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Using laser projectors on the surface of Mars will lead to surprising outcomes.
Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, is the promised land humanity seeks to conquer. However, it's also a 'hellish' planet lacking everything humans need to survive.
According to experts, to inhabit Mars, we must terraform it into a new green oasis. But to address the planet's challenges, we must first transform the red planet into a silicon ocean using massive laser beams.
This isn't merely a science fiction tale. Terraforming Mars is feasible within a timeframe comparable to when our ancestors built magnificent structures.
Therefore, if humanity can solve some pressing issues and venture into space to expand within the Solar System, it might not be as far-fetched as it seems.
So, the question arises: How can we terraform Mars quickly?
How to terraform Mars effectively?
The answer lies in a rather complex process. Mars is an extremely harsh planet, dry and barren with no soil for cultivation. Moreover, its thin atmosphere offers little protection against radiation, increasing the risk of cancer.
Therefore, to transform Mars into a new home for humanity, we need to establish a complete atmosphere similar to Earth's.
Specifically, the atmosphere should contain approximately 21% oxygen, 79% nitrogen, and a small amount of CO2, at an average temperature of about 14 degrees Celsius and under a pressure of 1 atm. This entails creating oceans and rivers. Additionally, the soil needs to be enriched to support life forms. Subsequently, we need to establish a biosphere on the surface and protect it from destructive forces by implementing resilient defense strategies against the challenges of time.
This process is challenging, but giant laser beams could make everything much easier.
Firstly, the atmosphere. According to scientists, around 4 billion years ago, Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere along with vast oceans and large rivers. Everything remained intact for hundreds of millions of years until it was all blown away. Specifically, ultraviolet rays destroyed the gas in the atmosphere, followed by the oceans, until they were blown away by the solar wind.
Today, Mars is a barren and arid place. But fortunately, there is a significant amount of water frozen in deep underground reservoirs and polar ice caps. This water is enough to create very shallow oceans. Furthermore, there is a massive amount of oxygen trapped in minerals within Martian rocks. For example, oxygen within iron oxide, the substance that gives the red planet its rusty hue, and CO2 within carbonate rocks.
To release this gas, we need to reverse the reactions that have kept them locked up through high-temperature thermal decomposition methods equivalent to the surface of the Sun.
In essence, humans need to melt the surface of Mars. But how? The best way to do this is by deploying a laser beam projector into orbit and aiming it at Mars.
In reality, the most powerful laser beam projector today is the ELI-NP, capable of emitting beams with an energy level of 10 petawatts in a trillionth of a second.
However, to heat Mars, we need a projector twice as powerful running continuously. The simplest way is to use a solar-powered projector. This type of projector can directly harvest energy from sunlight. At its core are glass rods connected to metals to absorb and release energy in the form of laser beams.
Additionally, if humans construct a network of mirrors in space spanning 11 times the area of the United States, it could concentrate enough sunlight to melt Mars.
When laser beams hit the Martian surface, approximately 750 kg of oxygen and a small amount of CO2 escape per cubic meter of melted rock. With high-efficiency laser beams, melting an 8-meter-thick layer of rock on the surface would yield sufficient oxygen.
After the molten rock flows through, the ground cools rapidly, and a strange snowstorm descends. Dust particles from solidifying elements like silica and iron clump together as they cool.
At this juncture, Mars remains a frigid planet. Particularly, the positive aftermath of this fiery storm is that all water in the polar ice caps, even deep underground, will evaporate into hot steam, forming clouds that induce planet-wide rainfall. These rains will wash away many harmful gases in the atmosphere like chlorine, toxins accumulating on the ground. Ultimately, they will form shallow, saltier oceans than those on Earth.
However, to create an oxygen-rich atmosphere, humans will need to continuously fire laser beams for 50 years. During this period, we could also dig deeper at some points to create basins for saltwater oceans or freshwater rivers...
Secondly, at that time, the atmosphere contains nearly 100% oxygen and the pressure is only at 0.2 atm, making it difficult to breathe and highly flammable. Therefore, to make Mars more Earth-like and safer, humans need to supplement what Mars lacks. That's nitrogen.
How to Import Nitrogen?
According to scientists, the ideal location is Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, covered by a thick atmosphere containing almost pure nitrogen. Humans only need to transport 3 quadrillion tons from the outer edge of the Solar System to Mars. Of course, accomplishing this task is no easy feat.
To process such vast amounts of nitrogen, humans need to construct automated factories on the surface of Titan, powered by giant laser beams, to suck in and compress the nitrogen gas into liquid form. The liquid nitrogen will be pumped into bullet-shaped containers, and then an accelerator will shoot them towards Mars. Upon arrival, they will detonate and mix with the oxygen atmosphere.
Humans can undertake missions to Mars within just a few years. With sufficient resources, we could complete the process within two generations.
According to experts' estimates, a century after the terraforming process begins, humans will have a breathable atmosphere with the necessary gases on Mars.
Source: NASA, Kurzgesagt
