(MENAFN- AzerNews)
The idea of transforming Mars into a world more hospitable to
human habitation is a regular feature of science fiction. But could
this be done in real life?
According to Reuters, scientists are now proposing a new
approach to warm up Earth's planetary neighbor by pumping
engineered particles -similar in size to commercially available
glitter and made of iron or aluminum - into the atmosphere as
aerosols to trap escaping heat and scatter sunlight toward the
Martian surface. The idea would be to augment the natural
greenhouse effect on Mars to raise its surface temperature by
roughly 50 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) over a span of a
decade.
This alone would not make Mars habitable for people, but the
scientists who developed the proposal see it as a potentially
doable initial step.
"Terraforming refers to modifying a planet's environment to make
it more Earth-like. For Mars, warming the planet is a necessary,
but insufficient, first step. Previous concepts have focused on
releasing greenhouse gases, but these require large amounts of
resources that are scarce on Mars," said University of Chicago
planetary scientist Edwin Kite, who helped lead the study published
this week in the journal Science Advances.
"The key elements of our paper are a novel proposal to use
engineered nanoparticles to warm Mars' atmosphere, and climate
modeling that suggests this approach could be much more efficient
than previous concepts. This is important because it presents a
potentially more feasible method for modifying Mars' climate, which
could inform future Mars exploration strategies," Kite added.
NASA has sent robotic rovers to explore the Martian surface and
the InSight Lander to study the planet's interior. The U.S. space
agency's Artemis program aims to put astronauts in the coming years
on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972 in preparation
for potential future human missions to Mars.
There are numerous challenges to human settlements on Mars: lack
of breathable oxygen, harmful ultraviolet radiation due to its thin
atmosphere, salty soil hostile to growing crops, dust storms that
sometimes cover much of the planet and more. But its frigid
temperatures are a serious impediment.
"We propose to show that the idea of warming Mars isn't
impossible. We hope that our finding encourages the broader
scientific community, and the public, to explore this intriguing
idea," said study lead author Samaneh Ansari, a doctoral student in
the electrical and computer engineering department at Northwestern
University in Illinois.
The median Martian surface temperature is about minus-85 degrees
Fahrenheit (minus-65 degrees Celsius). With its tenuous atmosphere,
solar heat on the Martian surface readily escapes into space. The
proposal would aim to allow liquid water to exist on the surface of
Mars, which has water in the form of ice at its polar regions and
its subsurface.
The scientists proposed continuously releasing tiny rod-shaped
particles - nanorods - into the atmosphere at a rate of about eight
gallons (30 liters) per second for years.
"The idea is to either ship the material or better yet, ship the
manufacturing tool and make the nanorods on the planet since iron
and aluminum are abundant on the surface of Mars," Ansari said.
The researchers are mindful of the possibility of unintended
consequences in terraforming another world for humankind's benefit.
Scientists, for instance, are eager to learn whether Mars has
harbored life in the past - or perhaps currently, in the form of
subsurface microbes.
"Although nanoparticles could warm Mars, both the benefits and
potential costs of this course of action are currently uncertain.
For example, in the unlikely event that Mars' soil contains
irremediable compounds toxic to all Earth-derived life, then the
benefit of warming Mars is nil," Kite said.
"On the other hand, if a photosynthetic biosphere can be
established on the surface of Mars, that might increase the solar
system's capacity for human flourishing," Kite added. "On the costs
side, if Mars has extant life, then study of that life could have
great benefits that warrant robust protections for its
habitat."
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