I’m sure you’ve heard the news. Flowing water has been found on Mars. And now many are speculating about starting a colony on Mars.
But what would it really take for humans to live on Mars? More than just water, you’d need a stable atmosphere, a magnetic field that blocks cosmic radiation, and living soil, rather than just dirt. These are crucial elements that make Earth such a great place for life to thrive. Mars doesn’t have them, and changing the Red Planet to be more Earth-like, known as terraforming, would be a tremendous task.
Sounds like science fiction, right? Well, several scientists have some ideas on how to make that actually happen.
Straight out of science fiction, one of the more common terraforming ideas involves the construction of a giant array of Mylar mirrors to reflect the sun’s heat towards Mars’ poles. How big are we talking? Roughly 155 miles across and covering an area larger than Lake Michigan. Since this entire reflector would weigh more than 200,000 tons, it likely would have to be constructed in space — a massive engineering undertaking that boggles the mind. Nonetheless, once in place at an altitude of nearly 133,000 miles above the surface, the energy directed back on Mars would be enough to vaporize the trapped CO2 and potentially trigger a greenhouse effect.
Click here to learn about the other terraforming methods.
A Homestead On Mars?
A human colony on Mars could be very interesting from a homesteading perspective. On one hand, a big part of homesteading is caring for and improving the environment we already have. But on the other, terraforming Mars could be the ultimate homestead project. Many homesteaders seek to take a barren, degraded piece of land and revitalize it. And what land is more barren than Mars?
What are your thoughts? Are you excited about the idea of being the first homesteader on Mars, or do you think we should focus our efforts on keeping this planet healthy? Let us know in the comments.
