There are two main assumptions which make possible this
virtual experience on Mars. The first is that we as a
collective society can muster the will to achieve what would
be an enourmous task presented herein. The second
assumption is that we achieve the technical know-how and have
mastered our ability to control it.
One of the more adventuresomeand evolving theories of planet renewal is the concept of terraforming. This concept, long in the Sci Fi realms, has gained much attention in recent years as a plausible means of bringing Mars back to life.
The key to Mars is that it already possesses the basic raw elements for supporting life in the form of water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen and thus the composition for successful terraforming. Mars largest problem is a relatively thin atmosphere which is unable to support life and which has plunged the planet in a perpetual deep freeze for eons. Thicken the atmosphere, and the planet will warm The warmer the planet, the more ability to release CO2 and thus, life can be sustained. That is, in essence,
terraforming.
This "greenhouse effect", which threatens Earth, has the opposite effect on Mars. The key ingredient to thickening the atmosphere is CO2 (carbon dioxide) which is known to exist on Mars in vast quantities at the polar caps and in martian dirt or "regolith". The means of creating energy and heat to begin and perpetuate this process is now being carefully studied.
The actual terraforming process would take years, perhaps even generations, to achieve but much progress is being made to advance this theory. Terraforming is, by all current standards, feasible and is the key to unlocking the Martian frontier.
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