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Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ok, so this is all leading to one very specific place: An anarchic society of steampunk airships harvesting Deuterium from the shirtsleeve zone in Venus’ upper atmosphere.
What would they want with it?
This scheme would have some negative aspects.
BTW, hydrogen on Mars is enriched in D by a factor of 5 relative to Earth.
Venus does not have a molten core, and there is no magnetic field protecting the atmosphere from the solar winds. This is not likely the sole reason, but it must be a factor. Mercury does have a magnetic field, Mars does not.
Venus does not have a molten core, and there is no magnetic field protecting the atmosphere from the solar winds. This is not likely the sole reason, but it must be a factor. Mercury does have a magnetic field, Mars does not.
Venus has too much atmosphere. That's the problem.
Venus does not have a molten core, and there is no magnetic field protecting the atmosphere from the solar winds. This is not likely the sole reason, but it must be a factor. Mercury does have a magnetic field, Mars does not.
Mars, interestingly, was just determined to have a core almost identical to Earth’s as I understand it. This is not the sole determinant of course - you still need enough volatiles, enough gravity to maintain a hold on the lightest elements across billions of years, and tectonics to keep refreshing the atmosphere. Unfortunately for us all, Mars has none of those. There may be other significant factors as well.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Mars, interestingly, was just determined to have a core almost identical to Earth’s as I understand it. This is not the sole determinant of course - you still need enough volatiles, enough gravity to maintain a hold on the lightest elements across billions of years, and tectonics to keep refreshing the atmosphere. Unfortunately for us all, Mars has none of those. There may be other significant factors as well.
Without tectonics, is terraforming Mars even possible as a long term solution? This "Mars colonization" strategy seems like a pipe dream, no?
There would be little point in terraforming Mars. There’s plenty of places on Earth to terraform
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Mars, interestingly, was just determined to have a core almost identical to Earth’s as I understand it. This is not the sole determinant of course - you still need enough volatiles, enough gravity to maintain a hold on the lightest elements across billions of years, and tectonics to keep refreshing the atmosphere. Unfortunately for us all, Mars has none of those. There may be other significant factors as well.
Without tectonics, is terraforming Mars even possible as a long term solution? This "Mars colonization" strategy seems like a pipe dream, no?
Whether or not Theia was the cause - having a fast-spinning Earth and huge satellite in a low orbit* make Earth's situation profoundly different from that of Venus.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon#System_evolution for starters
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Without tectonics, is terraforming Mars even possible as a long term solution? This "Mars colonization" strategy seems like a pipe dream, no?
Tectonics isn’t the issue There would be little point in terraforming Mars. There’s plenty of places on Earth to terraform
In our lifetimes, unlikely. Over the next 1 million years? Maybe.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Without tectonics, is terraforming Mars even possible as a long term solution? This "Mars colonization" strategy seems like a pipe dream, no?
Tectonics isn’t the issue There would be little point in terraforming Mars. There’s plenty of places on Earth to terraform
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tectonics isn’t the issue There would be little point in terraforming Mars. There’s plenty of places on Earth to terraform
Agree. But my understanding is the main idea is Mars is supposed to be a "backup" for humanity in the event of a very-low-probability catastrophic event on earth (total nuclear war, solar flare, meteorite collision). In our lifetimes, unlikely. Over the next 1 million years? Maybe.