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YES! I would sign up immediately

22 (19.3%)

Yes. I would go, but only after a successful colony already exists

20 (17.5%)

No, it's too expensive, even if I had the money

14 (12.3%)

No, I don't think it would ever be safe enough to travel there

5 (4.4%)

No, for other reasons.

21 (18.4%)

[Kobold Noises]

32 (28.1%)

Total Members Voted: 113

[10ebbor10]

The NASA paper is saw on it seemed to indicate that there might be enought carbondioxide/water stuck in the soil/ icecaps to do it.

You'd need to kickstart the runaway warming cycle first, though.

[PTTG??]

Well, mars isn't exactly close to the sun. It could be pretty slow.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Mars is inside the habitable zone, though. The major problem is that Mars' geomagnetic field is a lot weaker than Earth's, so any atmosphere we created would disperse at a (relatively) quick rate unless we re-established the magnetosphere.

That said, a 1500 year estimate is with current technology. In practice, a habitable Mars could come much sooner due to our exponential advancements.

[10ebbor10]

Also, Mars doesn't have any plate tectonics, and therefore less volcanism, meaning it doesn't replenish it's athmosphere.

Secondly, the 1500 year estimate does include advancing technology, but it also assumes that Colonisation is kind of a side project, not the main goal. So it tends to prefer cheaper, longer options to expensive but short ones. It also can't predict groundbreaking breakthrough's.

Third, Mars would be habitable long before the terraforming is complete. I think the estimate was trees 200 year in , going to a breathable but underpressurized athmosphere from 1200 onwards. (Or maybe it was an unbreathable but pressurized athmosphere. Can't remember.)

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I'd assume the atmosphere would be breathable first. You don't need all that much to make an atmosphere that humans can survive in, if not be comfortable or at peak. To make Mars breathable we would need to:
-Reduce the CO2, below 5% for survival and 1% optimally.
-Increase the O2, above 15% for survival, 16% for fire, and 20% optimally.
-Increase air pressure. The minimum breathable air pressure is 160 millibars and Mars' surface pressure is 10 millibars.

[10ebbor10]

Do note that if the pressure is lower than optimal, the Oxygen percentage needs to be much higher. (Ie, at 1/3 of normal pressure you need to be breathing 60% oxygen)

I think it went 'Needing spacesuit', then beginning terraforming. At a low pressure, introduce algae and lichens, Then small plants adapted/engineered for the Martian atmosphere, then larger plants like shrubs. By that point, the atmosphere is thick enough to make it so that you only need breathing apparatus. Then you introduce trees and begin to introduce life. By that point, you have a breathable atmosphere.

Trees were placed much earlier in the cycle. Several sorts of pine and other mountainous trees can easily whistand the cold and low oxygen conditions, and AFAIK , much better than mosts shrubs.

[darkrider2]

The NASA paper is saw on it seemed to indicate that there might be enought carbondioxide/water stuck in the soil/ icecaps to do it.

You'd need to kickstart the runaway warming cycle first, though.

Why am I suddenly imagining a kickstarter for the terraforming of mars.

[RedWarrior0]

Again, we still need a martian magnetosphere to prevent the atmosphere from de-atmospherizing. Anybody got a plan for that? I was thinking we dump a plasma-state O₂/N₂ mixture onto the planet until the core melts, then spray water onto it until continents form. Other ideas might be better, though.

[andrea]

we could just be happy with having it habitable , for example, for 10k or 100k years. and then hope that we get a better idea, if we are still around by that time.

[FearfulJesuit]

I'd assume the atmosphere would be breathable first. You don't need all that much to make an atmosphere that humans can survive in, if not be comfortable or at peak. To make Mars breathable we would need to:
-Reduce the CO2, below 5% for survival and 1% optimally.
-Increase the O2, above 15% for survival, 16% for fire, and 20% optimally.
-Increase air pressure. The minimum breathable air pressure is 160 millibars and Mars' surface pressure is 10 millibars.

But aren't we going to be using CO2 to keep the planet nice and toasty? Or will we be importing methane from Titan or something?

[RedWarrior0]

In that case, we'd all get cancer from the solar radiation. I'm still going to pass, thanks.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

But aren't we going to be using CO2 to keep the planet nice and toasty? Or will we be importing methane from Titan or something?

Mars' atmosphere is currently 95.5% CO2. We're going to have to convert most of it for the sake of aerobic life.

[10ebbor10]

The cold problem should partially be solved by the thickening athmosphere.

As for radiation, maybe we can try to form a ionosphere. Or try to restart's Mars core system using carefully placed overpowered nukes. Or you know, we can just shield our colonies and hope the rest of the live survives.

After all , everything should be fine unless Mars gets a serious direct hit from a flare, which is incredibly unlikely. I mean, our rovers are still operating, even though they are very vulnerable to these things.

((Solar radiation can be solved with ozon))

But aren't we going to be using CO2 to keep the planet nice and toasty? Or will we be importing methane from Titan or something?

Mars' atmosphere is currently 95.5% CO2. We're going to have to convert most of it for the sake of aerobic life.

Mars athmosphere is currently near nonexistant.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Curiosity's measurements suggest that radiation on Mars will not be harmful to unshielded humans, baring a flare.

[RedWarrior0]

I'd assume the atmosphere would be breathable first. You don't need all that much to make an atmosphere that humans can survive in, if not be comfortable or at peak. To make Mars breathable we would need to:
-Reduce the CO2, below 5% for survival and 1% optimally.
-Increase the O2, above 15% for survival, 16% for fire, and 20% optimally.
-Increase air pressure. The minimum breathable air pressure is 160 millibars and Mars' surface pressure is 10 millibars.

So atmo is 95% CO2. Going from 10 milibars to 160 milibars via addition of O2, O3, and N2 means that the atmosphere would be 5.975% CO2. If we went more comfortable breathing conditions, say, 320 mbar, we'd have a %CO2 at about 3. Add in trees, and there'll be even less CO2, possibly low enough that it would be acceptable at minimum breathing pressure.