Scientists from the NASA aerospace agency have proposed an ambitious, but at the same time very daring plan, according to which Mars can return its atmosphere and make the Red planet habitable for future generations of colonists from Earth. According to experts, the creation of a huge magnetic screen around Mars will protect it from the effects of solar winds and restore the atmosphere of the planet. Terraforming its surface, in turn, will allow the return of water to the planet.
Maybe Mars now looks like a cold and lifeless desert, but once the Red Planet had a dense atmosphere that could maintain the presence on the surface of deep ocean waters. In addition, Mars was once much warmer and, quite possibly, possessed a habitable climate.
Scientists believe that Mars lost almost all of its atmosphere when its protective magnetic field disappeared several billion years ago. As a result, the solar wind — the highly charged particles emitted by the sun — literally began to tear the atmosphere of the Red Planet apart and continue to do so today.
New NASA computer models suggest that there is a way to bring Mars back to its dense atmosphere. And for that, it will not be necessary to use nuclear bombing at all, as Ilon Musk once proposed to do. Instead, the space agency believes that the solution could be the creation of an artificial and sufficiently powerful magnetic shield, which will serve as a substitute for the own magnetosphere lost by Mars, providing a chance to naturally restore its atmosphere.
Presented at the Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop event last week, NASA's head of planetary research, Jim Green, said that creating an “artificial magnetosphere” between Mars and the Sun could theoretically shield the Red Planet, creating a protective field around it.
"This will eliminate the impact of the many erosive processes created by the solar wind that occur in the ionosphere of the planet and its upper atmosphere, allowing it to accumulate strength and reduce its temperature over time," scientists explain.
Scientists understand that at first glance the idea may seem fantastic, but as an example they cite experiments to create a compact magnetosphere to protect astronauts and spacecraft from the effects of cosmic radiation. Researchers believe that similar technologies, but on a larger scale, can be used for magnetic shielding of Mars.
“Indeed, there is a possibility by which we can make the magnetic field of the planet more reliable and provide the protection necessary for it. However, you need to think of a way to change the direction of the magnetic field so that it is constantly directed towards the solar wind, ”Green said at the presentation.
Computer models have shown that in the presence of a magnetic shield, the loss of the Martian atmosphere will cease. At the same time, it will be possible to restore the level of the atmosphere and the atmospheric pressure, equal to half the earthly indices, within a few years. Scientists estimate that when the planet’s atmosphere becomes denser, the temperature on the surface of Mars will increase by an average of about 4 degrees Celsius, which will be enough for the carbon dioxide ice cap on the north plus of the Red Planet to completely melt. When this happens, carbon in the atmosphere can trap heat, as it does on Earth, launching greenhouse effects that will lead to the melting of Martian water ice and the return of liquid water to the planet in the form of rivers, lakes and even oceans.
If everything goes the way the researchers describe, then within a couple of generations Mars will be able to regain the lost form of a potentially habitable planet.
“This is not exactly terraforming in the usual sense of the term, where the climate would be restored entirely by artificial methods. This option is more likely to allow nature to restore its own balance on its own, and this will happen according to the laws of natural physics that are known to us, ”says Green.
The team of researchers is well aware that their plan is now nothing more than a hypothetical one, but this idea, in their opinion, really seems interesting and feasible in a relatively near future. Scientists report that they are going to continue the study in order to obtain more accurate calculations of how long the process of natural restoration of the ecosystem of the Red Planet can be. If the concept proves its viability, it is not yet known how much it will be able to change our views about the colonization of Mars in the future.
“The return of a dense atmosphere to Mars will allow planting and using larger scientific and technical equipment on the planet, provide significantly increased protection from space and solar radiation, increase the possibility of producing oxygen on the planet and provide it with greenhouse effects necessary for plant growth. And these are just some of the potential opportunities opening up, ”the scientists explain.
"If this can be achieved without delay, then the colonization of Mars will not be such a distant prospect."
The article is based on materials .
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