Tag: colonizing mars

Speaking Engagement: Nanaimo Astronomy Society, September 22nd

Speaking Engagement: Nanaimo Astronomy Society, September 22nd

An interesting development happened once I got back from Europe. Apparently, there are people on the island that are very interested in astronomy, people who were surprised to learn that I also lived here. They are the Nanaimo Astronomy Society, a group of amateur astronomers and stargazers located in the town of Nanaimo – which is in the central Vancouver Island area, about a two hours drive from where I live.

As they explained to me, they have been following my writing at Universe Today for awhile, but didn’t realize I lived locally. Once they realized that, they asked if I would be willing to speak at their upcoming meeting.  Needless to say I was flattered, especially when you consider that most of the UT team lives on Vancouver Island. I could only assume they didn’t know about the others. I mean, when you’re a chapter of the Beatles Fan Club, and the band lives in the same region, you don’t exactly invite Ringo to come talk, right?

Anyway, the topic will be “Colonizing Mars”, which will address all the current plans by federal space agencies, private corporations, and crowdfunded organizations to explore, settle and transform the Red Planet. Naturally, I want to throw in a bit about terraforming, since that’s kind of my thing these days!

Settling Mars: The Mars Base Challenge 2014

mars-colonyLife on Mars can’t become a reality without some serious design concepts and engineering. And that’s why Thingiverse, in cooperation with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, conduct the Makerbot Mars Base Challenge every year. Taking Mars’ extreme conditions into consideration, people are tasked with designing a utilitarian Mars base that can withstand the elements and make settlers feel at home.

The competition opened on May 30th and received some 227 submissions. The challenge brief asked entrants to take into account the extreme weather, radiation levels, lack of oxygen and dust storms when designing their Martian shelters. And the winning entries will each be awarded a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer in order to help them fully explore their designs for Martian abodes.

And although the applicants did not always nail the science, their designs have a novelty that has not been seen in some time. This can especially be seen in with this years finalists, which included a design for a Martian pyramid, a modular beehive and a three-tiered Acropolis.

MarsChallengeResultsThe Thingiverse community appears to have been hugely supportive, printing out the designs themselves and offering handy hints in the comment section beneath each entry. Some were dismissed for being impractical; for example, those that would be immediately flattened or kill all of its inhabitants if it were installed on the Martian surface. But one designer, Noah Hornberger, points out:

A toy car does not need fuel because it runs on the imagination of the child who drives it around. So it seems to me that I’m driving my toy car at full speed and you are here telling me what kind of fuel and oil it needs to run. I would rather leave the physics to the right people.

Luckily, that’s what NASA is on hand for – to ensure that it’s not just the mathematicians and engineers that have an interest or a say in our Martian future, but to make sure those designs and dreams that come from the public meet the basic scientific and engineering requirements. Bringing together inspired ideas and realistic needs, here’s how this year’s finalists measured up.

MarsPryamid-4_Feature_preview_featured This Mars structure is designed with resource consumption and allocation in mind, and also takes into account that the majority of activity would be taking place inside the structure rather than outside. As its creator, Valcrow. explained:

High traffic rooms all have ample natural Martian light to help with the crews extended isolation and confinement… This design focuses on looping essential systems into as many multi-functional roles as possible to ensure that the very limited resources are used and reused as much as possible.

This includes food created through a sustainable aquaponics system which would sit at the top of the pyramid, where it can get some light. A mirror-based series of solar panels will be responsible for collecting energy, with a nuclear generator for backup, and water would be stored near the main power center so that it heats up. The whole thing is inspired by the Pyramid of Giza, but unlike that beauty it can be reconfigured for science or engineering tasks and experiments.

Mars_beehiveThis second design, known as the Queen B because of its modular beehive configuration, comes with all the mod cons and home comforts you might expect on Earth – a kitchen, two bathrooms, a garden, and a 3D print lab and decompression room. Its creator, Noah Hornberger, chose a flat-panelled, low-level design that would be cheap and easy to build and allow for less heat energy to be lost. The hexagon shape was chosen for its durability and ability to form modular designs.

Depleted uranium would be used to create laminated panels that would shield out the elements, but would need to be sandwiched between other materials to make it safe for the occupants. An exothermic chemical reactor would meanwhile be used to heat an underground water container, which will provide heat for the basecamp. Excess steam could also power generators to supplement solar power.

Speaking on behalf of his creation, Hornberger said:

I have extrapolated on the idea of a fully functional apartment on Mars with all the modern amenities fitted inside 16-foot-diameter hexagons. I think that to present Mars life to people and actually make it appealing to the public it needs to feel like home and reflect the lifestyle trends of Earth living.

Mars_acropolisAnd last, but not least, there’s the Mars Acropolis – a design that blends materials used here on Earth to create a classic futurist design that looks like it would be at home in the classic Fritz Lang film. Concrete, steel and Martian soil help form the outer wall that protects the population, while carbon fibre, stainless steel, aluminium and titanium would be used to build the main body.

Three greenhouses contain the vegetation and help filter the air and produce oxygen, and there are decompression chambers at the entrance. On level two, residents can park their shuttles before entering the living quarters and labs, while level three acts as the nerve center – with flight operators and observation posts. It’s joined by a huge water reservoir that flows to the first level for purification.

Designer Chris Starr describes the layout as follows:

The structure serves as a mass research facility, to explore and develop means for additional colonization of the planet. Due to the water vapour contained in the Martian atmosphere, that vapour can be harnessed into usable liquid water, where the condensation is collected from the water vapour, which is filtered back into the reservoir.

mars_one2In all cases, the designs draw attention to the fact that any structures intended for life on Mars will have to achieve a balance between resource management, comfort and entertainment, and security against the elements. At this point, there’s no telling exactly what a Martian settlement will look like; but as always, the truth will likely be stranger than fiction. To see more designs that made it to the Mars Base Challenge this year, check out Thingiverse’s website.

Sources: wired.co.uk, thingiverse.com

Buzz Aldrin: Let’s Go to Mars!

Apollo11_Aldrin1This past weekend was the 45th anniversary of the Moon Landing. To mark that occasion, NASA mounted the @ReliveApollo11 twitter campaign, where it recreated every moment of the historic mission by broadcasting updates in “real-time”. In addition to commemorating the greatest moment in space exploration, and one of the greatest moments in history, it also served to draw attention to new efforts that are underway.

Perhaps the greatest of these is one being led by Buzz Aldrin, a living-legend and an ambassador for current and future space missions. For decades now, Aldrin has been acting as a sort of elder statesman lobbying for the exploration of the cosmos. And most recently, he has come out in favor of a mission that is even grander and bolder than the one that saw him set foot on the Moon: putting people on Mars.

mars_spaceXmissionIt’s no secret that NASA has a manned mission planned for 2030. But with space exploration once again garnering the spotlight – thanks in no small part to commercial space companies like SpaceX and Virgin Galactic – Aldrin is pushing for something even more ambitious. Echoing ideas like Mars One, his plan calls for the colonization of Mars by astronauts who would never return to Earth.

To be sure, the spry 84 year-old has been rather busy in the past few years. After going through a very public divorce with his wife 0f 23 years in January of last year, he spent the past few months conducting a publicity blitz on behalf of the 45th anniversary of Apollo 11. In between all that, he has also made several appearances and done interviews in which he stressed the importance of the Martian colonization project.

Mars_OneA few months ago, Aldrin wrote an op-ed piece for Fast Company about innovation and the need for cooperation to make a new generation of space exploration a reality. During a more recent interview, which took place amidst the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine, he once again stressed the importance of cooperation between the United States, Russia, China, and their respective space programs.

As he told Fast Company in the interview:

I think that any historical migration of human beings to establish a permanent presence on another planet requires cooperation from the world together. That can’t be done by America competing with China… Just getting our people back up there is really expensive! We don’t compete but we can do other things close by with robots, which have improved tremendously over the past 45 years (since Apollo 11). You and I haven’t improved all that much, but robots have. We can work together with other nations in design, construction, and making habitats on both the near side and far side of Mars. Then when we eventually have designs, we’ll have the capacity to actually build them.

SLS_launchSimilarly, Aldrin took part in live Google Hangout with Space.com’s managing editor Tariq Malik and executive producer Dave Brody. This took place just eight days before the 25th anniversary of the Landing. During the broadcast, he discussed his experiences as an astronaut, the future of lunar exploration, future missions to Mars and beyond, and even took questions via chatwindow on Google+’s webpage.

At this juncture, its not clear how a colonization mission to Mars would be mounted. While Mars One is certainly interested in the concept, they (much like Inspiration Mars) do not have the necessary funding or all the technical know-how to make things a reality just yet. A possible solution to this could be a partnership program between NASA, the ESA, China, Russia, and other space agencies.

terraformingSuch ideas did inform Kim Stanley Robinson’s seminal novel Red Mars, where an international crew flew to the Red Planet and established the first human settlement that begins the terraforming process. But if international cooperation proves too difficult, perhaps a collaboration between commercial space agencies and federal ones could work. I can see it now: the Elon Musk Martian Dome; the Richard Branson Habitat; or the Gates colony…

With that in mind, I think we should all issue a prayer for international peace and cooperation! And in the meantime, be sure to check out the video of the Google Hangout below. And if you’re interested in reading up on Aldrin’s ideas for a mission to Mars, check out his book, Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration, which is was published by National Geographic and is available at Amazon or through his website.


Sources: fastcompany.com, buzzaldrin.com, space.com

News from Mars: Martian Water and Earth Organisms

curiosity_peakThis August, the Curiosity Rover will be celebrating its second anniversary of roving around the Red Planet. And ever since it made landfall, Curiosity and the Mars Science Laboratory has repeatedly uncovered signs that Mars was once very like Earth. Basically, it has become undeniable that water once flowed freely over the surface of this barren and uninhabitable world. And this finding, much to the delight of futurists and sci-fi enthusiasts everywhere, is likely to pave the way for human settlement.

Liquid water disappeared from Mars’ surface millions of years ago, leaving behind tantalizing clues about the planet’s ancient past—clues that the MSL has been deciphering for the past 22 months. This began last year when Curiosity found rounded pebbles in the Glenelg region, an indication that a stream once flowed at the site. This was followed by the discovery of rocky outcroppings where the remains of an ancient stream bed consisting of water-worn gravel that was washed down from the rim of Gale Crater.

mountsharp_galecraterThe rover has since moved to a location about 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) away from the Gale Crater landing site, where scientists expect to make even more discoveries. The new location is named Kimberly, after a region of northwestern Australia. As Dawn Sumner, a UC Davis geology professor and co-investigator for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory team, explained:

Our findings are showing that Mars is a planet that was once a whole lot like Earth. All the rocks we’ve seen on this mission are sediments that have been deposited by water. We’ve found almost no sandstone deposited by wind.

Sumner is working from Curiosity mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena while on sabbatical from UC Davis, exploring whether the planet ever had an environment capable of supporting microbial life. She is also one of several UC scientists and engineers who have been vital to the success of the Curiosity mission, which is part of NASA’s long-term plan to pave the way for sending astronauts to Mars.

Living-Mars.2In that vein, research continues here on Earth to see exactly what kind of life can survive in the harsh Martian environment. And now,  research suggests that methanogens – among the simplest and oldest organisms on Earth – could survive on Mars. These microorganisms are typically found in swamps and marshes, where they use hydrogen as their energy source and carbon dioxide as their carbon source to produce methane (aka. natural gas).

As an anaerobic bacteria, methanogens don’t require require oxygen or organic nutrients to live, and are non-photosynthetic. Hence, they would be able to exist in sub-surface environments and would therefore be ideal candidates for life on Mars. Rebecca Mickol, a doctoral student in space and planetary sciences at the University of Arkansas, subjected two species of methanogens to Martian conditions to see how they would fair on the Red Planet.

methanogens485These strains included Methanothermobacter wolfeii and Methanobacterium formicicum, both of which survived the Martian freeze-thaw cycles that Mickol replicated in her experiments. This consisted of testing the species for their ability to withstand Martian freeze-thaw cycles that are below the organisms’ ideal growth temperatures. As she explained it:

The surface temperature on Mars varies widely, often ranging between minus 90 degrees Celsius and 27 degrees Celsius over one Martian day. If any life were to exist on Mars right now, it would at least have to survive that temperature range. The survival of these two methanogen species exposed to long-term freeze/thaw cycles suggests methanogens could potentially inhabit the subsurface of Mars.

Mickol conducted the study with Timothy Kral, professor of biological sciences in the Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences and lead scientist on the project. She presented her work at the 2014 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, which was held from May 17th to 20th in Boston.

maven_atmosphereThe two species were selected because one is a hyperthermophile, meaning it thrives under extremely hot temperatures, and the other is a thermophile, which thrives under warm temperatures. Since the 1990s, Kral has been studying methanogens and examining their ability to survive on Mars. In 2004, scientists discovered methane in the Martian atmosphere, and immediately the question of the source became an important one. According to Kral:

When they made that discovery, we were really excited because you ask the question ‘What’s the source of that methane?. One possibility would be methanogens.

Understanding the makeup of Mars atmosphere and ecology is another major step towards ensuring that life can exist there again someday. From Red Planet, to Blue Planet, to Green Planet… it all begins with a fundamental understanding of what is currently able to withstand the Martian environment. And once this foundation is secured, our ecologists and environmental engineers can begin contemplating what it will take to create a viable atmosphere and sustainable sources of water there someday.

terraformingSources: phys.org, (2)

News From Space: Mars Needs Money!

Mars_OneRemember Mars One, the Netherlands-based nonprofit that began seeking recruits for a one-way trip to the Red Planet during the summer of 2012? Well, it turns out the company is looking to take the next step towards its goal of establishing a human settlement on Mars by 2023. Basically, they are looking to raise the funds to get the ball rolling on the eventual manned mission.

Towards this end, they have started a crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo – and in partnership with Lockheed Martin – to raise the money for some concept studies, which will test the lander and a satellite that will conduct a demonstration mission in just four years time. The lander is based on Lockheed’s design for the NASA lander successfully used on Mars in 2007 (pictured below).

Mars-One-2018-LanderTheir campaign is seeking to raise $400,000, which will cover the costs of the concept studies, and is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the $6 billion the team estimates will be necessary to get humans to Mars. However, most of that money is expected to come from media broadcasting rights as citizen astronauts are selected and, if all goes as planned, start living on the Martian surface.

As has been stated many times over, Mars One is an evolving idea that seeks to make something historic happen. A future, larger crowdfunding campaign will allow universities to compete to send a full experiment to Mars on the 2018 mission, which will be unmanned. Mars One hopes to send four human colonists to the planet by 2025, selected from a pool of more than 200,000 people who have already applied.

mars_one1And as Hans Lansdorp, CEO of Mars One recently said, this crowdfunding campaign is important to the team to get more people involved. Not only does the project require public interest and participation in order for it to become a reality, Lansdorp and his colleagues also want it to be as international and inclusive as possible:

We really see this as a break with the history of space exploration, and especially Mars exploration, because in this mission anyone can participate in some way… For the U.S., Mars exploration is pretty common. But all of Asia has never sent an experiment to Mars. Now, suddenly we allow anyone, everywhere in the world, to send something to Mars. That’s a complete break with Mars exploration in the past.

Naturally, there are plenty of issues that need to be worked out before anything real can happen, and plenty of naysayers who emphasize the stumbling blocks in sending a manned mission to Mars. These include, but are not restricted to, radiation, microgravity, technological limitations, and the sheer amount of time involved.

mars_one2Despite all that, Lansdorp and the Mars One team remain committed and dedicated to their goal, and have been taking on all challengers with their usual combination of optimism and entrepreneurial spirit. And they firmly believe that given time, all of these hurdles will be negotiable. What’s more, they’ve convinced more than a few critics of the validity of the mission:

If we have some time to talk to people and explain the details of our plan, and as long as they’re commenting on their own field of expertise, I’ve never met someone who could not be convinced that this is possible. It will be very difficult of course–there are thousands of hurdles on the road between now and landing on Mars–but there are no hurdles that we can identify that we cannot take.

As of the penning of this article, the Mars One campaign has been open since December 10th and has raised $209,677 of its $400,000 goal, with 18 more days to go. And there are certainly no shortage of volunteers, as the company is currently processing applications from 150,000 people. So even if it can’t happen by the proposed date, it is clear that they have grabbed the world’s attention.

And in the meantime, enjoy these videos of the proposed Mars One lander design (which will take place in the 2018 demo mission) and the company’s latest promotional video:

Mars One 2018 Lander:


Mars One 2018 Mission:


Sources: fastcoexist.com, theguardian.com, mars-one.com, indiegogo.com

Life on Mars: What it Once Looked Like

mars_oxygenBillions of years ago when the Red Planet was young, it appears to have had a thick atmosphere that was warm enough to support oceans of liquid water, and perhaps even life. Thanks to past and ongoing research conducted by the Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rovers, NASA scientists are certain that Mars once boasted conditions that would have supported life.

To dramatize these discoveries, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has created a video representation of what the environment might have looked like billions of years ago. The artist’s concept opens with Mars appearing as a warm, wet place, and then transitioning to the climate that we know today.  As the atmosphere gradually disappears, it changes from the Earthlike blue to the dusty pink and tan hues of Mars today.

As the description reads on NASA Goddard’s Youtube page:

The animation shows how the surface of Mars might have appeared during this ancient clement period, beginning with a flyover of a Martian lake. The artist’s concept is based on evidence that Mars was once very different. Rapidly moving clouds suggest the passage of time, and the shift from a warm and wet to a cold and dry climate is shown as the animation progresses.

By the end, Mars has transformed to the acrid environment of 2013 – all “dusty pink and tan hues”. One day, NASA believes it may be possible to bring the environment back from this fate. Though its a mere theory at this point, terraforming could transform Mars back into a warm, wet, and life-sustaining planet once more. Enjoy the clip!


Source: fastcoexist, svs.gsfc.nasa.gov

Of Terraforming

Several scientific subjects have piqued my interest as of late, particularly the ones that relate to the colonization of other planets. And there are plenty of good reasons for this. First off, NASA has been talking at length about a possible Mars mission which will be begin in 2030. Second, the topic is central to the novel my group and I are writing. And third, because it’s what I do. I’m a geek, dammit! Do I really need any other reason?

So in honor of this fertile and increasingly relevant topic, I thought I’d dedicate a post to the science of terraforming and its depiction in popular culture. Like the majority of your more radical ideas, the concept first appeared around the turn of the 20th century. As part of the larger trend of exploring planetary colonization, several historical developments contributed to this phenomena.

Foremost amongst them was the closure of the American frontier by 1900 and the partitioning of Africa in 1905. With the “Age of Discovery” officially over, scientists and dreamers began to look farther abroad for the next place to move to. Refinements in the fields of metallurgy, chemistry, and astronomy also contributed to the idea that planets like the Moon, Mars, Venus, Europa, Ganymede, and even other star systems, could be colonized.

And thanks to the advent of the Space Race, the Apollo missions, and Eco-engineering in the latter half of the 20th century, scientists have begun to take a serious look at terraforming, particularly in regards to Mars. While the practicality, feasibility and affordability are all still being debated, the very fact that there is a serious scientific debate would seem to indicate that it may very well be done someday.

And so, here is a list of science fiction novels from the last century that have explored the idea of terraforming. Once again, I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as I enjoyed researching them, and incorporating some of what they taught me!

Last and First Men:
This future history by Olaf Stapledon, released in 1930, is the first time that the terraforming of Venus is made in fiction. This was only a fragment of the larger story, which focuses on human evolution over the course of two billions years. Nevertheless, the move to Venus is an intrinsic part of the story involving the “Fifth Men”, who are forced to relocate after Earth becoming uninhabitable.

This occurs only after humanity pushes the local inhabitants to extinction after a protracted war. Afterward, they begin the process of transforming Venus to meet their needs. Like all early accounts, the description was hampered by the fact that knowledge of Venus was highly inaccurate. For example, Stapledon’s account has Venus covered in oceans, rather than the pits of sulfuric acid which are now known to be there.

Farmer in the Sky:
Here we have Robert A. Heinlein’s 1950 story which focuses on a family which has moved to Ganymede, which is in the process of being terraformed. Earth is overcrowded in this day and age, and farming colonies are being established in Jupiter’s moon to help provide much needed food supplies.

The process of creating the new farms is explained in some detail. For example, the topsoil is created from scratch by pulverizing boulders and lava flows, and seeding the resulting dust with carefully formulated organic material. Pressurized housing is erected to ensure that new arrivals are able to adjust, since the atmosphere is not fully breathable. And Ganymede is shielded from Jupiter’s intense radiation by a massive heat shield.

Hints are even given that establish that Ganymede once boasted an indigenous civilization, or was at least visited by one in the past. This includes a working land vehicle that has many legs, essentially a large metal centipede.

The Sands of Mars:
Next we have Arthur C. Clarke’s 1951 novel, which happened to be his first published work. And curiously enough, it is written from the point of view of a famous science fiction author. A case of art imitating life, or art as wish fulfillment? In any case, the setting is a research facility on Mars, which is in the process of terraforming so it will be able to become a self-sufficient colony.

Based on Clarke’s descriptions, this terraforming process (known as “Project Dawn”) involves some rather curious steps. The first is the ignition of the moon Phobos so that it will become a second “sun” for Mars. It will burn for at least one thousand years and the extra heat, combined with the mass production of the oxygen-generating plants, will eventually make the Martian atmosphere breathable for humans.

In many respects, this served as a preview for the plot of 2001: A Space Odyssey and it’s sequel 2010: Odyssey Two (see below).

The Martian Way:
In keeping with the tradition of sci-fi greats, this next novel was written by Isaac Asimov and first published in 1952. The story is told from the point of view of Scavengers, Mars-born humans who spend their time scouring space for the spent lower stages of spacecraft. This sort of lifestyle, making do with less and toughing things out, is known as the “Martian Way”.

At this point, Mars is still very much dependent on Earth for water shipments, which are used for fuel as well as consumption. Life takes a turn for a worse when an ambitious Earth politician decides to cut of the “Wasters”. In response, the protagonists come up with an ambitious plan, to fly to Saturn’s Rings and tow back an asteroid made of pure ice.

The trip is difficult and takes many months, but the Martian Scavengers manage to snag an asteroid that will supply two hundred years worth of water. This, they begin to use to transform the ecology of Mars, and turn the tables on the Earth government.

The Psychotechnic League:
Written by Poul Anderson over the course of two decades, the Psychotechnic League refers to a series of novels and short stories that are set in the same universe. Of all these stories, two in particular deal with the terraforming of Solar Planets. In “The Big Rain”, Venus is being terraformed, a process of planetary engineering that takes several centuries to complete.

In “The Snows of Ganymede”, the focus shifts to the Jovian moon where scientists are able convert the planet to the point where it experiences seasons similar to Earth. This, in addition to Mars, Venus and several other Solar Planets, all come together in time to form the Solar Union. Because of Anderson’s realistic description, the term “big rain” became associated with scientific terraforming models.

The Space Odyssey Series:
Arthur C. Clarke’s series, which began with the novelization of the classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey, revolves around the terraforming of Europa by a super advanced race. Known as the Firstborn, these aliens use the Monoliths to travel throughout the universe to foster the development of sentient life. Millions of years after fostering the development of high-order primates on Earth, they shifted their focus to Europa, Jupiter’s ice moon.

Much as in “Sands of Mars”, the process involved the creation of a “second sun”, this time involving Jupiter. In the first novel, the story ends with David Bowman, the only astronaut to survive an exploratory mission to Jupiter after their ships AI (the HAL 9000) malfunction and kills the crew.
When he arrives, he discovers a Monolith in orbit around Europa and disappears without a trace shortly thereafter.

In 2010: Odyssey Two, a second mission is mounted to determine the whereabouts of the first. When the joint US-Soviet mission arrives at Europa, they come to realize that the planet is showing signs of life. They also learn that the Monoliths are in the process of turning Jupiter into a sun so that Europa’s icy surface will evaporate and form an atmosphere, allowing all the life contained underneath to emerge and grow.

In the subsequent novels, Europa is revisited after its transformation is complete. Although sentient life does not appear to be possible, the planet does boast an atmosphere and vast oceans, which teem with sluggish sulfur-based lifeforms. In the end, after the Monoliths are convinced that humanity deserves a reprieve, and they land on Europe to commence building peaceful relations with the Europan life forms.

Mars Trilogy:
We finish with the most recent and profound example of all, the Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robertason. The trilogy’s three works – Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars – all focus on the ongoing efforts to transform Mars from an arid, hostile world with barely any atmosphere to a lush, hospitable planet capable of supporting human life.

The first novel deals with the initial colonization effort, which begins with the crew of the Ares, a ship carrying 100 scientists drawn predominantly from the US and the Soviet Union. Upon arriving, the crew builds the first settlement, known as Underhill, as well as colonies on the hollowed out asteroid-moon of Phobos.

After debating what is to be done with Mars, whether to turn it “Green” or leave it “Red”, the United Nations Organization Mars Authority (UNOMA) eventually opts for the “Green” option and terraforming begins. This process involves the drilling of “moholes” in the surface to release subsurface heat to thicken the atmosphere and the detonation of nuclear devices deep in the sub-surface permafrost to release water.

Green Mars, which begins 50 years after events in the first novel, during the dawn of the 22nd century. At this point in time, the Martian landscape is evolving thanks to the expansion of plant life, hence the name. The process is stimulated though the use of continent-sized orbital mirrors which focus sunlight to and away from various sectors of the planet, to melting the northern polar ice cap, and digging moholes deep enough to form volcanoes.

In the third and final installment, Blue Mars, long-term terraforming has created atmospheric pressure and temperature conditions that allow for the presence of liquid water on the planet’s surface, forming rivers and seas. This all takes place over the course of the following century, long after Earth has flooded and revolutions have displaced corporate control of the planet. Because of this, Mars has become the principle planet of the Solar System.

Summary:
Terraforming efforts have come a long way in fiction, and hopefully some day soon they will be realizable. Even though the concept remains highly speculative at this point, all proposed efforts are currently focused on Mars. In all ways that count, Mars has everything we would need to make it suitable for human habitation. This includes water, in the presence of the frozen ice caps and possibly underground rivers, and high concentrations of carbon and oxygen in the form of CO2, nitrogen, and gravity to keep the atmosphere anchored.

And most importantly of all, Mars’ atmosphere closely resembles that of Earth several billions of years ago. In time, due to the development of photosynthetic bacteria, enough oxygen was produced to allow for the development of animals. Though the careful introduction of similar bacteria and plants to Mars surface, humans could speed that process along and eventually create a breathable atmosphere. This, in turn, will allow for the creation of an ozone layer and weather patterns. Combined with the melting of the polar ice and underground aquifers, this will lead to surface water in the form of rivers, streams and oceans.