Science meets ethics in Red Planet revival

Live Science describes in a latest article the possibility of transforming Mars into a habitable world. A new study not only explores the scientific and technological challenges of terraforming the Red Planet but also delves into the complex ethical questions it raises. 

“Thirty years ago, terraforming Mars wasn’t just hard — it was impossible,” said Erika DeBenedictis, CEO of Pioneer Labs and lead author of the paper. “But new technology like \[SpaceX’s] Starship and synthetic biology have now made it a real possibility.”

The study tackles the tough moral questions involved in altering another planet and outlines a phased approach for doing so. Co-author Edwin Kite, associate professor at the University of Chicago, emphasizes the environmental potential: “Living planets are better than dead ones...greening Mars could be viewed as the ultimate environmental restoration challenge.”

While full terraforming could take centuries or millennia, the goal is a Mars with stable liquid water, breathable air, and a thriving ecosystem. Initially, this might mean small patches of microbial life, with human cities a distant prospect. Kite also notes that “as we move out into the galaxy, we will need base camps, and a base camp on the scale of the galaxy is a habitable planet.”

Harvard’s Robin Wordsworth sees the mission as more than colonization: “Life is precious...we have a duty to conserve it on Earth, but also to consider how we could begin to propagate it to other worlds.”

Mars also offers a testing ground for sustainability solutions on Earth. Nina Lanza from Los Alamos National Laboratory suggests, “Maybe it would be better to experiment on Mars and say, ‘Look, does this work?’...This is the only place we can live.”

However, caution is advised. Terraforming may irreversibly alter Mars and erase potential evidence of ancient life. “If we modify the environment on Mars, we’re going to change the chemistry...it’s a risk,” Lanza warns.

The paper proposes three phases: warming the planet using solar sails and nanoparticles, introducing hardy microbes to kickstart ecological change, and ultimately building a complex biosphere capable of supporting humans.

The authors agree that progress requires simultaneous advances across multiple fields. Continued Mars exploration, including sample return missions, will be critical to inform these efforts.

“Upcoming Mars missions should include small-scale experiments to de-risk terraforming strategies,” DeBenedictis said.

Though terraforming may take generations, the decisions and innovations happening now will shape humanity’s path. As Lanza concludes, “This is how we get from the imagination and the concept to some reality that has totally changed our world...We should really keep doing science — it’s transformational.”

By Naila Huseynova