But will this actually work? Let’s find out.Nuking Mars as a means of terraforming the planet was brought to the public’s attention by Elon Musk on a late-night talk show. It is important to keep in mind that Elon is not a scientist. He does not have an advanced degree in the sciences, nor has he ever published a peer-reviewed study pertaining to any of the sciences. Yes, he does have a BS in physics, yet unfortunately, most of his course work was in solid-state physics, which does not make him an expert in geology, biology, climate physics, or pretty much anything to do with terraforming.
We just want to bring this to your attention and point out that he is not the most credible source for science-related information. Therefore, when he says something like “dropping thermonuclear weapons over the poles” would allow us to terraform Mars, his statement should be taken with a grain of salt. To be fair, anyone wearing a “Nuke Mars” t-shirt shirt probably shouldn’t be the first person you ask for ideas on how to terraform our neighboring planet. But could Elon Musk’s plan be so crazy that it could work? The basic premise behind nuking Mars is to release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere that would warm up the planet.
Currently, the average temperature of Mars is around -81 degrees Fahrenheit. Obviously, this is inhospitable for humans and pretty much every lifeform on planet Earth. In order to increase the temperature of our neighboring planet, we need to put more greenhouse gasses in its atmosphere so that heat can be retained. Now keep in mind we are somewhat experts on how to do this as we are dumping greenhouse gasses into our own atmosphere every day. This is what is driving climate change and leading to the global temperature increase on our planet.
However, unlike Mars, we shouldn’t be warming Earth as it will have drastic consequences for humans and all living things on our planet. But you may be surprised to learn that what we are doing to our planet today may actually help us terraform Mars in the future. Currently, the majority of Mars’ atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide, which is an important greenhouse gas, but there’s just not enough of it. Water vapor is also a greenhouse gas that can increase the planet's temperature. Since Mars has a decent amount of water frozen at its poles, nuking them could convert the ice into water vapor, which then would be released into the atmosphere.
The combination of CO2, H2O, and other greenhouse gasses in Earth’s atmosphere is what keeps our planet so toasty and allows us to live comfortably on it. So, Elon’s idea is to change the composition of Mars’ atmosphere to allow it to retain heat and become our second home. In theory, nuking Mars would most certainly release water vapor and even more CO2 into the atmosphere, but there are a couple of problems with this plan.
A recent study conducted by Bruce Jakosky and Christopher Edwards, two scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder and Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, respectively, has shown that there just isn’t enough ice on Mars to change the temperature of the planet even if it was all vaporized and deposited into the atmosphere by nukes. This puts a huge hole in Elon Musk’s plans for terraforming the planet. Although, this doesn’t seem to be a deterrent for the owner of SpaceX and Tesla.
Elon has also stated that by nuking Mars, CO2 stored in the planet’s rocks and crust would be released into the atmosphere. But again, the actual scientists who have analyzed the data have concluded that there isn’t even enough CO2 contained within the surface rocks on Mars to warm up the planet to hospitable levels.
The reason for this is that Martian rocks are very different from Earth rocks. The rocks on Earth that contain a lot of CO2, like limestone, get help from microbes that sequester carbon within them. It is a mix of living and nonliving processes that allows high amounts of carbon to get trapped within the rocks of Earth. On Mars, however, these biotic processes do not take place.
The only process that traps CO2 within the rocks of Mars is the slow seeping of molecules from the atmosphere into the surface of the planet. This is not a very efficient process. But the lack of significant amounts of CO2 and water on Mars is not the only problem that Elon’s plan faces. Unlike Earth, the Red Planet does not have a magnetic field protecting it.
This means that solar winds tend to eject gasses from Mars’ atmosphere into space. With every lost particle, the greenhouse gasses that were put into the atmosphere by nukes would be reduced, eventually returning the Martian atmosphere to its original composition. On top of this, scientists have noted that even though Mars is smaller than Earth, its distance from the sun requires that it have a similar atmospheric pressure as Earth in order to support human life.
Its atmosphere also needs to contain the same amount of CO2 as Earth in order to warm the planet to suitable temperatures. However, it is estimated that even if the entire planet were nuked to release the water from the icecaps and carbon dioxide into the air, the resulting gasses would only make Mars's atmospheric pressure 1.2 percent of Earth’s.
This is not nearly high enough, which further hinders the Nuke Mars plan. What the science tells us is that Elon Musk’s plan to nuke Mars would not result in the planet being terraformed. There would be an increase in greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, but it would not be enough to significantly alter the climate of the planet.
And on top of that, there is a pretty obvious negative side effect to using nuclear weapons to blow up the surface of an entire planet. Detonating nuclear bombs comes with a large amount of radiation. If we detonated enough nukes to liberate all of the water from the ice caps and surface rocks, the entire planet would become irradiated from the bombs. This kind of defeats the purpose of terraforming because humans would not be able to step foot on the surface until the radiation levels went down.
It would likely take a very long time for the radiation to reach acceptable levels, but since no one has ever nuked an entire planet before, it is hard to tell exactly how long. There is reason to believe that it could take decades before it would be safe to send an expedition to Mars after detonating nukes across the planet. And it could be even longer before it would be safe to grow plants on the Martian surface.
Another nasty consequence of blowing up Mars with nukes is that it could send the planet into a nuclear winter. Again, this kind of defeats the purpose of terraforming the planet if we can’t live on it. If enough dust and particles were kicked up into the atmosphere, they could block the sun’s light from reaching the Martian surface. This would cause the temperature to drop even lower than it currently is.
Eventually, the particles would settle out of the atmosphere, and at that point, the temperature would start to rise. But since we know there isn’t enough water or carbon dioxide on the surface of the planet to raise the temperature to adequate levels, nuking Mars is not a great option. So, the “Nuke Mars!” plan is pretty silly, especially if the end goal is to terraform the planet. But is there a different way to terraform Mars so that humans could someday live on it?
There absolutely is, and you wouldn’t even have to detonate a single bomb. In order for Mars to be terraformed into a planet that humans could live on without spacesuits, the global temperature needs to increase significantly. The nuke Mars plan had the right idea of putting greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, but its method of execution was all wrong.
The first step should be to stop the loss of greenhouse gasses from solar storms and high-energy particles from the sun. When these phenomena interact with the Martian atmosphere, they can cause molecules such as CO2 and H2O to be ejected into space. In order to stop this from happening, a former NASA scientist has an idea.
Jim Green has developed a plan to block the sun’s harmful effects on Mars’ atmosphere. Green has proposed that humans could launch a series of spacecraft to set up a magnetic shield between Mars and the sun. The shield would act kind of like a clear umbrella that blocks harmful radiation while allowing certain wavelengths of light to reach the Red Planet.
The shield itself would not block all of the sun’s light but instead, protect Mars in a similar way to how Earth’s magnetic field protects our planet. This would prevent molecules in Mars’ atmosphere from being ejected into the depths of space and allow them to build up over time. By reducing the number of greenhouse gasses lost in this way, the Martian atmosphere would become thicker and cause the planet to warm up.
This would allow Mars to begin the terraforming process without any human intervention on the planet itself. It would be an incredibly slow process and would not result in a habitable Mars, but it would definitely be a step in the right direction and one that humans need to consider if we are going to live on the planet. The trickiest part of the whole thing is putting the shield in the right place. Precise calculations would need to be made to ensure that the magnetic shield follows the orbit of Mars and keeps it protected.
If the magnetic shield deviated from its course by even a few millimeters, Mars would no longer be in its shadow, and the sun’s radiation would stip particles from the atmosphere once again. Right now we have the technology to start planning for the magnetic shield, but calculations and contingency plans need to be put in place before a successful mission can be launched. The protective shield will not get the job done all on its own.
We still need to find a way to put more greenhouse gasses into the Martian atmosphere. Although there isn’t enough CO2 in the surface rocks of Mars, there might be enough deeper within the planet. This means that nuking the surface would release a small amount of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, but to successfully terraform Mars, we’d need to go deeper. Minerals located further underground could contain more CO2 than the surface and, therefore, might be the location where we find the greenhouse gasses we need to make Mars hospitable for humans.
The problem with this plan is that the entire surface of Mars would need to be mined first. It would be a drilling operation on a massive scale. We currently don’t have the technology to do this; however, in the future, you can imagine a humongous fleet of autonomous robots that are sent to Mars to continuously harvest and vaporize rocks to release their stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
It is estimated that by mining the surface of the entire planet down to a depth of 100 yards, we might be able to release enough greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere to increase the temperature of the planet. However, we don’t actually know if there is enough CO2 contained within the buried Martian rocks and minerals to create the desired effect, even if the whole planet is strip-mined.
We are working with our best estimates, but until we put boots on the ground and learn more about the Red Planet, this scenario is only based on what little data we have available. The other problem with the harvesting method is that it would require a massive amount of energy in order to vaporize the number of rocks and minerals needed to terraform the planet.
Even if we detonated all the nukes we currently have on Mars, it wouldn’t be enough. Scientists think the only way to generate adequate constant energy is by using a source of fusion power similar to the sun. However, we do not have the technology to create a fusion reaction yet, which means we have a lot of work to do before we can vaporize the surface of Mars. Theoretically, if humans develop a machine capable of generating a fusion reaction and could put a magnetic shield between Mars and the sun, terraforming could begin.
There is a concern that a lot of the planet would need to be destroyed just to increase its temperature, but it may be necessary if we are ever going to live on the Red Planet. There are a few other methods that humans could use to change the climate of the planet. Unfortunately, we still need to develop the technology to carry out this next terraforming method successfully, and even then, it will be incredibly destructive. Another way we might change the atmospheric composition of Mars and turn it into a livable planet could be by bombarding it with asteroids.
All the nukes in the world aren’t as powerful as slamming a giant asteroid into the Red Planet. But asteroids come with another benefit besides just packing an enormous punch that can vaporize the Martian surface. Some scientists believe that by capturing a large asteroid full of ice and ammonia, we can deliver the energy needed to release water and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere while simultaneously adding more greenhouse gasses to the planet.
The ice trapped within the asteroid would evaporate into the Martian atmosphere after impact, and the ammonia also serves as its own greenhouse gas. Between the energy released on impact that will convert the Martian surface into usable greenhouse gasses as well as the water and ammonia contained within the asteroid, the terraforming process could be sped up dramatically.
There are definitely some logistical issues with this plan, such as how to harvest asteroids from the asteroid belt, but the technology to nudge space rocks in the direction of Mars is something we have right now. By landing a craft on the surface of an asteroid and using its thrusters to push the asteroid one way or another, scientists could aim it at Mars.
The tricky part will be finding asteroids with the right composition, and it would be nice if they were in the general vicinity of Mars. Using asteroids to terraform Mars will take time. Missions will need to be carried out to identify the composition of the candidates, and then moving a 10 billion ton asteroid will not be easy.
However, once it is set on the right trajectory, its momentum will carry the space rock straight through Mars’ atmosphere and slam it into the planet. This will generate around 130 million megawatts of power. The impact alone is calculated to raise the temperature of the planet by around 35 degrees Fahrenheit.
This change in temperature would likely result in some of the ice caps on Mars melting, which means the asteroid would not need to be directly aimed at the poles to cause the Martian water to evaporate into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, just one 10 billion ton asteroid wouldn’t be enough to terraform the planet. Over the course of decades, Mars would need to be bombarded with asteroid after asteroid.
With each impact, more greenhouse gasses would be added to the atmosphere, but in order to reach levels that would raise the temperature enough to sustain life, there would need to be dozens of impacts. With each asteroid strike, the planet would undergo a period of warming followed by a period of cooling until all of the surface particles that were ejected into the atmosphere settled back onto the Martian surface.
This means using asteroids to terraform Mars could work, but it would take centuries to accomplish. Perhaps the easiest way to terraform Mars is by doing what we are doing to our own planet. By setting up factories and burning fuels that release CO2 and other greenhouse gasses into the air, we could create climate change on Mars. This would not be a cost-effective method to terraform the planet as a lot of materials and resources would need to be brought from Earth, but it could theoretically work.
We would have to launch countless missions with supplies and colonists to build settlements and factories on the surface of Mars. The terraforming communities would need to live in biodomes and artificial habitats for centuries until the terraforming process could be completed. But given enough time and resources, we could create greenhouse gas factories on the surface of Mars.
As of right now, we don’t know all of the fuel sources or natural resources available on Mars, so early expeditions would need to gather intel for the colonization of the Red Planet. Once we knew exactly what was available, we could supplement it with materials from Earth or harvested from asteroids. The colonists could set up giant factories where they burn Martian rocks and heavy metals.
They could also run air conditioning machines that produce chlorofluorocarbons. Chlorofluorocarbons are gasses that destroy ozone here on earth and were molecules generated through the use of appliances such as old air conditioners and refrigerators. Scientists eventually discovered how damaging they were to the atmosphere, and now chlorofluorocarbons are banned in most countries. But they would be incredibly useful as greenhouse gasses on Mars.
By burning certain substances, releasing chlorofluorocarbons, and melting the icecaps of Mars, the colonists could slowly change the atmosphere without nuking the planet or slamming countless asteroids into it. Obviously, one of the main issues with this plan is that a colony would need to be set up first, which would require tons of resources and take a very long time. But in the end, humans would have a new planet to live on, so it may all be worth it. There may also be a way to increase temperatures on Mars from space. This does not negate the fact that greenhouse gasses still need to be increased, but some scientists think that by using a giant mirror, the Martian surface could be warmed up considerably.
The craziest part of this plan is that the mirror would need to be very, very large. In fact, the mirror would have to be able to shine light on one entire side of the planet. It is important that the mirror intensifies the sunlight across the entire surface because if it is only focused on one area, the greenhouse gasses generated from the warming rocks wouldn’t be enough to create global temperature change.
The more surface that is being hit by the reflected sunlight, the more evenly distributed the temperature rise will be. This will also cause the melting of the ice caps and the release of carbon dioxide trapped within the Martian rocks. But like with the nuking plan, the mirror itself will not be enough since there just aren’t enough greenhouse gasses on the surface of the Red Planet.
So, the best terraforming solution for Mars is probably a combination of all of the strategies mentioned. Maybe we detonate nukes at the poles to get things started. This would be followed by a greenhouse-gas-rich asteroid slamming into the planet. Finally, a giant mirror would continuously bombard Mars with intense light. Then after decades of waiting for things to settle, we could send an army of spaceships filled with colonists and engineers to build factories to make chlorofluorocarbons and release carbon dioxide.
There are also other problems that will need solving even after we raise the temperature of the planet. Once we get the greenhouse gasses to the right levels and Mars reaches a habitable climate, we will need to put oxygen into the atmosphere for us to breathe. Oxygen is not a greenhouse gas, but it is definitely something we will need in order to survive on the newly terraformed Mars.
The best way to generate enough oxygen to sustain life on Mars is to grow plants across the planet. Unfortunately, plants take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to conduct photosynthesis, which then releases oxygen back into the air.
This would be slightly counterproductive as humanity just spent decades or even centuries trying to build up the amount of greenhouse gasses on Mars. A solution to this might be that when increasing greenhouse gasses on Mars, we slightly overshoot the number needed so that there is enough for the plants to use while also maintaining a warm climate.
However, growing plants on Mars is easier said than done. The Martian soil is devoid of all nutrients, which means we will need to find a way to fertilize the entire planet. Once we are able to create dirt where pioneering species like lichen, fungi, and bacteria can thrive, they will convert rocks and sand into usable soil like here on Earth. Think of it kind of like plants colonizing a new island that’s formed in the middle of the ocean, except instead of an island, it’s an entire planet, and instead of an ocean, it’s the vastness of space.
We may have to do some genetic engineering to give these pioneering species the ability to thrive on Mars at first, but by the time we are at that step in the terraforming process, who knows what kind of crazy technology we’ll have available to us. With all the talk of nuking, harvesting resources, and changing the atmosphere of Mars comes an ethical question.
Do we even have the right to modify an entire planet to suit our needs? On the one hand, there are no living things on Mars as far as we know. If we were to discover that there was microbial life, or Martians living below the surface of the planet, that would change everything, or at least it should. NASA has gone to great lengths to ensure anything that has landed on the Red Planet is thoroughly sterilized and doesn’t carry with it microbes from Earth.
Certain bacterias and other extremophiles can survive in the most hostile conditions, and it is not out of the realm of possibility that, with the right adaptations, they could find a way to thrive on Mars. But if there are already microbes living on the planet that have yet to be discovered, would it still be okay for us to change their environment?
Even if there are no living things on Mars, should the humans of Earth bombard one of our planetary neighbors with nuclear bombs and asteroids? These are questions to take into consideration when planning to terraform an entire planet. With the way things are going on Earth right now, we might not have a choice. Between over-consumption of resources and the amount of damage we are doing to the environment, sending humans to another planet might be an inevitability.
There is also the argument of putting all your eggs in one basket. If anything were to happen to Earth, like a gamma-ray burst blowing our atmosphere into space or a giant asteroid impact decimating all life on the planet, the human species would go extinct. For right now, we have no backup plan for our species.
Therefore, it could be argued that terraforming Mars isn’t just a good idea but necessary for the continuation of the human race. What it comes down to is that we do not have the technology to do this quite yet. And just to reiterate our initial point: nuking Mars will not allow us to terraform it, so we should probably throw that idea out the window.
No matter what Elon Musk or any other futurist says, terraforming Mars is just not possible with today’s technology. If and when we do finally have the ability to terraform a planet, it will likely be done using a combination of different techniques discussed in this video. We will probably need a magnetic shield, a giant mirror, and a way to pump greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Asteroids and the resources they constrain will be incredibly important not just for terraforming Mars but for the future of space exploration in general.
The only way any of these dreams will become a reality is if we listen to science and continue shooting for the stars, both figuratively and literally. Space exploration has slowed considerably since the Apollo missions that first landed humans on the moon. If nothing else, Elon Musk and other private space companies have reinvigorated our interest in space travel. However, we will need to continue to fund scientific missions and technological research if we are ever going to successfully terraform Mars.
Now watch “The Real Problem with Living on Mars.” Or check out “What Would Happen If We Detonate a Nuke in Space?."
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