you think about Mars colonization compared to the much shorter timelines usually implied in pop culture

[Lion15]

This is exactly the kind of grounded, honest reality check that popular science coverage of Mars colonization usually skips right over

[Golden Dan]

This is a good companion piece to any Mars colonization enthusiasm, understanding why the easy version does not work is important context before getting too excited about the harder ones

[Megan95]

The fact Mars once had flowing water and a thicker atmosphere billions of years ago makes the whole idea more tantalizing even while this study makes clear how far off actually restoring it is

[Protocol]

Appreciate that NASA is willing to publicly debunk a popular idea rather than just letting the optimistic version keep circulating unchecked