Mars Terraforming

1. HUMAN TO MARS
Prepared by,
Nirmal K S
GEC Thrissur
Chemical

2. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
LIVING ON MARS
1. Earth and Mars
2. Why would we want to
live on Mars?
3. The challenges of
living on Mars
4.Mars Terraforming

3. Earth and Mars
LUNA
Radius: 12746km 6805km
Gravity: 1g 0.38g
Deimos
Phobos

4. Earth and Mars

5. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Why would we want to
live on other worlds?
Population growth.
For energy resources
Survive asteroid impacts.
Develop many new
technologies & systems.
Develop a global view of
Earth.
For the challenge and
adventure!
Why not?

6. Mars is by far our best
choice for colonisation:
Close to Earth
Warmth and light
Length of day
Has seasons like Earth
Resources –
atmosphere, water,
metals
Potential for
terraforming
But why Mars?

7. The challenges of
living on Mars
Cold!
Very thin and toxic
atmo.
Water frozen solid.
High radiation.
Low gravity.
Long way from home.
No shops!

9. Making Mars’ environment
hospitable to organisms from Earth.
MARS TERRAFORMING
Wohoo, Star Trek!

10. Terraforming Process:
What needs to be changed?
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Oxygen
• Water
• Radiation

11. Terraforming Process:
Temperature
• Introduction of Greenhouse Gases
– Anaerobic micro-organisms
(bacteria take in CO2 spit out O2 and methane or
ammonia)
– factories (pump out greenhouse gases from air and
soil)
Currently -63 degree C
We should bring it to 0-30 degree C

12. Use mirrors in space to reflect
more sunlight onto Mars
Orbital mirror

13. Albedo reduction
Placing dark objects on mars surface
They absorb more thermal energy

14. Asteroids contain ammonia( A green house gas)
By making an asteroid to collide with Mars surface,
there will be emission of ammonia

15. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Terraforming Process: Pressure
currently 1% Earth’s sea level - 8millibars
(pressure suits required)
• Directly related to temperature
• increased by thickening the atmosphere
– Greenhouse effect could give a
atmospheric pressure of one-eighth to
twice that of Earth’s

16. Terraforming Process: Oxygen
Currently 95% carbon dioxide
(Oxygen masks necessary)
• Photosynthetic plants (CO2 - O2)
– Genetic engineering
• Photosynthetic micro-organisms (CO2 -
O2)

17. Adding Nitrogen
To make a thick atmosphere like Earth,
need lots of nitrogen. Some on Mars, but
probably not enough.
Can get more N2 from Venus or Titan.
Venus closer, but Titan easier
Venus:
96.5% CO2
3.5% N2
Titan:
98.4% N2
1.6% CH4

18. Water on Mars
Evidence of liquid water in past, though
none present today
Now, water in the form of ice
• northern polar cap
• Regolith sources
• groundwater reserves

19. Once the atmosphere has been thickened
there will be sufficient protection from
radiation
• UV
• Solar Flares
• Cosmic Rays
Terraforming Process: Radiation

20. Other challenges
The gravity less
Mars has no magnetosphere – solar radiation – cancer
The atmosphere that we created may lose due to absence
of magnetosphere
Possibilities: creating gravity and magnetosphere

21. How long will it take?
Decades to millions of years
• Greenhouse
– centuries
• Pressure and Temp
– few decades to centuries
• O2 (photosynthesis)
– several centuries to 100,000 yrs
• Melting of Northern polar cap
– decade

22. Mars Science- Status Today
Mars terraforming is not possible using present-day technology
Initial step will be a lab in mars as international space station
NASA declared that on 2030, the first human will be in Mars

23. American Aerospace manufacturer SPACEX announced that
two BFR cargo vehicle rockets will be landed on mars on 2022
Also they informed that
the first step of human
in mars will be in 2024

24. Many Missions in Development or
Under Study
CONCLUSION
Mars will be terraformed within 1000 years.
But we are all blessed to witness the unforgettable day in world
history – “ FIRST HUMAN STEP IN MARS”
Mars is there, waiting to be reached “ – Buzz Aldrin

25. THANK YOU