a Terraforming Mars may not be necessary for future human exploration, as scientists consider some of the more “rudimentary” means of survival, so to speak, such as building shelters with a special type of cement, But terraforming would also be welcome, and it would be necessary to create a Magnetic Field, now one new study Bring some ideas about how this can be done.
On Earth, the magnetic field is important because it protects us from the solar winds and helps keep our atmosphere at the proper density for our survival. With a weak magnetosphere, the atmosphere of Mars is much less dense. According to scientists, if an astronaut inadvertently removes his suit on the Red Planet, the water in his lungs, eyes and saliva will automatically boil.
Our magnetosphere is generated by a dynamo effect in the Earth’s core, due to the convection of the iron alloys. But the interior of Mars is smaller and much cooler than our planet, and we cannot heat it to make a dynamo. Although, in principle, there are other methods of creating artificial magnetic fields, some of them have already been presented in the past and others are demonstrated in a new scientific article.
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The study suggests that artificial magnetic fields can be created with a strong flow of charged particles, either inside or around the planet. As we already know, the first option is not very feasible for human technology, but the second idea seems a bit more feasible. Author suggests forming a ring of charged particles around Mars Lua Phobos,
Phobos is the larger of the two Martian moons and orbits the planet very closely, so it orbits Mars every 8 hours. So the team proposes to use this space body, ionizing particles from its surface and then accelerating them so that they form a torus of plasma along the lunar orbit of Phobos. This would be enough to create a strong magnetic field, capable of protecting Mars and enabling its landscaping. Also, the plasma ring will not harm our satellites around Mars.
At this point, you may be wondering what “buts” are, as far as the idea seems relatively simple to execute. Well, the problem is the engineering challenges to accomplish this task. The minimum energy requirement would be about 10¹⁷ joules, which would equal almost all human energy consumption on Earth in 2020. This means that the use of nuclear fission reactors as an energy source may be necessary if we want to allow future explorers to terraform Mars. Take some rest there.
Source: universe today, futurism
