Viable, Affordable Terraforming of Mars

This is a project I've been working on for some time. I finally got the concept all together in a presentation an I've decided to make a you tube version.

This presentation is targeted at a lay audience. If you'd like me to offer some greater support or references for any arguments I make in the video don't hesitate to send me a message.

I'm hoping to do a more technical series latter talking more about the nuts, bolts and dollar costs of my proposal.

Some references...

Terraforming: (awful looking web site with great information)
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~mfogg/index.htm

Toba eruption theory:
for: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WJS-45JCC4J-5&...

against:
http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/archaeology/middle/petraglia_toba_india_c...


Special thanks to my faculty advisor, Gail A. Tompkins, the Mars Society, my buddy Jason Held for getting me interested in Mars and my wife for her help and endless patience.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Mars
• society
• terraforming
• DIYbio
• Carl
• Sagan
• space
• exploration
• Robert
• Zubrin
• genetics
• craig
• venter
• synthetic
• biology
• extinction
• risk
• global
• warming
• climate
• change

[larrycpo]

You talk about how expensive it is to launch objects from earth, well how expensive do you think it would be to terraform a whole godamn planet. We have to stop looking at science fiction, we currently have all the technology needed to send humans to mars.

[Keylimedelight]

@larrycpo When I see comments like this I have to assume that the poster didn't watch the video.

[Keylimedelight]

Are you referring to the method of terraforming that I'm suggesting in the video? All the chemical/physical methods I critique are in fact trillion dollar plans, but the biological method I think could be implemented for millions. Now it wouldn't result in full terrafomring, but it might get you a third of the way there at less than a hundredth the cost.

[hydecker]

I really like this idea becouse it(by it's self) can completly terraform the planet, but it can also be supplemented by other methods, when public opinion permits. can you see any problems after the terraformation is complete, with the bug(s) that where introduced providing problems for future colonists?

[Keylimedelight]

@hydecker

Things which are pathogenic to human beings on the earth exist because using a animals or human host is a good potential evolutionary strategy for a microbe to embark on. We are in effect a potential niche in the ecology for microbes to inhabit. I think that it is very unlikely that something which starts of non-pathonagenic (some algae we modify to terraform mars for instance) would evolve to be pathogenic to humans without humans or animals present to act as hosts.

[Keylimedelight]

@lecure777

1) The problem of something randomly evolving to be dangerous to humans, is much worse when you live in a place with humans and animals to act as ecosystems for microbes. What evolutionary advantage is posed by a mars soil microbe by being able to survive in a human, much less become pathogenic?

2) This, if enacted, would take thousands of years. I think that the people of the year 4000 will have a significantly improved tool set of tools to deal with these problems.

lol indeed.

[kovona]

This question is bugging me, if we were to warm Mars by adding greenhouse agents, what's stopping the additional produced agents from escaping the weak gravity of the planet? That aside, I'm a total proponent for your biological method. As a gardener, I seen the crazy places where plant weeds can grow and thrive, and if you incorporate some white clover and thistle genomes into the mix, there's nothing stopping these things from spreading on Mars.

[Magoo123rox]

@Baronstone So do I, if we could all just put aside our differences and work together then mankind will make it to tier 1. The real problem is in the middle eastern countries coz they are fighting stupid wars over religion, especially Iran.

[Baronstone]

@Magoo123rox I hope like hell that we make it past the transition from category 0 to a category 1 civilization. If we could get the world to listen and stop fighting and arguing long enough it would be possible to develop a world government. While there would be problems with the islamic block countries, there would also be resistance in the first world countries because their traditional positions of power would be reduced

[Baronstone]

@Keylimedelight Thats not true. You could build several giant reflectors and position them over the poles on mars so that they reflect gathered sunlight to the martian polar surface thus increasing the local temperature and releasing CO2. The cost of a mission like that would be no more than $2-$3 billion and that includes the launching. The reflector doesnt even have to be made from glass, a correctly shaped polished metal surface would do the job.

[larrycpo]

@Solutionist1 It takes around 6 months there another 6 back and a 1 to 2 years on the surface of the planet. This is not an impossible mission people have done this on earth in much worse conditions, such as submarines and even the ISS.

[Solutionist1]

@larrycpo

we may have the technology to send humans to mars and back, but have you seen the kind of time frames being talked about?

[Magoo123rox]

This video really got me interested

[Magoo123rox]

Im doubtful the human race will make to tier 1