Speed Bumps to Terraforming (Anywhere)

Palomar · 2005-05-17 13:42:56

That said, I'm going to have to go with human factors as the biggest obstacle, whether short attention spans or outright incompetence. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if a full-on terraforming project gets underway only to be cut 125 years down the line, leaving a cold clammy crap planet with a quarter-bar of atmosphere slowly seeping away and a chorus of naysayers proclaiming "see, terraforming was a failure, we should have stop it a long time ago."

*Why do I get the feeling you are probably completely spot-on?

Though I'm still a Red...it would be unfortunate, considering the time, effort and cost involved. I'd hope they'd make good on it.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-05-17 17:17:59

CC:-

.. a full-on terraforming project gets underway only to be cut 125 years down the line, leaving a cold clammy crap planet ..

I'm hopeful Mars' climate is actually on more of a hair-trigger than that.
By 125 years from now, we'll have at least one, maybe two, solettas to warm the pole(s). Greenhouse gas generators will have made good progress in trapping incoming solar energy, CO2 from the regolith will be 'outgassing' spontaneously in response to the warmth, together with an increasing H2O vapour pressure in the atmosphere - itself a potent greenhouse gas.

If the Martian system isn't on a hair-trigger, we could try for millenia to warm the place .. and fail. If it is on a hair-trigger, once we got it started, I think we'd have to take deliberate steps to actually stop the process!

[P.S. "Dyslexic devil worshippers sell their souls to Santa." :laugh: I love it! (Nice one, Cindy.) ]

Commodore · 2005-05-17 17:45:00

The biggest speedbumps will be technology and human evolution.

Life support technologies will get so advanced that we can provide for all our needs in comfortable air conditioned, rad shielded comfort. Our Earthly desires will be meet in massive domed environments were everything earthly is exagerated to mythical degrees thanks to lower gravity. Combined with the amazing natural views, and the improved EVA suits that gradually provide a more natural experience, people will be happy with whats there, and will more than likely fight the "pollution" tooth and nail. After a generation or two, people won't know their environment any other way, and won't suffer anyone screwing with it. Besides, an atmoshpere only makes getting to and from space harder.

Which is not to say that terraformming won't happen. Venus is completely inaccessable as is. Mars has a big enough gravity well to serve as a second Earth. But given that moons surrounding gas giants are far more abundant, I think terraforming will not be all that common.

Grypd · 2005-05-17 18:35:52

If I was to add a speedbump I would have put down that as we actually start terraforming the permafrost layer on Mars starts to melt and we end up with large subsidence and problems all over. Still got to take the rough with the smooth!!!!

mars2015 · 2005-05-23 08:43:50

Reserved about terraforming? I also a little. But the challenge to me, and maybe to most of the people on this forum, is just to brainstorm what are the possibilities. For me personally it's the technological issue that fascinates.
My personal feeling is that at least some planets/moons should never be terraformed, te keep them as 'cosmic parks'. And of course, cautiousnes is very important.
I think Mars will never be terraformed, neither colonized, because it is to uninteresting to do there something. There is nothing to mine we cannot find on earth. There are only 2 real reasons for continuous human precense on Mars, each have very limited importance, that are:
1. Tourism
2. Areography

Bull. Mars can, and will be terraformed, and will eventually be a green, white, and blue marble like Earth. We've been in love with Mars (as humankind) for centuries. We will make it a home for humans, a new race of humans. Mars is the new New World.

Cobra Commander · 2005-05-23 09:08:30

Bull. Mars can, and will be terraformed, and will eventually be a green, white, and blue marble like Earth.

Perhaps, but terraforming isn't the only way to live on Mars. The most dramatic certainly, arguably the most desireable, but hardly a foregone conclusion. Terraforming requires not only vast resources and a long-term commitment but also a profound audacity that must be maintained for the duration. If we're going to be making worlds we'll need a certain god-like boldness bordering on arrogance.

I'm very much pro-terraforming by the way, don't mistake my choice of words for condemnation.

Whether humanity will terraform Mars will depend largely on what kind of society we become. If we are sure of ourselves, bold and willing to take risks, full of vision and enthusiasm to do great things then in time we will. If we're overly cautious and soft, weighing everything against helping the poor, comforting the sick or other such things we'll never do it. We'll turn inward, atrophy and die feeling sorry for each other and what we've been reduced to.

Vision, audacity, boldness, decisive action; these are the qualities of a race of spacefarers and world-makers.

karov · 2005-05-25 02:27:48

Even on Earth, we live inside protected spaces.
From the caveman, to the Eskimo, to the high-rise dweller;
Outside has not been safe or comfortable.
-
Same will be in other locations;
Mercury, Earth, Moon, or Mars;
A small space, inside, made comfortable.

Yes, absolutely. Our human world was always artificial. The "artificiality" is the very atribute of our species. This is the way we live. Protected spaces - from the cloths and scuba-equipment, to the dutch polders and the agriculture of the land. Changing the environment to fit us is our strategy. Any other way is inhuman. Even much less developed species do such things, constructing out-of-the-body "equipment" for protection - shells, etc.

The terraforming is just the same strategy as to wear clothes and sunglases, but in scale to encompass entire planet.

The mor mundane everiday meaning - terraforming is just an aspect of the real estates development business.

Earthfirst · 2005-06-20 12:56:08

I think envirnomentalist will protest even people going to Mars, they think that people are bad and by being there make a place evil. They rather keep Man on the earth to save a small dead planet. Most envirnomentalist are insane years of liberal lies have made them think that humans are evil and should be removed from the earth too.
Also Mars has high radiation at its surface due to the lack of a magnetic sphere, and a very thin air. A few nukes at the poles or under ground would not increase the radation danger to people very little. But metor impacts at high speed could easly provide the same heat or stir up dust as nukes could.
The bigest road block to terraforming Mars would be envirnomentalist. Easily sloved by not bring them to mars.

karov · 2005-06-21 01:06:09

I also think that everyone who thinks that he/ she ( being part of the species) doesn`t deserve to live, that the humans are evil, so on... is insane. This is direct form of self-denial, like the suididal patients in the lunatic asilumns...

Mars is piece of rock, a teritorry, real estate. If someone needs it as it is, he should pay for keeping it out of the habitation range, as kinda strange rocky natural park.

Earthfirst · 2005-06-22 08:53:49

Thats what the serria club does here on earth, they stoped oil exploaration in Amwar, just because they think they should be the only one to binifit from it.
In fiction I think they are called the reds, people who want to stop terrafroming of mars. They fall in love with mars but fail to figure out that after terraforing Mars will still be Mars and will still be very different from the earth. The only difference is that you can now enjoy the surface with out a space suit.
That is until energy hungry antimatter producers slam a calisto into mars turning the planet into a molten ocean of lava. But with the more mass mar moch 2 will be better able to hold onto a atmosphere with out constanst replacement or special cooling machines. That day the sky will be falling chicken little.

karov · 2005-06-27 23:16:51

Merging Mars with some of the Jovian Galilleans or the four jupiter moons to form a larger body would have insignificant effect for atmosphere escape prevention, cause the increase of only several percents of Earth masses will get stronger the surface gravity only a few -- not enough to keeep the air around much better. But deffinitely and unarguably the colisional planetary engineering has quite much to give to the future mega-habitat construction. One of the most important advantages of such method is that it would provide the terraformation energy as well as the energy in the future for biosphere and civilization to be housed on the re-frozen crust of the renovated planet.

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#26 2005-05-17 13:42:56

Re: Speed Bumps to Terraforming (Anywhere)

#27 2005-05-17 17:17:59

Re: Speed Bumps to Terraforming (Anywhere)

#28 2005-05-17 17:45:00

Re: Speed Bumps to Terraforming (Anywhere)

#29 2005-05-17 18:35:52

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#30 2005-05-23 08:43:50

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#31 2005-05-23 09:08:30

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#32 2005-05-25 02:27:48

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#33 2005-06-20 12:56:08

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#34 2005-06-21 01:06:09

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#35 2005-06-22 08:53:49

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