Geology Reaction Paper
REACTION PAPER
1. Terraforming Mars
Terraforming is the process of transforming a hostile environment into one suitable for human life. Being that Mars is the most Earth-like planet, it is the best candidate for terraforming.
At the rate that the human population is growing, it is already evident that we are overpopulating earth, and with no signs of the population increase slowing, it is obvious that we are going to need to find new living arrangements. Where are we to find more space? The logical answer it to look to the other planets in our solar system. The limits in choosing a second home are those features that are unchangeable. Since Mars is the only other planet that has a suitable landscape, tilt, and spin to maintain life as we know it on earth, it was really the only option available to us. With this in mind, scientists at NASA have looked into the idea of terraforming of Mars.
Terraforming Mars would basically mean changing the planet into a second earth, so that we could inhabit it without being confined by pressurized, regulated domes. The main things that Mars must have to support life are water, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and suitable temperature. Liquid water is extremely important, being it is the substance in which most biochemical processes of life occur. The nitrogen and carbon dioxide necessary as the building blocks for almost all biomolecules, and are needed to support plant life. We obviously need the oxygen to breathe. Water already exists on Mars in the form of ice, which could be melted with relative ease. Because of this, the key to terraforming Mars for human occupation thus lies in the fixing of the Martian atmosphere.
Because of the difference in mass of Mars and Earth, Mars would require an atmosphere about three times as dense as that of earth in order to be breathable by humans. This is a good thing, since the thicker atmosphere would also cause warming, and help compensate for the planet’s more distant orbit from
1. Terraforming Mars
Terraforming is the process of transforming a hostile environment into one suitable for human life. Being that Mars is the most Earth-like planet, it is the best candidate for terraforming.
At the rate that the human population is growing, it is already evident that we are overpopulating earth, and with no signs of the population increase slowing, it is obvious that we are going to need to find new living arrangements. Where are we to find more space? The logical answer it to look to the other planets in our solar system. The limits in choosing a second home are those features that are unchangeable. Since Mars is the only other planet that has a suitable landscape, tilt, and spin to maintain life as we know it on earth, it was really the only option available to us. With this in mind, scientists at NASA have looked into the idea of terraforming of Mars.
Terraforming Mars would basically mean changing the planet into a second earth, so that we could inhabit it without being confined by pressurized, regulated domes. The main things that Mars must have to support life are water, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and suitable temperature. Liquid water is extremely important, being it is the substance in which most biochemical processes of life occur. The nitrogen and carbon dioxide necessary as the building blocks for almost all biomolecules, and are needed to support plant life. We obviously need the oxygen to breathe. Water already exists on Mars in the form of ice, which could be melted with relative ease. Because of this, the key to terraforming Mars for human occupation thus lies in the fixing of the Martian atmosphere.
Because of the difference in mass of Mars and Earth, Mars would require an atmosphere about three times as dense as that of earth in order to be breathable by humans. This is a good thing, since the thicker atmosphere would also cause warming, and help compensate for the planet’s more distant orbit from