Terraforming is
the process of transforming a hostile environment into one suitable
for human life. Being that Mars is the most Earth-like planet, it is
the best candidate for terraforming. Once just the subject of science
fiction novels, it is now becoming a viable research area. The famed
astronomer and Pulitzer prize winner, Carl Sagan, says that there is
enormous promise in the search for ancient life on Mars. If life was
once sustainable on Mars, it is important to know what caused Mars to
evolve into the cold and lifeless planet it is today. With this knowledge,
we can terraform Mars by reversing the process.
NASA scientists believe that it is technologically possible at the
present time to create considerable global climate changes, allowing
humans to live on Mars. But this will not be by any means an easy task.
Raising the atmospheric pressure and surface temperature alone could
be achieved in a few decades.
This research has strong environmental implications for Earth. What
researchers are trying to do involves global warming, a sort of greenhouse
effect on the cold planet Mars. Scientists may be able to test their
hypotheses about global warming in their attempts to elevate Mars' surface
temperature. Likewise, once theories, they may be applied to our own
planet in an attempt to reverse environmental damage done by pollution
and deforestation.
Related Web sites
- Marsbugs:
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