Topic of Conversation: The discussion for Chapter 10 involves missions to the pl

Question

Topic of Conversation:

The discussion for Chapter 10 involves missions to the planet Mars. Some people have suggested that we might be able to engineer Mars in a way that would cause its climate to warm and its atmosphere to thicken. This type of planet engineering is called terraforming, because its objective is to make a planet more Earth-like and easier for humans to live on. Research online and discuss one possible way to terraform Mars. Do any of these ideas seem practical? Do they seem like good ideas?

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I am not asking you to answer the above. I just need to write two responses on each two questions by using the examples of well rooted questions down below. It should be no more than four sentences for each. Please read the instructions. Very esay and simple!

Responding to Peers: Please be certain to read and comment on two other classmates' posts. Your comments should include well rooted questions (examples below). Note: Brief responses like “I agree” or “I disagree” will receive no credit.

- Why are you saying that?

- What exactly does this mean?

- Can you give me an example?

- How did you choose those assumptions?

- How can you verify or disprove that assumption?

- What would happen if …?

- How do you know this?

- Can you give me an example?

- Then what would happen?

- What are the consequences of that assumption?

First question:

Researching some of these ways they have proposed to make mars more "earth life" is actually kind of concerning. They want to trap greenhouse gasses to make the temperature rise which will then in turn make is more like earth and possibly be able to hold human life. Mars, nor any other planet, were made so they could be altered and changed. Mars was created the way it was for a reason, as was earth. If Mars was suppose to be another version of earth, it would have been. Trying to play God and alter other planets is not something I feel we should be doing.

Second question:

It would definitely have seasons, and they would be more extreme than those which Earth has because of the stronger tilt. Mars shares various similarities with Earth, so there should be no shock in the growing interest of potentially setting up inhabitance on Mars. The idea of Mars once being even more similar to Earth than it is now, brands a prime candidate in supporting life. As for terraforming Mars, I do not believe we the type of technology required to carry out this concept. Of course, this does not mean that scientists cannot work towards developing new technological advances. I imagine in order accomplish terraforming in Mars, scientists would have to begin with giving its core a jump-start; which would bring back the planet’s original magnetosphere. Once Mars’s magnetosphere is back, the planet would then be able to hold onto its atmosphere.

Explanation / Answer

First question- Obviously playing God and alter other planets should not be done. This is because our knowledge is limited and our experiments may hinder the sequencial processes occurring in nature. Additionally, for doing such experiments we need a huge amount of investment of money, labour and power. Such huge investment can be done on our own planet first to make it more robust and supporting the increasing population.

Question 2- Mars may have been a habitable planet, but now it lacks the magnetosphere and thus atmosphere. Giving a jump start to the core is not the solution because the core of the mars has been solidified. To start the convection in its core necessary for producing a magnetosphere, first we need to melt the core to make it mobile. For doing so, we need to heat the core and then start a convection in it. This will lead to formation of a magnetosphere which will be able to support the atmosphere. Then we will have to add greenhouse gases in appropriate amount to make the temperature optimum for human life. But there is another problem, that is; how log this magnetosphere will exist.

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