Robert Zubrin, a well-known author who wrote, among other things, the book 'The Plan to Colonize the Red Planet', answers several questions on the UNIVERSE TODAY website about the future of Mars
By: Nitzan Achsaf, window for physics
Is it necessary to terraform - change the ground and atmosphere of Mars, in order to allow life?
Robert Zubrin: Yes.
Does Mars contain all the necessary elements to make it a habitable planet, or will we have to import gas, chemicals, etc. from somewhere else? And if so, will Mars always need us to import materials to it in order for it to be habitable or can it reach a certain point, from which onward the planet can 'sustain itself'?
Zubrin: It seems that Mars has all the necessary elements to make it terrestrial. The most important question is the nitrogen, and it is not yet known what nitrogen deposits are there. The theory suggests that Mars received the same amount of nitrogen at the beginning of its journey as Earth received, and probably the majority is still there.
How long will the transformation process take? When you imagine Mars after this process, what do you see?
Zubrin: "If we examine the process from the contemporary technological point of view, it will look like this:
- It will take 100 years to colonize Mars and create a local population there and the ability to maintain an industry there.
- It will take 50 years to produce fluorocarbon gases, in order to heat the star by 10 degrees.
- 50 years until carbon dioxide will emerge from the earth, because of the fluorocarbon. Something that will thicken the atmosphere by 0.2-0.3 bar (a unit of pressure), and raise the temperature by another 40 degrees. This will cause the ice to melt, rivers to flow and rain to fall. Under these conditions, with human help, plants can grow. At this point, people on the surface of Mars will not need pressure suits, but only oxygen masks, and large cities under domes will be able to rise, since the external pressure will not be greater than the internal pressure.
- For 1000 years, humans could add 150 millibars of oxygen to the planet's atmosphere, and then every human and every animal could live in the open air of Mars, without any problem.
All this, if 21st century technologies are used. If 23rd century technologies are used, the process will be much faster.
