NASA Planetary Protection Policy
planetaryprotection.nasa.gov
NASA Planetary Protection Policy
1–10 of 56 posts
Re: NASA Planetary Protection Policy
#2IMO this kind of stuff is going to be the biggest hurdle to terra-forming someday.
Re: NASA Planetary Protection Policy
#3IMO this kind of stuff is going to be the biggest hurdle to terra-forming someday.
uh-huh.
To state that another way, some bad-ass aliens come along and decide to terraform Earth to their liking. It turns out they breathe 100% Helium, so they convert Earth's atmosphere to that.
How do you feel about terra-forming now?
Re: NASA Planetary Protection Policy
#4IMO this kind of stuff is going to be the biggest hurdle to terra-forming someday.
Terraforming is pointless anyway. Space-based habitats are a much more efficient way to expand our living space, and most importantly, when living in one, you don't need to live at the bottom of a gravity well.
Re: NASA Planetary Protection Policy
#5IMO this kind of stuff is going to be the biggest hurdle to terra-forming someday.
uh-huh. To state that another way, some bad-ass aliens come along and decide to terraform Earth to their liking. It turns out they breathe 100% Helium, so they convert Earth's atmosphere to that. How do you feel about terra-forming now?
[deleted]
Re: NASA Planetary Protection Policy
#6This article brings an interesting question to mind -
How will we land humans on Mars without contaminating the planet?
I mean, Mars's atmosphere is mostly CO2, and bacteria are well-known for their ability to survive in harsh conditions. There may not be life on Mars now, but who's to say there won't be after all the astronauts leave...?
Re: NASA Planetary Protection Policy
#7IMO this kind of stuff is going to be the biggest hurdle to terra-forming someday.
I think you are seriously under-estimating the complexity of terraforming if you think this NASA policy might be a big hurdle...
Re: NASA Planetary Protection Policy
#8This article brings an interesting question to mind - How will we land humans on Mars without contaminating the planet? I mean, Mars's atmosphere is mostly CO2, and bacteria are well-known for their ability to survive in harsh conditions. There may not be life on Mars now, but who's to say there won't be after all the astronauts leave...?
Did we contaminate the moon? I think if we can can put people on Mars, we'll like that more than not contaminating Mars.
Re: NASA Planetary Protection Policy
#9IMO this kind of stuff is going to be the biggest hurdle to terra-forming someday.
Terraforming is pointless anyway. Space-based habitats are a much more efficient way to expand our living space, and most importantly, when living in one, you don't need to live at the bottom of a gravity well.
Gravity wells don't spring leaks.
Re: NASA Planetary Protection Policy
#10IMO this kind of stuff is going to be the biggest hurdle to terra-forming someday.
uh-huh. To state that another way, some bad-ass aliens come along and decide to terraform Earth to their liking. It turns out they breathe 100% Helium, so they convert Earth's atmosphere to that. How do you feel about terra-forming now?
Helium is an inert gas, so is extremely unlikely to be part of any chemical reaction (much less a bio-chemical reaction like breathing).
[edit]
Methane or ammonia appear to be much more likely alternative, and no I wouldn't like Earth's atmosphere to be replaced with it.
While I'm being a nitpicker Terra-form means roughly "to make like Earth" so it specifically refers to making a planet more like Earth.