Terraforming

Speaking of terraforming, what would it entail?
That's a good question with all kinds of answers, depending on which planet one wants to terraform, which means Earth shaping. In other words, terraforming is a process of converting an uninhabitable planet into one that would be habitable.

The real question to ask is: is terraforming even possible?

Of all of the planets in our solar system, Mars would be the more easily terraformed. Venus would be a real challenge. Carl Sagan, the well-respected astronomer of the last century, wrote books about terraforming Mars and Venus.
He suggested inserting algae into the upper atmosphere of Venus so that it would convert water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen into organic compounds, essentially sequestering the carbon dioxide. Reduction of carbon dioxide in Venus' atmosphere would reduce the greenhouse effect. The sequestered carbon would be converted to graphite. However, he didn't realize then that the surface of Venus wouldn't cooperate with that idea because the carbon would be oxidized back into carbon dioxide.

Even now, with what we know about Venus, the idea of terraforming it would be nearly impossible and cost too much. It's just too extreme to do anything with it. The only thing I could see working is to figure out a way to shield Venus from the sun for a long period of time.

Mars is by far the best candidate for terraforming, and NASA has already put some thought into the idea. I doubt that they would receive the funding for something like that. Nevertheless, the only real requirement for a more Earth-like Mars is a thicker atmosphere. One problem that probably couldn't be addressed is Mar's loss of a magnetosphere. This is probably the fact that Mar's iron core has cooled too much to support creating a magnetic field. Mars does have some regional magnetic fields, mostly in the Southern hemisphere. It might be possible to restore Mar's magnetosphere or create an effective ionosphere.

Increasing the pressure of Mar's atmosphere might be accomplished by injecting methane into it. We're good at blowing hydrocarbons in to our atmosphere. Just send a lot of old automobiles and diesel trucks there.

The basic idea is to increase the pressure of Mar's atmosphere. Earth's atmosphere is 100.3 kPa. Mars is currently at 1 kPa. If Mar's atmosphere could be raised above 24 kPa, a space suit wouldn't be required but oxygen would.

Another problem with Mars is that it's at the outer edge of the habitable zone. In other words, it doesn't get enough heat from the sun. One way to increase the effectiveness of the sun's radiation is to decrease it albedo, which is its hight reflection. Covering the ground with black dust would help in this case.

Another idea is to cause the frozen carbon dioxide at Mar's poles to sublimate by pouring heat into it. This might be accomplished using mirrors that would focus the sun's radiation onto the polar areas.

Terraforming Mars might become a priority in the future if Earth's environment becomes too extreme. It could happen.

Thanks for reading.