Scientists are proposing to heat Mars using heat-resistant glitter.

WASHINGTON — The idea of ​​turning Mars into a hospitable world for human habitation is a common feature of science fiction. But can this be done in real life?

Scientists are now proposing a new way to heat Earth’s neighbor by pumping engineered particles – similar in size to commercially available shiny ones made of steel or aluminum – into the atmosphere as aerosols to trap the escaping heat and diffuse sunlight into the Martian surface. The plan would be to increase the natural greenhouse effect on Mars to raise its temperature by 50 degrees Fahrenheit within ten years.

This alone would not make Mars habitable, but the scientists who made the proposal consider it a possible first step.

“Terraforming means changing the planet’s environment to resemble Earth’s. For Mars, warming the planet is a necessary, but not sufficient, first step. Previous theories have focused on extracting greenhouse gases, but these require a lot of resources that are lacking on Mars,” said University of Chicago planetary scientist Edwin Kite, who helped lead the study published this week in the journal Science Advances.

“The highlights of our paper are a new proposal to use engineered nanoparticles to heat the atmosphere of Mars and a climate model that shows that this method can be more effective than previous theories. This is important because it provides a possible way to change Mars’ climate, which can inform future strategies for exploring Mars,” Kite added.

NASA has sent robots to explore the Martian space and the InSight Lander to study the planet’s interior. The US space agency’s Artemis program aims to put astronauts on the lunar surface in the coming years for the first time since 1972 to prepare for future human missions to Mars.

There are many challenges to human habitation on Mars: lack of breathable oxygen, harmful ultraviolet rays due to its thin atmosphere, salty soil that resists growing crops, dust storms that sometimes some covering most of the planet and others. But its cold temperature is a serious drawback.

“We propose to show that the theory of warming Mars is impossible. We hope that our findings encourage the wider scientific community, and the public, to explore this interesting theory,” said the lead author. in education, Samaneh Ansari, a medical student at the school. department of electrical and computer engineering at Northwestern University in Illinois.

The average Martian temperature is about minus-85 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of its thick atmosphere, heat from the sun on the Martian surface escapes easily into the atmosphere. The proposal would aim to allow liquid water to exist on Mars, which has water in the form of ice in its polar regions and on its surface.

Scientists have proposed continuing to release the tiny rod-shaped particles – nanorods – into the atmosphere at a rate of 8 liters per second per year.

“The idea is to send materials or, even better, to send a production tool and make nanorods to Earth since iron and aluminum are abundant on the surface of Mars,” said Ansari.

Researchers are aware of the possibility of unintended consequences of altering another world for the benefit of mankind. Scientists, for example, are curious to know if Mars has harbored life in the past – or perhaps currently, in the form of underground microbes.

“Although nanoparticles could heat Mars, the potential benefits and costs of this process are not well known. None,” said Kite.

“On the other hand, if a photosynthetic biosphere can be established on Mars, that could increase the solar energy for human development,” Kite added. “On the cost side, if Mars has eternal life, then studying that life could have huge benefits that provide a strong defense for its habitat.”