Terraforming Mars has long been a dream of scientists and sci-fi enthusiasts alike. From planting hardy moss to creating artificial greenhouses, many theories have emerged on how we might one day live on the Red Planet. But now, a scientist from Poland has proposed a more daring and dramatic approach crash frozen asteroids into Mars.
Dr Leszek Czechowski, a researcher at the Polish Academy of Sciences, believes that planting crops or using hardy organisms, as often imagined in movies like The Martian is too complex and slow. He argues that the biggest challenge is Mars’ harsh environment particularly its toxic soil and thin, unbreathable atmosphere.
Martian soil is filled with perchlorates, which are harmful to humans. Plus the atmospheric pressure is so low that any exposed human body would boil from the inside out without a pressurised suit.
So what’s the solution?
In his paper titled Energy Problems of Terraforming Mars, Dr Czechowski proposes using icy asteroids from the outer edges of the solar system. These space rocks found in regions like the Kuiper Belt and the distant Oort Cloud are full of frozen gases. If redirected to crash into Mars, they could potentially release these gases, thickening the planet’s atmosphere and possibly helping to make it more Earth-like over time.
Mars’ current atmosphere is thin and made mostly of carbon dioxide, offering no support for human life. But by smashing it with ice-rich asteroids, we could theoretically kickstart a transformation making the air denser and perhaps even warm enough to allow liquid water on the surface.
However there’s a major catch. According to Dr Czechowski, redirecting an asteroid from the Oort Cloud using today’s technology would take around 15,000 years. That makes this a far-future concept not something we’ll be doing anytime soon.
Still, the idea adds to a growing list of imaginative and ambitious plans for making Mars livable. Whether through biology, engineering or like in this case cosmic collisions, humanity continues to dream big about one day calling Mars home.