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Mars has become a target of terraforming, where space agencies and research groups have been working to turn the planet into a habitable land.
Terraforming – It is the hypothetical process of Deliberately manipulating the atmosphere, temperature, topography and ecology of a planet or natural satellite to transform it into an Earth-like body, able to support living beings from our planet.
Core objectives –To establish 3 fundamental conditions for life – Water, Atmosphere and Temperature.
Based on –Planetary engineering (the use of technology to change the conditions on a planet).
Origin – The word ‘terraforming’ came from a golden-age science fiction series called the Seetee series, published in 1950.
First proposed by –Astronomer Carl Sagan - terraforming in Venus – in a ‘Science’ journal in 1961.
Terraforming methods –
Adjusting the average planetary temperature.
Adding atmospheric mass to allow water on the surface.
Adding water, perhaps by redirecting icy comets, to form oceans and lakes.
Biological terraforming by using genetically modified bacteria.
Removing toxic substances in the atmosphere.
Creating a biosphere on the planet’s surface.
Creating areas of arable land, etc.
Terraforming in Venus –With a surface temperature of 450 °C and a crushing atmosphere 90 times denser than Earth, Venus presents immense challenges.
Terraforming in Mars –Over the years, Mars has become a prominent target of terraforming.
Reason – Mars was once full of water, which was observed through the presence of the Jezero Crater.
Challenges – Very thin atmosphere, extremely cold temperatures, and lack of a global magnetic field to protect against solar winds.
Observations of MAVEN mission – Mars once held an atmosphere that had been stripped away due to climate change.
