Why Elon Musk Plans to Nuke Mars

 

nuking mars  it sounds either like a plan from a  fictional sci-fi universe  or the words of someone who's beginning  to lose their marbles  when the plan comes from tesla spacex  magnet elon musk  there's a good chance both could be true  so why on earth or mars for that matter  would elon musk want to nuke  the red planet welcome to fact nominal  in today's article we're boldly going  nuclear in why elon musk  wants the new commands our love hate  relationship  with the a-bomb humanity has had a  strange relationship with the atomic  bomb  on one hand it represents a monumental  step forwards in the understanding of  science  on the other hand its use marks one of  the darkest times  in mankind's history besides testing the  atomic bomb  has only been used twice in history both  times creating  indescribable damage and massive loss of  life  in japan in 1945  its development brought over 20 new  treaties specifically outlawing nuclear  weapons in certain situations  this includes the 1967 outer space  treaty  between the us uk and ussr  banning the installation or use of  nuclear weapons in space  or on celestial bodies including the  moon and other planets in our solar  system  this makes the ambitious plan by musk  fraught with challenges  including if it will even be allowed by  the international community  but first things first why would we nuke  mars terraforming  not just for no man's sky eventually  humans want to see the solar system  starting with a permanent settlement on  mars  the only problem is the red planet is an  unwelcoming place that sports  many depressing features including an  average surface temperature  of 81 degrees fahrenheit an atmosphere  composed of 95  carbon dioxide and no liquid water  present at the surface  all things that don't mix well with  staying alive for long  periods of time in the short term space  organizations such as spacex and nasa  are hoping to build enclosed structures  on the surface  that can house humans and provide  protection from the hostile environment  a better solution to this problem would  be to make mars more habitable  by changing the conditions on the planet  so that they better suit the needs of  humans  the process called terraforming isn't a  new concept  it's just never been done before  ironically  if we knew how to quickly alter a  planet's climate we'd probably be  concentrating on fixing  our own planet first but as technology  improves and we understand more  about the condition of the red planet  it's becoming more obvious that  terraforming via nuclear bombs  might just work so  where do the nukes come in deciding to  terraform a planet  is one thing but actually gathering the  resources and doing it as a whole  another story to make mars more  habitable for humans  we need to make the atmosphere thicker  so that humans are able to wander the  surface  that the gases in their blood turning  into bubbles which is what happens under  extremely low atmospheric pressures we  also need to somehow get large amounts  of water  to the surface where it's easily  accessible to any humans  who may have set up camp on the martian  surface  transporting water to mars from earth  would be hugely expensive  and isn't really a viable option with  our current technology  and even our technology in the  foreseeable future  large asteroids made of ice could be  transported to mars from the asteroid  belt  but this would be hugely expensive and  might not even work  luckily for us there's a third way we  can get water to the surface of mars  lurking below the surface of the red  planet lies expansive lakes of ice water  which also contain deposits of solid  carbon dioxide  to release this carbon dioxide into the  atmosphere and the water to the surface  we'll need to get blasting bombarding  the poles of mars with nuclear  warheads will melt the lakes beneath the  surface releasing vast  quantities of water and carbon dioxide  resulting in a thicker atmosphere  and oceans covering much of the surface  if nuclear fission bombs are used parts  of the plant will be radioactive  but this will eventually disappear and  the planet will be as good as  new an alternative to fission bombs  would be nuclear fusion bombs which  although not  available to us now might be ready for  us to use in the future  these bombs would have the same heating  potential as their fission counterparts  but they won't release any ionizing  radiation  which is good if you're in the market  for avoiding tissue damage  and cancer if all goes to plan  there will be plenty of easily  accessible water available to any  astronauts wandering the surface  after the fallout unfortunately nuking  will  only be the start of the terraforming  process and a lot more will need to be  done before we can sunbathe on one of  the newly formed martian beaches  even with the large deposits of solid  carbon dioxide now in the sky  the atmosphere will still be rather thin  barely more than one percent of earth's  atmosphere to be exact and  sadly not enough for humans to safely  explore the martian landscapes without  extensive  protection if we want a thicker  atmosphere we'll need to find ways to  transport huge quantities of gas to  mars apparently nukes aren't the  solution to every problem  adequate supplies of carbon dioxide gas  or ice can be found in asteroids  which could be redirected so they  collide with our planetary neighbor  alternatively we could raid one of the  other planets for its carbon dioxide  venus would be a great candidate for  this due to its atmosphere which is 98  carbon dioxide and its close proximity  to both earth  and mars this distance in relative terms  of course since both venus and mars are  a crazy distance away in the realms of  tens of millions of kilometers  even with a thick atmosphere which  provides a greenhouse effect  the planet would still likely not be  warm enough for humans to live  comfortably  additionally if we were to ever convert  the carbon dioxide  into a more breathable oxygen our red  neighbor would get even  colder luckily for us there's a solution  and it involves more nukes elon musk has  tweeted his plan of destinating a  constant stream  of nuclear fusion bombs just above the  atmosphere  which will provide heat to the planet  and will not be  radioactive like fusion bombs as  previously  mentioned the nuclear fusion bombs will  essentially act as an artificial sun  providing light and heat which is  sourced from nuclear fusion  this would require a whole lot of  nuclear fusion bombs  which would also need to be constantly  produced  a simple task for a highly advanced  multi-planet civilization  which is hopefully where we'll be in a  few hundred years  once the martian atmosphere has been  developed and we have a constant supply  of nuclear bombs to keep us nice and  cozy  we'll need to ensure that the atmosphere  remains in place and  isn't slowly stripped away by the sun's  solar radiation  the earth is able to maintain its  atmosphere due to its magnetic field  which constantly deflects solar  radiation  marsd used to have a magnetic field that  was generated in its molten core  but it soon cooled and the magnetic  field didn't stick around  we could try to heat up the core using  you guessed it more nukes  but this could just as easily blow the  planet apart  not ideal if you're trying to start a  colony there  a better solution would be to put a huge  magnet in between mars  and the sun which would deflect the  sun's unwanted radiation  once we have our space magnet the  martian world would be  much more human friendly and will  finally be able to roam the surface  without a spacesuit or fear for our  lives  although this is all a bit far-fetched  our technology is increasing at an  astounding rate  and we might be ready for space  colonization in as little as a few  hundred years  what are the benefits of a terraform  mars a tariff on mars would allow humans  to roam the surface just like they do  back home  while also allowing for the growth of  new ecosystems  and the establishment of  extraterrestrial agriculture  having access to a second planet would  be beneficial to our species  and life as a whole settling down on the  martian soil would significantly reduce  the chances of humans  and life as we know it getting  completely wiped out so essentials  threat  such as a meteor pandemic or climate  change  while it is completely possible to  mitigate these threats without even  considering terraforming  it would take one small mistake or some  freak bad luck to  spell disaster for planet earth on the  topic of climate change a second  habitable planet  would also reduce the emission of  greenhouse gases on earth  since many people would opt to migrate  to a new and exciting world  reducing the demand for electricity and  other carbon intensive products  here on earth a friendly environment on  mars would also curb the negative  effects of overpopulation  by dispersing humanity across our solar  system which would give  each of us a lot more living space this  is particularly relevant to the modern  world  where our population continues to rise  with experts  estimating that there will be 9.7  billion human beings on planet earth in  2050  as well as a few of us hurtling around  the planet on the international space  station  overall these reasons are enough to  convince most people that terraforming  mars to create a second home  is a good idea sadly it's a lot easier  said  than done