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From SCIFIPEDIA
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To Terraform a planet (or moon) is to make it Earth-like through the use of technology, usually so it can be inhabited by Earthlings. The process might include: altering an atmosphere by the addition or subtraction of elements; adding water to an arid planet; adding plants to a lifeless planet; and so on.
While theoretically possible in the real world, it has been done many times in Sci Fi works.
History
Carl Sagan proposed the terraforming of Venus in 1961.
Requirements for Life
A planet must first meet some basic requirements before being suitable for terraforming and by extension, human habitation. It must be located in a suitable star system within the habitable zone. It must have a suitable mass and density, and the ability to maintain an atmosphere and must meet several other geophysical, and astrophysical criteria.
Methods
Method One: Discussed by NASA and scientists from around the world was nuclear detonation on the polar icecaps of uninhabited planets to terraform them into suitable life sustaining bodies. This would effectively melt the ice into water and also from the varied amount of heat caused by the initial explosion cause an atmosphere to be created out of vaporized oxygen and hydrogen.
Method Two: A highly unlikely possibility is the movement all earthly materials to another planet in the event of a catastrophic global changing event. This would require the ability to shuttle multiple billions of tons of water and people across millions of miles of space to the next closest terraformable planet in the solar system (MARS).
Method Three: Finding a suitable planet with a toxic atmosphere for humans but not plant life and farming on another planet until the plants clear the air and create a new breathable oxygen rich environment for humans to live on the surface.
Method Four: Crash 2 planets together such as Saturn and Jupiter and force a mini big bang that would force the creation of a new planet with a hard surface and terraform this planet by lighting it on fire. Since the gases known on both planets to be both toxic and flammable. This could also be a combination of two different strategies.
Terraforming in SciFi
Literature
Film & Television
Star Trek
In the Star Trek universe, humans begin to terraform Mars in the 22nd century.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan scientists from the United Federation of Planets scientists develop a Genesis Device that can quickly terraform suitable planets.
in Star Trek: The Next Generation, a terraforming project is halted when intelligent non-biological life forms are discovered.
Other Examples
- In the film, an atmosphere creating machine left behind by aliens is discovered during a mining operation.
- In the film, the planet LV-426, or Acheron, is a moon undergoing the terraforming process.
- The planets and moons in the Firefly universe are the result of terraforming.
- In the film, Mars is in the early stages of terraforming.
External Links
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