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Dragmire_Afterlife t1_ir3gtm4 wrote

Fuck yeah. The concept of teraforming and living on other planets is so fucking cool and I am glad I live in this time to watch it begin.

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Tobias_Atwood t1_ir3j46l wrote

This isn't terraforming so much as it is a proof of concept for ability to take what thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide is there and using it to make oxygen for any terrarium people that may end up living there. Or oxidizer for rocket fuel.

The Kurzgesagt video on Venus is a rather interesting terraforming idea if you haven't seen it already.

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YellowFlySwat t1_ir3nnts wrote

Right. OP acknowledges that this isn't terraforming, but one of the first steps into being able to do so.

I too think it is exciting.

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u9Nails t1_ir3rcq6 wrote

I saw Serenity. This doesn't end well.

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mvfsullivan t1_ir5u7az wrote

Its so easy for humanity to see a technological breakthrough and be like "nice" but when you really think about it, its absolutely mind boggling.

Like we didnt just shoot a thing and make it land on a planet. Sooooooooo much math, science, engineering and all of that went into landing a huge ass machine on a fucking planet almost a million miles away. Thats insane.

If you asked your neighbour to make a cup out of clay, they would probably have a heart attack. Try making a machine capable of travelling to another planet and harvesting fucking oxygen.

Humanity man, we cray zay

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-LVS t1_ir4h8c3 wrote

This will never happen. There are not enough resources to achieve it

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groovy604 t1_ir3wa1y wrote

Didnt mars lose its atmosphere due to the core no longer producing a magnetic feild? Without that feild to protect the planet wont efforts to teraform be futile? I literally have no idea ive pieced this together from youtube videos

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My_Soul_to_Squeeze t1_ir44hqy wrote

Short answer is yes. There are ways to generate a magnetic field / block some of the solar wind, but they're all scifi right now. Even if we could make an atmosphere Mars could hold onto, it would take multiple lifetimes to complete.

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TheStegg t1_ir5kszb wrote

> it would take multiple lifetimes to complete.

The best time to start terraforming a backup Earth was 500 years ago.

The second best time? Now.

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alphahydra t1_ir6m3nv wrote

If I remember correctly, the stripping of the atmosphere by solar wind is a very gradual process, such that if we did have the technology to terraform it on the timescale of human history (even a process requiring centuries to complete) the rate of human-effected change would far outpace the rate of loss. So a terraformed Mars would still be habitable for a long time, even if we didn't solve the magnetism issue.

Like, if you could magically give Mars a full Earth-like atmosphere today, it would still be breathable thousands of years from now (assuming solar wind was the only deleterious effect).

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Coletrain-Z t1_ir4kafv wrote

Then there is also a matter of resources required to achieve said task

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Dr-P-Ossoff t1_is0wdiq wrote

I know a “theory of habitable planets” guy who could say how much nitrogen and oxygen you need. You could get the oxygen from the rusty soil.

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DeepLock8808 t1_ir55byb wrote

Check out Isaac Arthur on terraforming mars. Spinning up the core is insanely impractical. Some satellites can generate the needed magnetic field, or you can let the atmosphere blow off, which is a process that takes thousands of years. Hundreds of thousands if I recall correctly?

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Colosso95 t1_ir6m27n wrote

This is just a simple experiment though, this is just a tiny step towards terraformation is like thinking about computers when you've just learned how to make the printing press

Making oxygen off of mars's atmosphere could be first and foremost used to provide oxygen for enclosed habitats which is likely going to be the only type of settlement we will make in potentially centuries if and when we start colonizing mars

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Mythopoeist t1_irly0hk wrote

It isn’t to breathe- it’s for making rocket fuel in situ

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SEND_PUNS_PLZ t1_ir60h6q wrote

And here I am making methane on earth

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DasKleineFerkell t1_ir3l3ka wrote

Make some here, im sure its a better use of resources and cheaper

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u9Nails t1_ir3rn4r wrote

Push one of them frozen oxygen comets (67P) our way and refill the atmosphere

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ABoredAstartes t1_ir3ux80 wrote

Right. That way we have giant spiders again .

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mvfsullivan t1_ir5udml wrote

Giant spoder = giant rodent = giant aminol = giant people = giant pp

I want giant pp so big spoder good.

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ptitrainvaloin t1_ira7dtq wrote

Ah finally, I'm glad it works, had big hopes for that one, humanity will prevail.

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