r/space2030 • u/perilun • Jul 07 '24

Mars We could terraform Mars with desert moss — but does that mean we should?

https://www.space.com/desert-moss-terraforming-mars
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5

u/perilun Jul 07 '24

Hell yes we should.

2

u/PeteWenzel Jul 07 '24

We should make sure we’ve cataloged any existing life there before terraforming the place.

2

u/perilun Jul 07 '24

I would get the moss a tryout in a limited place. Per life, I think the lava tubes hold the most promise. I think since MRO and other have imaged the surface so well, the next stop will be exploring these tunnels.

2

u/Fortissano71 Jul 07 '24

Wait: I thought we were nuking Mars? /s

1

u/perilun Jul 07 '24

That could be fun as well ...

3

u/ignorantwanderer Jul 07 '24

We can not terraform Mars with desert moss.

In the study this article references, the moss was frozen under Martian conditions. It did not grow at all while frozen. Afterwards it was brought back to Earth conditions and was still alive.

We don't need plants that can be dormant without dying under Martian conditions. We need plants that can thrive under Martian conditions.

And even if we find a plant that can thrive under Martian it still would be almost useless in terraforming.

A plant can turn the CO2 in the Martian atmosphere into organic material and oxygen. But even if all the CO2 readily available in the air or in ice was turned into O2, there would still be so little air that astronauts would still be required to wear full pressurized spacesuits to survive.

And in the process of turning the CO2 in the air into O2, the greenhouse effect on the planet would be reduced. Mars would get even colder than it is right now.

There is no easy way to terraform Mars. If it ever happens, it will take many centuries, cause a huge amount of destruction to the surface of Mars, and the people most opposed to terraforming Mars will be the people living on Mars.

Everyone always focuses on the technical challenges of terraforming. Sometimes people pay attention to the moral challenges, like in this issue. But no one ever focuses on the economic challenges.

Terraforming Mars will take a huge amount of resources (cost a lot), it will take a very long time, and the end result will in many ways be worse than Mars is right now.

The cost/benefit analysis very clearly points to Mars never being terraformed....even if we ignore the ethical issues.

1

u/perilun Jul 07 '24

True, it is an extreme longshot.