Mars terraforming needs massive engineering

Making Mars habitable is not a climate issue but a massive engineering challenge, according to a study by a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The project would require gas masses comparable to entire moons, vast orbital mirrors, and factories that do not yet exist.

Gas masses needed are enormous

To create a breathable atmosphere on Mars, the study identifies five pressure levels, starting from the triple point of water (6.1 millibars) up to 500 millibars. Each of these stages requires gas masses comparable to those of moons like Deimos or Janus.

Orbital mirrors would be massive

Warming Mars by about 60 degrees Celsius would require orbital mirrors covering 70 million square kilometers. This scale exceeds anything the current space industry knows how to realize, highlighting the logistical challenges of such a project.

Available CO2 on Mars is limited

The endogenous CO2 available on Mars could only contribute about 20 millibars of atmospheric pressure. This is far below the 500 millibars needed for a breathable atmosphere without a spacesuit, indicating a significant gap in resources.

Stages of atmospheric transformation

Slava Turyshev outlines five stages of atmospheric transformation, from the current glacial atmosphere of Mars to a fully breathable environment. Each stage involves increasing pressure and temperature, requiring different engineering solutions and resources.

Mass of gas needed is staggering

To achieve a single millibar of pressure, Turyshev calculates that 3.89 times 10^15 kilograms of gas would be needed. This is roughly equivalent to the mass of Deimos, the smallest of Mars’s moons. Reaching 500 millibars would require a mass comparable to Janus, a moon of Saturn.

Warming Mars would need orbital infrastructure

To raise Mars’s temperature, the study suggests deploying giant orbital mirrors or using nanoparticles to trap solar energy. These mirrors would need to cover 70 million square kilometers, a scale far beyond current space industry capabilities.

Industrial challenges on Mars

Beyond atmospheric pressure and temperature, producing oxygen, water, and construction materials on Mars would require factories capable of processing millions of tons of Martian resources. This represents an unprecedented industrial challenge with no existing infrastructure to support it.