THERE are lots of ideas on how humans can terraform Mars, and turn the dusty, radioactive Red Planet into something habitable.
have suggested we start with , and more recently, have even suggested lichen that can survive -like conditions.
But a scientist says the physics of growing hardiest plants on Mars are too out of reach – and a more extreme route to habitation is required.
Unlike in The Martian, future Mars colonists planted into Martian soil.
Martian soil and dust, known as regolith, contain perchlorates which are toxic to humans.
The planet's pressure would also boil the water inside a human's body if they were not wearing a pressurised , according to Dr. Leszek Czechowski of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
In his paper, “Energy problems of terraforming Mars,” Dr. Czechowski suggests smashing the planet with asteroids from the Kuiper Belt or the dense, but currently theoretical, Oort Cloud.
He believes the Oort Cloud is home to billions of icy asteroids, which, if smashed into Mars, could give the planet an atmosphere.
Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than Earth, made up mostly of CO2.
But getting an asteroid from the Oort Cloud to Mars is a journey that would take roughly 15,000 years with current technology.
Whereas an asteroid from the closer Kuiper Belt could theoretically be brought to Mars over the span of decades rather than millennia.
A Kuiper asteroid, however, is more likely to break up when brought close to the Sun, according to Dr. Czechowski, who presented his study at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
Therefore, scientists would have to find a way to transport a large icy asteroid from the Kuiper Belt to Mars and smash it into the Red Planet.
The impact would shower the asteroid's , and also produce such a large amount of energy that it could help warm the planet.
To do that, Dr. Czechowskisuggests engineers design a propulsion system that doesn't rely on gravity to direct the icy body.
He proposes a spacecraft with an, powered by a fusion reactor.
Although, he explains little more about what this future spacecraft may look like.
