Scientists lay out revolutionary method to warm Mars | Science & Technology

In a groundbreaking study published Aug. 7 in Science Advances, researchers from the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Central Florida have proposed a revolutionary approach towards terraforming Mars. This new method, using engineered dust particles released to the atmosphere, could potentially warm the Red Planet by more than 50 degrees Fahrenheit, to temperatures suitable for microbial life — a crucial first step towards making Mars habitable.

The proposed method is over 5,000 times more efficient than previous schemes to globally warm Mars, representing a significant leap forward in our ability to modify the Martian environment.

What sets this approach apart is its use of resources readily available on Mars, making it far more feasible than earlier proposals that relied on importing materials from Earth or mining rare Martian resources.

This strategy would take decades. But it appears logistically easier than other plans proposed so far.

“This suggests that the barrier to warming Mars to allow liquid water is not as high as previously thought,” said Edwin Kite, an associate professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago and corresponding author on the study. The lead author was Samaneh Ansari, a graduate student in Prof. Hooman Mohseni’s group at Northwestern University.

Astronauts still won’t be able to breathe Mars’ thin air; making the planet suitable for humans to walk on the surface unaided requires much more work. But perhaps groundwork could be laid, by making the planet habitable for microbes and food crops that could gradually add oxygen to the atmosphere — much as they have done for Earth during its geologic history.

A new approach to an age-old dream

There is a rich history of proposals to make Mars habitable; Carl Sagan himself came up with one back in…