NASA-Funded Study Says Mars Terraforming Cannot Top 7% of Earth's Air Pressure
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 1
NASA-Funded Study Says Mars Terraforming Cannot Top 7% of Earth's Air Pressure
3 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 1
Summary
A NASA-funded analysis found Mars cannot be terraformed with current technology because releasing all accessible carbon dioxide would lift atmospheric pressure to only about 7% of Earth's.
That falls far short of the pressure needed to warm the planet or sustain stable liquid water, leaving Mars with a near-vacuum surface, average temperatures around minus 60C and heavy radiation exposure.
The study points instead to sealed, pressurized habitats as the realistic path for any human presence, using mined ice for water and oxygen and shielding crews with buried or underground structures.
Major unknowns still sit beyond engineering: humans have no long-term data for Mars's 38% gravity, and radiation, toxic perchlorate dust and multi-year indoor isolation remain unresolved risks.
Since solar winds constantly strip the Martian atmosphere, could advanced synthetic biology ever outpace the planet's natural destruction to create breathable air?
If turning Mars into a second Earth is impossible, could genetically engineered humans be the real key to surviving the Red Planet?
With toxic soil and deadly radiation, what dark psychological toll will decades of living in underground Martian bunkers take on the first pioneers?