For such a long time, people believed that making Mars habitable was an idea found only in a fairy tale but today it is within our reach. Recent studies have shown that the temperature of Mars can rise by more than 10°C within months just by adding a very few particles in its atmosphere consequently enabling liquid water to exist. This proposition uses resources which are readily obtainable from Mars and thus it becomes more effective for heating it than other suggestions.
What researchers actually did was to create tiny cylindrical-shaped particles from Martian dust rich in iron and aluminum. In this case, false particles would trap some sunlight that would have gone out and others would be reflected back to the planet’s surface thereby enhancing its feeble greenhouse effect. Engineered nanoparticles instead of Martian dust could give unanticipated optical results even if they were small in number and be better at retaining heat.
According to computations, over fifty degrees Fahrenheit could be raised on Mars after continuously releasing these particles at thirty liters per second whereby noticeable impacts will become evident before the elapse of several months. Indeed, temperatures would stabilize in about five years if no more dispersal took place following this process of warming.
But there are still obstacles to overcome in spite of these positive findings. The truth is, nobody knows how quickly artificial dust will be lost from the Martian atmosphere. Additionally, as Mars gets warmer, water could condense on the particles and fall back down as rain, which would complicate matters further. Thus, it will require data from both Mars and Earth for better understanding of possible consequences and a gradual cautious approach to any actual implementation.
This study represents a major step forward in transforming Mars into a habitable planet like Earth with higher temperatures that can support microbial life but also permit cultivation of food crops. Still some challenges have persisted although this research opens up new avenues of exploration and brings us closer to the realization of our long envisaged ambition of making permanent human habitation possible on Mars.
