For a very long time, humans have been in pursuit to look for a planet just like Earth. While that endeavour seems to be bleak at best, some have rested their hope on the next best thing -- our neighbouring planet, Mars.
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Whether it's NASA scientists or Elon Musk, Mars seems like the next leap in human space endeavour. And now, a new research reveals how humanity could achieve life on that planet.
It is no secret that for human presence to thrive on the Martian land, it needs to be terraformed. And researchers, in their latest paper shared some ideas on what really needs to be done.
Unlike Mars, Earth has a strong magnetic field. But Mars¡¯s magnetic field barely has any pull. Achieving terraforming would begin by first boosting the atmospheric pressure above the Armstrong limit -- a threshold that allows humans to survive without a pressure suit.
In case you were wondering how much of this magnetic field do we really need, it's not more than that of a fridge magnet, but this would need to be generated across the entire planet, making it an incredible feat.
According to scientists, there are a few ways in which we can make it happen -- from restarting and circulating Mars¡¯s iron core, to creating a continuous solid loop of magnets or using a chain of coupled sources with a controlled beam or a plasma torus -- and the options range from the Martian surface to the Martian orbit.?
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Researchers highlight that reigniting the Red planet¡¯s core is the least feasible, and creating a plasma torus with blasted-off moon material would not erode Mars¡¯s satellites significantly.?
Although it goes without saying that executing this would require massive resources and a buttload of power -- 10 to the power of 17 joules -- similar to that of what all humans consume on Earth. This means they¡¯ll need to employ nuclear fission reactors as a power source -- something that would anyway be necessary for colonisation, according to scientists.
With trying to stabilize Mars' magnetic field, are humans taking the first step towards colonizing the Red Planet? Let us know in the comments below, and keep reading?Indiatimes.com?for the latest?science and technology?news.