"If you have the technology to terraform Mars, then you have the technology to preserve Earth."
I'm not convinced that's true, though -- terraforming doesn't necessarily imply perfectly duplicating Earth's ecology. For purposes of calling a planet "habitable", it's probably sufficient that it has gravity enough for human comfort and health, average temperature in the liquid water range, sufficient solar exposure for agriculture, and a lack of anything immediately deadly to Terran life forms as such.
Martian gravity is probably good enough for Terran life. The radiation is nasty, and there's no magnetosphere to protect an atmosphere, but if you can *create* a new atmosphere, you can probably top it up periodically as bits of it blow off in the solar wind.
Martian soil probably needs a lot of work and amendment to be arable, but you don't actually *need* soil to grow plants. We grow food without soil all the time right here on Earth.
I'm not saying a Mars colony is a good idea, I'm saying that it's not as impossible as some claim. Personally I think space stations are a better bet, or lunar/asteroid colonies, for all practical purposes. An asteroid colony will probably need to be rather like an ant farm that spins, if people will live there permanently. Lunar gravity may or may not be enough for human life long term, I don't know.
mos_8502 :verified: /
npub1qn…5hzwk
2024-09-15 20:15:26
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npub1qnufz4pycufk27kkeev5g0fgm0w0tqexsly674s2uwy0tynk5ymsk5hzwkPublished at
2024-09-15 20:15:26Event JSON
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"content": "\"If you have the technology to terraform Mars, then you have the technology to preserve Earth.\"\n\nI'm not convinced that's true, though -- terraforming doesn't necessarily imply perfectly duplicating Earth's ecology. For purposes of calling a planet \"habitable\", it's probably sufficient that it has gravity enough for human comfort and health, average temperature in the liquid water range, sufficient solar exposure for agriculture, and a lack of anything immediately deadly to Terran life forms as such. \n\nMartian gravity is probably good enough for Terran life. The radiation is nasty, and there's no magnetosphere to protect an atmosphere, but if you can *create* a new atmosphere, you can probably top it up periodically as bits of it blow off in the solar wind.\n\nMartian soil probably needs a lot of work and amendment to be arable, but you don't actually *need* soil to grow plants. We grow food without soil all the time right here on Earth.\n\nI'm not saying a Mars colony is a good idea, I'm saying that it's not as impossible as some claim. Personally I think space stations are a better bet, or lunar/asteroid colonies, for all practical purposes. An asteroid colony will probably need to be rather like an ant farm that spins, if people will live there permanently. Lunar gravity may or may not be enough for human life long term, I don't know.",
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