Skip to main content

Scientists Say We Can’t Terraform Mars. Elon Musk Says We Can.

A new NASA-funded study drawing on 20 years of research says we simply can't terraform Mars using technology available today.

SORRY, ELON. To be ready for human occupants, Elon Musk has long called Mars a “fixer-upper of a planet.” But according to a new NASA-sponsored study, a better description might be a “tear-down.” The scientists behind that project say it’s simply not possible to terraform Mars — that is, change its environment so that humans can live there without life support systems — using today’s technology.

BUILDING AN ATMOSPHERE. Mars has a super thin atmosphere; a human unprotected on the surface of Mars would quickly die, mostly because there’s not enough atmospheric pressure to prevent all your organs from rupturing out of your body (if you survived a little longer, you could also suffocate from lack of oxygen, freeze from low temperatures, or get fried from too much ultraviolet radiation).

This study, published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy, considers how difficult it would be to increase the atmospheric pressure on the Red Planet enough so that humans can walk on Mars’s surface without a pressurized suit and, ideally, without a breathing apparatus.

One suggested plan to increase this atmospheric pressure: to release the carbon dioxide (CO2) trapped in Mars’s surface. In 2015, Musk famously suggested accomplishing this by dropping nuclear weapons on the planet’s poles.

According to the new study, there simply isn’t enough CO2 on the planet to increase the atmospheric pressure to terraforming levels. At most, they claim we could only raise the atmospheric pressure of Mars from about .6 percent that of Earth’s to 7 percent. That’s not exactly enough to keep all your organs in.

NOT TODAY, BUT TOMORROW? The researchers reached this conclusion by drawing on 20 years’ worth of spacecraft observations of Mars, but that wealth of research isn’t enough to dissuade Musk. On Monday night, he took to Twitter to assert that Mars has plenty enough CO2 trapped in its soil for terraforming. He didn’t specify what research backed up his claims.

Still, as the NASA report admits, we don’t have the technology today to make terraforming a possibility. That doesn’t mean we won’t in the future. Musk doesn’t plan to send any humans to Mars until 2024, and a lot can change in six years.

READ MORE: SpaceX’s Elon Musk Defends Terraforming Mars After Study Says It Won’t Work [Inverse]

More on Mars colonization: Elon Musk Is Officially Sending Humans to Mars in 2024

The post Scientists Say We Can’t Terraform Mars. Elon Musk Says We Can. appeared first on Futurism.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Websim.AI for AI Building Websites, Games and More From Prompts

Websim.ai is an AI-powered platform that allows users to generate and explore a simulated version of the internet. It uses advanced AI models like Claude 3.5 Sonnet and GPT-4o to create interactive websites, visualizations, and functional code in response to user prompts. Users can sign in with their Google or Discord accounts and input prompts ... Read more
Post a Comment
Read more

14 of Rick and Morty's Most Excellent Season 4 Moments

In episode nine, “Childrick of Mort,” Rick fought a god when they both fell for the same woman. Er, planet. That moment doesn’t make our list, but it’s still a damn good one. Screenshot: Adult Swim It’s still hard to believe—after so many lengthy delays between previous seasons —that season five of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty is almost upon us. While we count down the moments until the Emmy-winning series returns on June 20, we thought we’d also look back on season four, highlighting 14 of our favorite and most memorable moments (in no particular order... though we do have one very top favorite, as you’ll see) involving mostly Rick and Morty—but also Summer, Beth, Jerry, and Rick and Morty ’s creatively deployed guest stars too. “Why can you talk?” Screenshot: Adult Swim The A-plot of episode four, “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty,” follows the adventures of Rick, Morty, and Summer as they attempt to rescue Morty’s “slut dragon,” Balthromaw, from an evil wizard. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Studio Ghibli Park Unveils Its Wondrous Valley of Witches

Screenshot: Kyodo News/YouTube With the Valley of Witches set to open March 16, Ghibli Park will finally be complete. Since 2022, the attraction—nestled in the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park in Nagoya, Japan—has unlocked realms inspired by Studio Ghibli’s legacy of films . But it’s not to be mistaken for a modern theme park; Hayao Miyazaki himself mandated that the experiences offered at Ghibli Park should evoke being in a Ghibli movie without disturbing the natural surroundings. So it’s more of a throwback to nostalgic attractions and walkthroughs with a carnival ride flair. Inspired by films including My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, the first phase of opening kicked off two years ago, with other areas opening as they were completed. With the Valley of Witches, which features attractions inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle and Kiki’s Delivery Service, among others, the theme park will finally be open in full beginning March 16. Media outlets such as Kyodo News were able...
Post a Comment
Read more