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Eos
@eos.org

With recent advances in the private spaceflight sector, engineering a second habitable world is starting to look less like science fiction and more like a project someone alive today might actually attempt. Humanity should advance cautiously, scientists warn. eos.org/opinions/wha...

eos.orgWhat We Could Lose by Trying to Make Mars Habitable - EosThe rock, ice, and atmosphere of Mars hold a largely unread archive. Terraforming could erase it before the biggest scientific questions are answered.

3 reposts8 likes

Abraham Samma🔬🔭👨‍💻
@abesamma.bsky.social

I didn't know there's a new technique for terraforming that we can actually pull off. We cannot dodge these questions much longer. We may need an international treaty sooner rather than later to govern each planet on par with the Antarctic treaty.

Matthew 🦖
@moosewithablanket.bsky.social

Alive today? You are joking, right? We'd need tons of money and space-based industry to even think about doing anything like this seriously. We have none and aren't close to having any, really. Decades away from even starting that, let alone teraformimg.

Abraham Samma🔬🔭👨‍💻
@abesamma.bsky.social

If you read the article, it becomes a little clearer. Now is the time to ask these questions because I fear we've been very handwavy about some of these details and we're essentially sleepwalking our way into technological advancements with the ethical sophistication of a child.

Matthew 🦖
@moosewithablanket.bsky.social

It's fine for people to talk about and ask questions and it would be terrible to destroy the history there without study. But teraforming isn't something that's going to be done anytime soon. We're talking about 100 years from now or more.

Matthew 🦖
@moosewithablanket.bsky.social

I remember reading the nanoparticle article, and, iirc, it would require 1% terrestrial metal production getting thrown into Mars for over a decade. That's far beyond our capabilities. Other aspects to teraforming would be equally expensive and as much or more distant.