Putting humans on Mars has been a long-term project for both NASA and SpaceX. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has often said he plans to lead the way when it comes to settling on the Red Planet. However, new research suggests we could do more than just settle the Martian surface. It might actually be possible to terraform Mars.
If reading that last sentence gave you pause, you aren’t alone. Sure, the idea of terraforming the Red Planet is exciting, but it’s also always sounded a bit preposterous. Even popular science fiction media like The Expanse have made jabs at how unrealistic the idea is, focusing on how goals to terraform Mars had simply not been working out.
So, what makes our chances different here in the real world? Well, according to a new study published in Nature Astronomy in May, researchers believe that the goal of terraforming Mars is something we should take seriously. Of course, there’s a lot to unpack here, but the basic idea is that with the power of spacecraft like SpaceX’s Starship, as well as synthetic biology, we could very well one day turn Mars back into a living planet.
Here’s the kicker with all of this, though. This is all still very much just wild theory. Yes, it is theoretically possible to bring life back to the Martian surface. This would, hopefully, include flowing rivers and lakes, as well as ways to grow crops. But we have a long way to go before any of that is feasibly possible as it stands today.
For starters, we’ve never even sent humans to Mars. Sure, Starship could cut down the mission time drastically, and nuclear rocket technology could help with that. But the fact of the matter is, we’re still extremely underequipped for the journey. Beyond just figuring out how to terraform Mars, we also have to figure out how to get humans there in one piece.
The effects of long-term space travel are still a mystery. We’re constantly learning more about the human limits of living in space as more astronauts spend longer periods of time aboard the International Space Station. There are also other variables that need to be taken into account, but the basic gist is this: if we’re going to take terraforming Mars seriously, we need to start looking for some serious answers to these questions.
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