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NASA proposes magnetic shield around Mars


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I wonder how long it would take for the artificial field process to cause the desired effects?

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21 minutes ago, White Unicorn said:

I wonder how long it would take for the artificial field process to cause the desired effects?

" According to simulation models, such a shield could help Mars achieve half the atmospheric pressure of Earth in a matter of years. "

So the equivalent of about 18,000 ft (5500 m) on earth. It wouldn't be breathable, probably, but survivable with assisted breathing apparatus. Of course, there is the small issue of figuring out how to generate a magnetic field the size of earth's and leaving it in an orbit around the sun indefinitely.

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Intriguing idea and very thought provoking indeed. I would worry however about utopian plans such as this given our reluctance to invest any money in space programs, or very little.

It all seems to be private investors and business enterprises. I think we need to rekindle the desire we had after Kennedy's speeches and the early Apollo missions to truly move forwards. As it stands, and call me an old cynic, but people would rather spend the money on a new road which would cut 7 minutes off their commute than be spent on expanding our presence in the universe... I know there are programs running but nothing like what we as a species could be doing at the moment. Perhaps we will realise too late....

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It is assumed that thermal convection drives the Earth's "dynamo" that produces our magnetic field. If that scar on the surface of Mars was some sort of weapon strike, and the large presence of Xenon-129 indicates nuclear strikes, then could some super-weapon have disrupted Mars' core?

Edited by Trihalo42
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1 minute ago, Trihalo42 said:

It is assumed that thermal convection drives the Earth's "dynamo" that produces our magnetic field. If that scar on the surface of Mars was some sort of weapon strike, and the large presence of Xenon-129 indicates nuclear strikes, then could some super-weapon have disrupted Mars' core?

The mostly likely cause of Mar's magnetic field disappearing (if one existed to begin with) is the hardening of it's core due to cooling. Mars is smaller than earth so it would have cooled much faster. Without that dynamo, there's nothing to create a magnetic field. No weapon strike was necessary.

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3 hours ago, Silent Trinity said:

Intriguing idea and very thought provoking indeed. I would worry however about utopian plans such as this given our reluctance to invest any money in space programs, or very little.

It all seems to be private investors and business enterprises. I think we need to rekindle the desire we had after Kennedy's speeches and the early Apollo missions to truly move forwards. As it stands, and call me an old cynic, but people would rather spend the money on a new road which would cut 7 minutes off their commute than be spent on expanding our presence in the universe... I know there are programs running but nothing like what we as a species could be doing at the moment. Perhaps we will realise too late....

THe only way I can see this happening is if we humans forget about money and join together and just do what we need to do to make the species the best it can be for everyone. So basically, it will never happen.

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2 hours ago, paperdyer said:

THe only way I can see this happening is if we humans forget about money and join together and just do what we need to do to make the species the best it can be for everyone. So basically, it will never happen.

 

Interesting that anyone seriously  want to terraform mars when everything we need to survive is right here on Earth.

If only they turned their eyes from the skies back to the ground and dream more about Earth what might be achieved?

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7 hours ago, Trihalo42 said:

It is assumed that thermal convection drives the Earth's "dynamo" that produces our magnetic field. If that scar on the surface of Mars was some sort of weapon strike, and the large presence of Xenon-129 indicates nuclear strikes, then could some super-weapon have disrupted Mars' core?

Weapons strike ? Seriously ?

Can you elaborate on how Xenon129 is an indication of a nuclear strike ?

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4 hours ago, taniwha said:

 

Interesting that anyone seriously  want to terraform mars when everything we need to survive is right here on Earth.

If only they turned their eyes from the skies back to the ground and dream more about Earth what might be achieved?

One thing doesn't have to exclude another. 

Anyway its not like terraforming Mars is something that would happen soon. Its a thing that might happen in the future and I don't think there is anything wrong with dreaming about what we might do in the future.

(But of course we have to make sure that Mars doesn't get nuked again. :innocent:)

 

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Humans are programmed to seek knowledge....it is innate within us.

We always will and it will never change

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/ever-wondered-what-makes-us-so-curious-1/

New science can lead to developments that benefit humanity.Speculation like terra forming Mars is positive...is it going to happen anytime soon?..probably not...maybe not ever ;)   But its ok to think big...it moves us forward and leads to new things

Here are some examples of " impossibilities conquered by science"

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13556-10-impossibilities-conquered-by-science/

 

 

 

 

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If I remember right earths geological plate movements are lubricated to an extent by water. I'm wondering if the water returns and sinks and everything can start moving again, whether in time Mars's natural dynamo will return.

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Wouldn't it be much easier to terra-form Venus? It already has a magnetic field. The problem is that Venus has a very thick atmosphere with much carbon dioxide giving extreme temperature and pressure at the surface. However, it should be possible to pump much of the atmosphere into space I think, giving better conditions. Not sure how to do it though.

Edited by fred_mc
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1 hour ago, fred_mc said:

Wouldn't it be much easier to terra-form Venus? It already has a magnetic field. The problem is that Venus has a very thick atmosphere with much carbon dioxide giving extreme temperature and pressure at the surface. However, it should be possible to pump much of the atmosphere into space I think, giving better conditions. Not sure how to do it though.

Valid question..actually Mars because it already has a day about the right length and heating planets is easier then cooling them.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/quora/2013/09/12/outer_space_can_we_make_mars_or_venus_habitable.html

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12 hours ago, khol said:

Valid question..actually Mars because it already has a day about the right length and heating planets is easier then cooling them.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/quora/2013/09/12/outer_space_can_we_make_mars_or_venus_habitable.html

I think that article misses the fact that Mars can't hold on to an atmosphere because of the missing magnetic field. Furthermore, I agree that getting Venus to spin faster would be totally unrealistic. I disagree with the article that we would have to do that though. If we were living on Venus we would simply have to accept that a Venus day is extremely long, longer than a Venus year, and create our own 24-hour periods that we call days. Of course, it would be psychologically challenging with many months in a row totally dark and then many totally light though.

Edited by fred_mc
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