earth or mars epq final or mars? should we use new technologies and methodologies to terraform mars...

Earth or Mars? Should we use new technologies and methodologies to terraform Mars or make Earth a better place to live in?

Aaryan Vashisht

Earth or Mars? Should We use New Technologies and Methodologies to Terraform Mars or Make Earth a Better Place to Live in? By: Aaryan Vashisht

Contents Page

1. Introduction 2

2. Conditions needed for human beings to survive on a planet 2

3. Why we are considering Mars as the potential planet for terraforming 5

4. Genetic Engineering 8

4.1. Option 1: Extremophiles 10

4.2. Option 2: Crops 11

4.3. Evaluation of Options 12

5. Solar Radiation Management (SRM) 12

5.1. Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) Project 13

5.2. Evaluation of SPICE Project 14

5.3. Space Mirrors 16

5.4. Evaluation of Space Mirrors 16

6. Conclusion 17

7. Bibliography 18

Earth or Mars? Should We use New Technologies and Methodologies to Terraform Mars or Make Earth a Better Place to Live in?

1. Introduction

Exponential growth in our population, diminishing valuable resources and increasing levels of pollution are putting more pressures on our planet Earth than it can possibly handle. If this continues at the present rate, it will lead to a series of catastrophic events that could end our very existence and we humans would be responsible for this. We have to start looking for solutions for our continued existence in this universe in a more sustainable manner. One proposal is to make Earth better by using modern technologies and methodologies aiming to reduce the adverse consequences of high pollution levels. However, some question if it may already be too late to save Earth and that instead we should pursue the second proposal which is to invest resources in migrating to another planet to sustain our population growth and resource consumption.

Earth is unique as it is the only planet known to us that can sustain life as we know, hence instead of searching for another planet similar to our own, we can try to terraform one instead by using modern technologies and methodologies and Mars has been chosen by many as the candidate planet. Terraforming is a verb meaning to “adapt the environment of a celestial body” to make it able to support life . Terraforming has been a major part of 1

science and science fiction ever since the science fiction magazine series named ‘Astounding Science Fiction and Fact’ first cited the term ‘terraforming’ in a science fiction story called ‘Collision Orbit’ in 1942 by Jack Williamson . Therefore, the question that I will 2 3

be answering is do we use these new technologies and methodologies to make Earth better or give up on it and use them to terraform Mars.

2. Conditions needed for human beings to survive on a planet

In order to address the above we must first consider what is important for human life to exist on a planet. There are three absolutely crucial conditions on which life depends on:

Terraform| Define Terraform, Dicionary.com, <h4p://dic9onary.reference.com/browse/terraform> [Accessed 1

30th December 2015]

Cita9ons for Terraforming, SF Cita9ons for OED, <4p://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/125>, [Accessed 30th 2

December 2015]

The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson, Haffner Press, <h4p://www.haffnerpress.com/tcsojw.html>, 3

[Accessed 30th December 2015]


I. Water is the most important for sustaining life as all living things need water for 4

essential life processes, for example hydrolysis, condensation and transportation of different substances.

II. Optimal Temperature is another necessity for life to thrive on a planet as it influences how quickly atoms and molecules move4. It follows the Goldilocks principle which “states that something must fall within certain margins, as opposed to reaching extremes” . The optimal temperature ranges between -15oC to 115o C where liquid 5

water is still accessible for living things under certain conditions4. At temperatures lower than this water will freeze making it unobtainable and chemicals will react slowly as they will have lower kinetic energy, thereby having lesser chance of a successful collision thus preventing certain reactions needed for life. If the temperature is higher than the specified range then not only will the water evaporate making it inaccessible but proteins will also denature as the hydrogen bonds in the tertiary structure will break.

III. The atmosphere and its composition is another necessity since the atmosphere “traps heat, shields the surface from harmful radiation, and provides chemicals needed for life” as well as protecting us from “small-medium meteorites”4. Without an ideal atmosphere the planet will become too cold as heat will escape and the radiation coming from the central star would kill any organisms. The composition of a planet’s atmosphere should be similar to our own. Too little or too much of a certain gas in a planet’s atmosphere will make life unsustainable, for example too much oxygen will make the atmosphere extremely flammable and with too little oxygen many life forms will not be able to respire.

Several factors help maintain these three conditions optimally and therefore determine if life can be sustained on a planet.

A. The habitable zone is one of the major factors affecting both the temperature and the abundance of water. The habitable zone is dependent on the distance of the planet

Randal, C, What Makes a World Habitable?, hap_ref_table.pdf, Lunar and Planetary Ins9tute, <h4p://4

www.lpi.usra.edu/educa9on/explore/our_place/hab_ref_table.pdf>, [Accessed 30th December 2015]

Judith Curry, The Goldilocks Principle, Climate etc, <h4ps://judithcurry.com/2012/12/22/the-goldilocks-5

principle/>, [Accessed 31st December 2015]


from the central star , this determines the intensity of light needed for photosynthesis 6

by plants, an important source of our food. If the planet is too close to the central star the extremely high temperature and light intensity will cause evaporation of water; if it is too far the water will freeze making it inaccessible.

B. The mass and dimensions of the planet has major impact on its atmosphere. Too small a mass and size will produce insufficient gravity to hold an atmosphere thereby allowing the molecules to escape4. Too large a mass and size can make the gravity too strong therefore making the atmosphere too thick creating a very high pressure for liquid water to form, in addition to trapping too much of certain gasses such as greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Looking at the Goldilocks principle, the range for the ideal mass and therefore the ideal strength of gravity for a suitable atmosphere to form is 0.2-10 Earths which translates to a mass between 1.1944 x 7

1024 kg-5.972x1025 kg, where Earth’s mass is 5.972 x 1024 kg . Mass also determines 8

whether a planet has a molten core and plates. The optimal mass for a planet will make it “a source of geothermal energy, generate a magnetic field that protects the planet from harmful radiation and cycles raw materials” such as carbon or nutrients without which life would not survive6.

C. The central star is another major factor affecting both the temperature and abundance of water however since we are looking at two planets in the same solar system we can exclude this factor.

D. Having a molten core and plate tectonics are other major factors affecting the planet’s atmosphere and temperature. This is because both allow many of the elements and compounds, such as hydrogen, carbon dioxide and oxygen, which compose the atmosphere to be released from inside of the planet6. This will also affect the temperature of the planet due to the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from the planet.

What makes a planet habitable?, Learn Gene9cs, <h4p://learn.gene9cs.utah.edu/content/astrobiology/6

condi9ons/> , [Accessed 31st December 2015]

Prof. Richard Pogge, Lecture 46: Are We Alone? Life in the Universe, The Ohio State University, <h4p://7

www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast161/Unit7/life.html>, [Accessed 31st December 2015]

Nine Planets-Earth Facts, Nine Planets <h4p://nineplanets.org/earth.html.>, >, [Accessed 31st December 8

2015]


3. Why we are considering Mars as the potential planet for terraforming

On analysing the habitability of planets in our solar system, Mercury, Venus and Mars are all terrestrial planet and so have a solid surface therefore have a potential for terraforming and allowing life to form; Jupiter, Uranus and Saturn, on the other hand, are gas giants hence they have no solid surface, therefore are not suitable for terraforming6. Mercury is also not fit for terraforming as it is too small whilst Mars and Venus are somewhat similar in size to Earth in comparison. Out of these two choices, Mars has been chosen to be the main target for terraforming. The reasons why Mars was chosen and not Venus are as follows:

Table 1

Conditions On Mars On Venus On Earth

A v e r a g e D i s t a n c e from Earth

78,340,00km (0.52 AU) 41,400,000km (0.28 AU)9 -

A v e r a g e O r b i t Distance

227,943,824 km making

the orbit period 687 days

(1.9 years)

108,209,475km (0.73 AU)

making the orbit distance 225

days (0.6 year)

149,598,262 km making the orbit

period 365.26 days (1 year)

Tilt of The Planet and Rotational Speed

25 degrees and 1600kmph

making the day 24 hours,

3 9 m i n u t e s a n d 3 5

seconds

177.3degrees and is 4mph

making the day 243 Earth

days which is approximately

5832 hours.

23.5 degrees13 and 868.2kmph

making the day 23 hours 56

minutes and 4 seconds12

A v e r a g e Temperature o f T h e Planet

-81 degrees Fahrenheit13

which is -62.78 degrees

Celsius

864 degrees Fahrenheit which

is 462 degrees Celsius.

57 degrees Fahrenheit13 which is

13.89 degrees Celsius

M a s s o f The Planet

6 . 3 9 * 1 0 2 3 k g ( 0 . 1 1

Earths)10

4.8675*1024 kg(0.82 Earths) 5.972x1024 kg (1 Earth)8

T h e Atmosphere on The Planet

96% Carbon Dioxide, less

t h a n 2 % A r g o n a n d

Nitrogen and less than 1%

other gases including water

v a p o u r w i t h a n

atmospheric pressure of 7.5 millibars.

96% Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen

3.5% and less than 1 percent

Carbon monoxide, argon,

sulphur dioxide, and water

vapour with an atmospheric

pressure of 91170 millibars (90 Earth atmospheres)

78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen,

0.93% Argon, 0.038% Carbon

Dioxide and 0.032% other

gasses with an atmospheric

pressure of 1,013 millibars22


Looking at the table 1 above, the distance between the Sun, the tilt, and the rotational speed of the planet, we can calculate the length of a day and of a year on the planet. Mars has a very adaptable day and year while Venus does not as the day is longer than the year and the rotation is opposite to every other planet in the solar system17making it difficult to adapt to.

The distance from Mars and the Sun also allows sufficient amount of sunlight to reach the planet so that the temperature is just within the range for us to survive. However the disadvantage is that the distance is just outside the habitable zone putting it further away 9

from the Sun making the average temperature on Mars below the range that allows water to be accessible in liquid form. Even though the average temperature is too low, there still is water in the polar ice caps on Mars, as well as underground and in the atmosphere as water vapour. However, looking at the range of the temperature, there are times when the temperature rises enough for water to become liquid which is then found flowing down steep slopes . The distance from Venus and the Sun puts it outside of the habitable zone26 as well 10

but closer to the Sun making the average temperature too high putting it at the extremes. This also makes it highly unlikely that water is available on the planet as it would most likely evaporate.

The mass of Mars is considered sufficient enough for the human body to adapt to; however it is still out of the ideal range for mass. This makes the atmosphere on the planet quite thin but fortunately it can protect the planet from radiation. The mass of Venus though within the ideal range for adaptability to gravity, the pressure of the planet is way above ours, so much so that none of the armoured Russian spacecraft survived for more than an hour on the planet24.

Looking at the atmosphere on Mars and Venus, much of the percentage composition is made of carbon dioxide meaning we are unable to breathe in the atmosphere. But on Venus even though the carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide is <1%, it is still less desirable as carbon monoxide is very lethal and sulphur dioxide leads to acid rain.

Dr. Chris Palma, “The Habitable Zone - John A. Du4on e-Educa9on Ins9tute”, Astro 801-Planets, Stars, 9

Galaxies and the Universe. <h4ps://www.e-educa9on.psu.edu/astro801/content/l12_p4.html>, [Accessed 28th July 2016].

Dwayne Brown, Laurie Can9llo, “NASA Confirms Evidence that Liquid Water Flows on Today’s Mars”, NASA, 10

<h4ps://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-confirms-evidence-that-liquid-water-flows-on-today-s-mars/>, [Accessed 28th July 2016].


Even though the distance between Venus and Earth is less than the distance between Mars and Earth making it easier to travel to Venus, but many of the other conditions are more in the extreme making it harder to terraform Venus, hence Mars was chosen as the candidate planet.

4. Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering is a biological methodology that is being considered as the means to either terraform Mars or improve life on Earth. It is the process of severing and splicing “DNA from one or more species of organism and to introduce the result into an organism in order to change one or more of its characteristics” . This was first cited in a science fiction novel 11

called Dragon’s Island in 1951 by Jack Williamson and in 1972, this fantasy became a 12

reality as Paul Berg was able to combine DNA from the monkey virus SV40 with that of the lambda virus . 13

The process of genetic engineering can take from 6-15 years or more and can be explained through the example of genetic engineering of a plant: Image 132

1) DNA Extraction - 14

a. Break open the cell that contains the DNA of the desired trait by using a detergent which breaks down the lipids in the cell membrane and nuclei therefore releasing the DNA.

b. It is then separated from proteins and other cellular debris by using protease to lyse the protein and filtering to remove the cellular debris.

c. An ice-cold alcohol is then added to the DNA and gently

“Gene9c Engineering| Defini9on of Gene9c Engineering”, Dic9onary and Thesaurus|Merriam-Webster, 11

<h4ps://www.merriam-webster.com/dic9onary/gene9c%20engineering>, [Accessed 13th January 2016].

Brian. M. Stableford, Historical Dic9onary of Science Fic9on Literature, Scarecrow Press, 2004.12

R. H. S. P. B. David A. Jackson, “Biochemical Method for Inser9ng New Gene9c Informa9on into DNA of 13

Simian Virus 40: Circular SV40 DNA Molecules Containing Lambda Phage Genes and the Galactose Operon of Escherichia coli,” Proceedings of the Na8onal Academy of Sciences, vol. 69, no. 10, 1972.

“DNA Extrac9on”, Biotech Learning, <h4p://biotechlearn.org.nz/themes/dna_lab/dna_extrac9on>, 14

[Accessed 28th September 2016].


stirred forming a precipitate containing the DNA which is then suspended in a slightly alkaline buffer and cleaning it ready for use.

Image 232

2) Gene cloning - 15

a. Separate the single gene of interest from the rest of the genes extracted and make thousands of copies of it.

3) Gene Design32- Image 332

a. The cloned gene is then cut to replace any regions

that have been separated so that it can work inside the plant.

4) Gene Insertion32- Image 432

a. Through the use of e i ther a gene gun,

agrobacterium, microfibers or electroporation, the gene is inserted into the nucleus of cells in a tissue culture containing callus (undifferentiated plant

“Overview of the Process of Plant Gene9c Engineering”, AgBiosafety, <h4p://agbiosafety.unl.edu/educa9on/15

summary.htm>, [Accessed 1st November 2016].


cells). b. The culture is then “regenerated” into transgenic plants which are then grown

5) Backcross Breeding32- Image 532

a. The culture is cross bred with other plants to create an offspring that

has the desired trait therefore creating the genetically engineered plant.

The reason why I have chosen to look particularly at genetic engineering is that it provides multiple gateways into either terraforming Mars or making Earth better. Some of the options have been explored below.

4.1. Option 1: Extremophiles

Both for terraforming Mars and for making Earth better, one could combine the DNA from extremophiles (organisms that can survive in extreme conditions) with the DNA from other organisms like bacteria or plants. This allows these genetically engineered organisms to live in extreme conditions. Since there are many different types of extremophiles, there are many different options for creating genetically modified organisms that can survive in different types of extreme conditions on both Mars and Earth.

One example of this is to combine the DNA from psychrophilic bacteria with a photosynthetic bacteria therefore allowing the new hybrid to withstand the cold temperatures on Mars. The addition of this hybrid could change the composition of the atmosphere on Mars as the bacteria will take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis. Another example is to combine the DNA from psychrophilic bacteria with a methane producing bacteria therefore allowing the hybrid to withstand the cold temperatures while producing 16

methane which is a greenhouse gas so it could increase the temperature on Mars.

David Warmflash, “Gene9cally engineering life forms to travel and colonize space”, Gene9c Literacy Project, 16

<h4ps://www.gene9cliteracyproject.org/2015/12/08/gene9cally-engineering-life-forms-to-travel-and-colonize-space/>, [Accessed 1st Novenber 2016].


The advantages of the examples above is that these bacteria will be very small and light therefore needing very few resources to survive and making it easier to transport them to Mars. Since these organisms belong to the same Kingdom, it stands to reason that it will be easier to genetically modify them as they will have similar DNA compared to two organisms from two different Kingdoms. The small size of the bacteria may be a disadvantage however, as it will take a long time for them to make a significant difference to the atmosphere. However, this can be counteracted by the fact that they will multiply at a fast rate through binary fission hence their overall effect on the atmosphere will increase due to their increased numbers . However, due to their increased population, the bacteria will use 17

up all available resources, hence we will have to ascertain how much resources will be needed to make a difference to the atmosphere before all the bacteria die. Fortunately, the limited resources for their exponentially growing population could be addressed by genetically engineering the bacteria with traits which are more resistant to the conditions on Mars, for example resistant to lack of water or more resistant to high salinity so that salt water can be used instead to prolong their longevity33.

4.2. Option 2: Crops

Another option for genetic engineering is to genetically modify the crops for use on Earth to help make the Earth better. An example is to genetically modify the crops with DNA from plants that have a high albedo. Albedo is “the ratio of the light reflected by a planet or satellite to that received by it” meaning that the genetically engineered plants will reflect more of the light back into space which would help decrease the temperature of the planet. This has the potential of being reasonably simple to put in place as farmers could switch from their old variety of crops to new ones . Even though it will be insufficient to offset the 18

adverse effects of global warming it will still be a step in the right direction to lower the temperature.

Crops could also be genetically modified to add beneficial properties for instance, increased nutritional value or increasing the yield thereby putting less strain on resources. An example of this is where wild rice has been modified to produce beta carotene changing the colour of wild rice to gold. Beta carotene is needed by humans to make Vitamin A therefore this

Tanya Lewis, “Engineering Life to Survive on Mars and Aid Human Coloniza9on”, Wired, <h4ps://17

www.wired.com/2012/08/engineering-bacteria-for-mars/>, [Accessed 1st November 2016].

Andy Ridgewell, “Tackling Regional Climate Change By Leaf Albedo Bio-geoengineering”, Cell Press 15th 18

<h4p://www.cell.com/ac9on/showMethods?pii=S0960-9822%2808%2901680-1>, [Accessed 1st November 2016].


genetically modified rice could be used to prevent blindness in areas where Vitamin A deficiency is common . 19

However, there are ethical and moral issues with using genetically modified crops on Earth for instance concerns about how expensive these plants would be, the potential harmful effects on human beings or the generation of herbicide resistant weeds which have adverse effects on other plants, leading to decreased availability of food and shelter sources for animals. There are fears that the genetically modified plants could cross breed with wild type

plants leading to long-term environmental effects.

4.3. Evaluation of Options

The biggest drawback of genetic engineering is that many of it is still theoretical, or has not been used in the real world hence it is difficult to assess the practicality of using the genetically modified bacteria and whether they will be fit for purpose or not, whether they will have unwanted unexpected consequences thus adding more complexity and uncertainty to the concept. Time-scale is another big issue as it will take a long time to genetically modify organisms, especially creating hybrid organisms with multiple different traits. Genetic modification of plants can be expensive, can result in loss of biodiversity and lead to cross-breeding with health and safety issues. It will create ethical dilemmas amongst people, some of whom may not want to change nature. People may be more open to these experiments being done on Mars rather than on Earth. However, not much research has been done for its application on Mars; hence it is difficult to say if it will work there or not.

5. Solar Radiation Management (SRM)

Solar Radiation Management (solar geoengineering) is one of the new methodologies which could be employed to control the amount of sunlight reaching a planet. It can be used with the aim to mitigate the catastrophic effects of global warming on Earth’s climate . The 20

concept arises from studying the effects on global temperature of natural phenomena like erupting volcanoes and was suggested as early as 1974 by a Russian expert named Mikhail

“Advantages and Disadvantages of GM”, BBC, <h4p://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/19

add_edexcel/cells/dnarev6.shtml>, [Accessed 1st November 2016].

The Royal Society, “Geoengineering the Climate,” Science, Government and Uncertainty, pp. 1-98, September 20

2009.


Budyko . The reason why I have chosen to look at SRM is that through this process, one 21

could explore various means of tackling issues on both Earth and Mars which would make it easier to live on these planets. SRM could be implemented by manipulating either the atmosphere of a planet, the surface of the planet or the space surrounding the planet. I will be looking in particular into an atmosphere-based proposal of SRM named SPICE and a space-based proposal named Space Mirrors.

5.1. Option 1: Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE)

Project

Image 640

The SPICE project is an example of a SRM that has been gaining the most attention from researchers . It is a “three and a half year 22

collaborative project between the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford and Edinburgh, which began in October 2010”. SPICE is investigating offsetting the effects of increased greenhouse gases by injecting reflective aerosols into the stratosphere with the expected outcome of decrease in the temperature on Earth by decreasing absorption of the sun’s radiation. This concept arose from studying the effects of volcanic eruptions in the past, when volcanic material was released into the stratosphere it lead to a cooling effect on the planet . The 23

project has three parts:

A. Evaluating candidate particles – In order to look for the perfect particle to inject into the stratosphere, scientists look at the size, surface properties, chemical composition, the lifetime of the particle, the effects on human health, the cost and the refractive index of the particle . 24

Jus9n McClellan, David W Keith and Jay Apt, “Cost analysis of stratospheric albedo modifica9on delivery 21

systems”, IOPSCIENCE, <h4p://iopscience.iop.org/ar9cle/10.1088/1748-9326/7/3/034019/meta;jsessionid=6FA60F3358D5F0FDD7ABFD8020DB7387.c4.iopscience.cld.iop.org>, [Accessed 1st November 2016].

“What is SRM?”, SRMGI-Solar Radia9on Management Government Interven9on, <h4p://www.srmgi.org/22

what-is-srm/> [Accessed 30th December 2015].

“The SPICE Project”, SPICE Project, <h4p://www.spice.ac.uk/> [Accessed 4th January 2016].23

“Evalua9ng Candidate Par9cles”, SPICE Project, <h4p://www.spice.ac.uk/project/evalua9ng-candidate-24

par9cles/> [Accessed 4th January 2016].


B. Delivery system – To determine the best means of delivering the aerosol particles into the stratosphere that is not too expensive, gets the particles to the right place, the material out of which the delivery vehicle is made so that it distributes the aerosols appropriately and can be easily controlled in case of unforeseen events. An example of the delivery system that is being researched is a tethered balloon delivery system . 25

C. Climate and Environmental modelling – To ascertain the impact on climate and environment, if the scientists were to use the perfect particles chosen and put them into the stratosphere using the delivery method. They will utilise knowledge of past volcanic eruptions to create or improve their computer models, to help predict what might happen if particles were injected into the atmosphere at the present time . 26

A similar approach can be used on Mars where instead of releasing reflective aerosols into the atmosphere, one release absorptive aerosols such as the greenhouse gases that plague Earth’s atmosphere. This will have the opposite effect from that on Earth whereby the temperature of Mars will increase which will not only put temperature in the ideal range but will also melt the ice stored underground giving us access to water therefore working towards making Mars more habitable.

5.2. Evaluation of SPICE Project

The advantage of using SPICE on Earth is that it could be deployed quite rapidly and the decrease in temperature could occur fairly quickly. This could help in establishing a delicate balance between increasing greenhouse gases and decreased solar radiation and could have to be employed over a long period of time. However this project will not be able to mitigate other problems created by the greenhouse gases, for instance acidification of oceans, nor is it aimed at decreasing the actual production of greenhouse gases like CO2, the latter will have to be addressed simultaneously for the best possible outcome, hence SPICE at best will be a temporary measure to make Earth better. This SRM method would however be relatively inexpensive as compared to the costs of decreasing the production of

“Delivery System”, SPICE Project, <h4p://www.spice.ac.uk/project/delivery-systems/>, [Accessed 4th 25

January 2016].

“Climate and Environmental modelling”, SPICE Project, <h4p://www.spice.ac.uk/project/climate-and-26

environmental-modelling/> [Accessed 4th January 2016].


greenhouse gases. However, one must be aware that if the method were to be stopped, it could lead to rapid and severe greenhouse warming. Since SRM is one of the big projects being looked at for climate control, it is essential that one engages early on with various stakeholders and the public to establish necessary frameworks and guidelines to carry out such activities in a responsible and ethical manner, without adversely affecting one region as compared to another. International cooperation would be needed especially when the effects will transcend national and international boundaries. Since these methods are still in the experimental stages, there will be concerns regarding their overall effects, for example on regional temperatures, rainfall, climate, and human life. Computer models are being evaluated to study the potential effects of injecting the particles, how quickly the injected particles would act, if it is possible to turn off the process and whether continued injections will have the same impact on climate as volcanic eruptions. Ozone depletion is a potential adverse consequence of introducing sulphur aerosols into the stratosphere which could cause negative impact on humans due to increased chance of skin cancer through increased UV exposure. Another potential impact could be on plant life and the overall effect the decreased radiation would have on them. Until the computer models show these answers we will not be able to truly evaluate the consequences.

The advantages of SPICE being used on Mars is that even though there hasn’t been any direct research into its application on Mars, the process can be tested on the Mars to evaluate its full impact and whether it will be beneficial or not away from any animal or plant life therefore avoiding the ethical issues likely to come up on Earth. Furthermore, one could use the excess greenhouse gasses on Earth as aerosols to be used on Mars one could indirectly benefit Earth by decreasing the concentrations of its greenhouse gasses. However, since Earth and Mars are quite different and both will be using different aerosols, one being reflective and the other absorptive respectively, the impact on Mars is likely to be different to the impact on Earth, neither will we be able to assess the effects on conditions like rainfall or on life forms as they are not present on Mars. Therefore there is no guarantee that a project will work on Mars if it works on. Transporting absorptive aerosols from Earth to Mars will have huge financial and logistical implications; thereby increasing the timescale to suitably terraforming Mars. We may have to consider generating the suitable aerosols on Mars itself. The increase in greenhouse gases on Mars may make it more difficult to terraform it in the future, as by increasing the temperature and greenhouse gases, one may inadvertently decrease the desirable gases like oxygen.


5.3. Space Mirrors Image 7 27

Space mirrors are a methodology that

can be used to redirect sunlight either away from the planet or towards the planet thereby causing a decrease or an increase in its temperature, respectively. The concept of space mirrors was first considered in the 1980s to cool the climate of Venus. It was first proposed by Lowell Wood in 2001 to decrease Earth’s temperature . The idea was 28

to position one or more wire-mesh “mirrors” in Earth’s orbit so that they could either deflect sunlight back into space or filter it enough to help stabilising the climate. Similarly, they can be positioned in Mars's orbit and reflect sunlight on to the planet as a whole heating up its surface, or more realistically focussing the mirrors on specific areas like the polar ice caps, thereby causing localised rise in temperature, melting the ice and gaining access to liquid water.

Evaluation of Space Mirrors

The advantage of using space mirrors is that theoretically, they would be extremely effective in increasing or decreasing the temperature of the planet as it has been calculated that deflecting 1% of incoming solar radiation to Earth would stabilise the climate44. However the limitations are the practicality of creating a mirror or mirrors large enough to be effective, the challenges associated in launching them from the planet and making it stay in orbit. All these could be far too great an engineering challenge, needing a huge monetary investment and enormous amount of time. A way to combat this is the use of space-based manufacturing techniques allowing us to build the mirrors in space utilising either material from Moon for use on Earth, or using the material from Martian moon for use on Mars. Again these carry huge financial time scale implications in effective implementation thereby decreasing its feasibility. The advantage of space mirrors on Earth is that it would be take less time and resources to launch them in Earth’s orbit compared to that of Mars. However, the challenge would be to keep them in orbit, and to ensure that solar winds do not displace them. A

Robert M. Zubrin, Christopher P. McKay, “Technological Requirements for Terraforming Mars”, < h4p://27

www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~mfogg/zubrin.htm>, [Accessed 28th November 2016].

“HOW EARTH-SCALE ENGINEERING CAN SAVE THE PLANET”, Popular Science, <h4p://www.popsci.com/28

environment/ar9cle/2005-06/how-earth-scale-engineering-can-save-planet>, [Accessed 1st November 2016].


challenge for installing space mirrors in Earth’s orbit is that unlike Mars, Earth has many man made satellites orbiting it therefore launching the mirrors without affecting these satellites may be quite tricky. Another risk of using any of the above devices is that they can distract attention from addressing the real problem underpinning climate change and the greenhouse gas emissions.

6. Conclusion

By looking at genetic engineering and solar radiation management as two examples of the newer methodologies and technologies to save Earth or terraforming Mars I realise that they are both still in the very early nascent stages of being explored and evaluated. Whilst Earth is a ticking time bomb as far as the climate change and global warming is concerned, we need both short term and long term solutions to make Earth better and yet have backup measures in place terraforming Mars in case our attempts at making Earth better fall short of its mark.

Both genetic engineering and SRM are beset with challenges, as discussed whilst evaluating these options above, as the technologies are new and have not been tried on Earth, much less on Mars. Having said this, genetically modified crops have been introduced on Earth, though not so much for their increased albedo effect as for their increased yield or nutritional value. Hence, it does not need too big a leap in imagination to turn to producing genetically modified crops which can be used to increase albedo effect on Earth. The concept of using extremophiles for terraforming Mars whilst sounding exciting on paper and in science fiction, will take enormous amount of time, money and resources to establish its effectiveness and ability to create an atmosphere on Mars. When time is of the essence, it makes more sense to put whole-hearted measures in place to make Earth better as a top priority.

Again, SPICE as a feasible technology is being explored through robust computer models. It derives from having studied the effects of natural phenomena like the effects of volcanic eruptions on the atmosphere and stratosphere and how it has caused decreased temperature in the past. Hence we have a natural model to work upon to base our research models. Again it will take advanced scientific know how, huge amount of time and resources to find the right aerosol and the optimum means to inject them into the stratosphere. But this is a method which could be implemented relatively quickly on Earth, and if need be its effects can be reversed more easily, and at a cost much less than that needed to decrease the production of greenhouse gases. Hence, as a measure it will be more feasible, practical


and doable to make Earth better whereas the idea of using aerosols on Mars to create greenhouse gases is still in the realms of science fiction.

Space mirrors as an SRM methodology seems attractive and possible though at exorbitant costs. It would logistically be more feasible to launch mirrors in space between Earth and sun rather than to take the mirrors far out in space between Mars and sun. Again if the mirrors were to be made in space using material from moon dust or from a Martian moon, it would be more practical to go to Earth’s moon than to go to the Martian moon in terms of technological and monetary challenges.

Hence I conclude that the first and foremost thing which we as a human race should be doing is to continue to make every possible effort to reduce the production of greenhouse gases. Whilst this is being done, we should turn our full hearted efforts towards making Earth better by continued exploration and implementation of stratosphere and space based methodologies and technologies and taking recourse to genetic engineering methods. At the same time, we need to continue to improve our understanding of terraforming Mars as a future plans as perhaps by learning how to make another planet better we will become better informed in how to make our own Earth a better place.

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