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  1. #1
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    Terraforming possible? or is it just sci-fi?

    Hey I was just thinking, scientists are spending so much time on trying to find habitable planets and planets with life on them. Are they even working on ways to terraform planets like mars or even the moon. It sounds like sci-fi to me but it would be really cool if it was possible to do, even if just in a small scale as an experiment, is this something scientists are looking into?

    Sorry for the english, not my native language.

  2. #2
    Well it's possible, it has to be, otherwise our planet wouldn't have the atmosphere and conditions it has now.

    Could we theoretically do it? Sure, just copy what naturally occurred. Will we be able to do it? Depends, but it wont be something we see in the lifetimes of the next few generations. To begin with, you need a planet that isn't habitable but is in the habitable zone around its star, and there aren't any in our neighborhood.

    You also have to think, would it be worth it? We can create artificial environments that we can survive and thrive in. Would it be worth using all that energy and all the resources to turn another planet into something we can live and breath on?

    So, to answer your original question, partly Sci Fi
    RETH

  3. #3
    Current technology says no. In the future? Maybe.

    There are just some things that we can't change about the planet that would be a major problem. (Ex. amount of light it receives from sun, temperature within atmosphere, how long the day/year is)

  4. #4
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    If we ever manage to terraform a planet(or a moon) I think it will pay itself off in the long run. I realise the cost and time for terraforming a planet, but I think the payoff would be huge when its done.

  5. #5
    Elemental Lord
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    We have already changed the environment on this planet quite considerably, so it is certainly possible to change the environment on another planet.

    It really is just a question of having the resources to do it, and getting our knowledge to the level where we understand what we are doing properly. Also you would most likely require a sufficiently suitable planet to start with.

    I am pretty certain that humans will end up terraforming Mars first, it's just a matter of time.

  6. #6
    Bloodsail Admiral WarpKnight's Avatar
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    Well, depends on the conditions.

    I'm fairly sure we could just dump some microbes on Mars right now and see how they fare.

    In the long run, perhaps we could set up some special Earth-like biomes on Mars and see how they go. Maybe they'll adapt to the outer landscape!

    Would be nice.

  7. #7
    Sadly, it is just a sci-fi concept.

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  9. #9
    It's possible but awfully inefficient. If we had the technology and resources to do something like this, we wouldn't need to do it in the first place.

  10. #10
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    Mars atmoshpere is thin, so meteorites would be a big problem.

  11. #11
    Bloodsail Admiral WarpKnight's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rboa View Post
    Sadly, it is just a sci-fi concept.
    Dumping extremophiles on Mars isn't a sci-fi concept, lol...

  12. #12
    Stood in the Fire Paq's Avatar
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    Nasa/National Geographic released this not to long ago.


  13. #13
    Legendary! Collegeguy's Avatar
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    Terraforming in general? No, that is not scifi. The science is possible. At the most premature. Terraforming mars would be a whole new problem since it doesn't have an active core or a magnetic field. Anything you put in the atmosphere would get blown away in no time.

  14. #14
    The Lightbringer Lovestar's Avatar
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    It will definitely happen. Far away from now, sure. But it will definitely happen, because as others have said, it's well within the realm of what science and technology are capable of.

    Infinitely more practical than really far-out stuff like time travel. This is just a matter of resources, time, energy, and experimentation. Once humans get the formula down — and I'm sure there will be many catastrophic failures and probably a few horrible deaths along the way — then it will become just another thing we do.

    Now as for when the resources, energy, and opportunity will be sufficient to reach that point... who knows. :p

  15. #15
    Stood in the Fire Paq's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Collegeguy View Post
    Terraforming in general? No, that is not scifi. The science is possible. At the most premature. Terraforming mars would be a whole new problem since it doesn't have an active core or a magnetic field. Anything you put in the atmosphere would get blown away in no time.
    ^ This is the biggest problem for a terraformation of mars. Without it, there is no magnetic field, no tectonic movement, there would be no currents (should they ever want a sea), and more importantly, if a solar flare hit the planet you could kiss your ass goodbye.

  16. #16
    Forget about the lack of a magnetic field, there is another problem. Mars gets only a fraction of the sunlight that the Earth receives. Not only it will be hard to heat up the planet and keep it warm, but it will be hard to sustain such an active ecosystem as Earth. It's easy to forget but all life on Earth is practically powered by the Sun.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Love View Post
    If we ever manage to terraform a planet(or a moon) I think it will pay itself off in the long run. I realise the cost and time for terraforming a planet, but I think the payoff would be huge when its done.
    I don't think we will be anywhere close to having the technology to terraform a planet within the next 200 years well not in a reasonable time frame anyway.
    That isn't to say we don't have the capacity to build sustainable habitats on the moon or even on the earth if it's atmosphere were to collapse.

  18. #18
    Pit Lord Kivimetsan's Avatar
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    Its easy bro.

    If planet has no water or ice, tow asteroid near planet, nuke it, gg (asteroid has to contain ice lol).
    If planet has ice, nuke planets volcano areas, melts ice, floods planet, gg.

    Then you just need to pump heaps of Co2 into the atmosphere, this is easy as well.
    Terra Forming is super freakin easy.

  19. #19
    Merely a Setback Adam Jensen's Avatar
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    Technically yes.

    But the cost and amount of resources required would be insane.
    Putin khuliyo

  20. #20
    Merely a Setback Reeve's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blueobelisk View Post
    Current technology says no. In the future? Maybe.

    There are just some things that we can't change about the planet that would be a major problem. (Ex. amount of light it receives from sun, temperature within atmosphere, how long the day/year is)
    Current technology says yes, actually, but it would take a very long time.
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