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You asked: Is it possible to turn Mars into another Earth? Marshall Brain answers: The process of turning mars into an earth-like planet is called terraforming. However, Mars could ever be exactly like earth. To turn Mars into another earth it needs: – More gravity – More water – More atmosphere – Higher temperatures – [...]
Blow Your Mind: To Terraform or Not to Terraform?
by Robert Lamb | March 17, 2011
What is Mars to you? Is it a place of possible origins, from which panspermia-vaulted samples of ancient life launched themselves toward the Earth? Perhaps it still hides fragments of this primordial spark, axenic and unchanged in some warm, wet oubliette far beneath the barren surface. If so, then the Red Planet is surely worthy of our study, protection and respect. Or do you see Mars as lifeless wasteland of once or never was? Might we even have an ethical obligation to recreate the world in Earth’s image?
It really is a profound question – “would you sign on for a one-way flight to Mars?” It would be a chance to explore the unknown, but it is definitely a one-way ticket: Professors urge one-way Martian colonization missions Why is the one-way option being considered? Cost: In the article, “To Boldly Go: A One-Way [...]
What would it take to create a colony on another planet?
by Marshall Brain | September 8, 2010
You Asked:
What would it take to create a colony on another planet? — Daniel, Munich, Germany
Marshall Brain Answers…
Terraforming Mars for the Greater Good
by Robert Lamb | May 3, 2010
Is it right to terraform another planet and turn it into a second Earth? To some, such an act would be a ghastly, intentional infection — the worst aspects of colonialism and environmental recklessness rolled out on a planetary scale. Yet for some cosmologists, bringing dead worlds to life is mankind’s destiny and a necessary step toward the long-term survival of the human race.
Back in February, I attended a speech by Vatican astronomer Guy J. Consolmagno on the ethics of planetary exploration and colonization. The Jesuit brother argued that terraforming a planet might either erase evidence of past life or prevent the world from evolving its own life. Last week, I interviewed Mars Society founder and terraforming advocate Robert Zubrin. Here’s what he had to say on the issue.
There’s a big debate over whether exporting democracy is a sound idea. On the one hand, you’ve got all the good things that come with it, like egalitarianism, the rule of law and kids holding hands and skipping everywhere. On the other hand, you’ve got free markets, corporate exploitation and homogenization.
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