Leaving Earth?

Why would we even leave Earth in the first place?

Many of the threats that might lead us to consider off-Earth living arrangements are actually man-made, and not necessarily in the distant future. We are so dangerous to planets that we may have to leave Earth to simply conserve it. Our consumption levels are far beyond what the earth can provide.

If nothing else, overpopulation will be sure to push people off the planet.

What are our choices?

Scientists have been suggesting on the moon for a long time. While other scientists have thought of completely skipping the moon and looking towards the moons of Saturn and Jupiter as they contain vast amounts of water and nitrogen. Scientists have also looked at occupying Mars and even Venus for colonization.

Or somewhere far beyond?

The Moon

The moon can have bases built several feet underneath the surface, or through biodomes. It will cost around 20-40 Billion and we can expect the first human settlements by as early as 2025. It's a great option as it works as an intermediate station for further travel and is a great place to create an interstellar launch base, as it is much easier to get objects out of the gravitational pull of the Earth.

However, the temperature difference between areas facing toward and away from the sun is about 300°C with lows as low as -170°C. A lower density of atmosphere means gives us very little protection from radiation, meteorites, etc.

Europa and Enceladus

One of the moons of Jupiter, Europa and Enceladus a moon of Saturn are both ice giants which have massive oceans lying below their icy surface and might harbor life. Satellites have discovered that plumes (cryovolcanic eruptions) shoot through the surface. This indicates showed that there might be hydrothermal vents underneath their surfaces, which can provide a stable temperature for survival and sustenance of life. Enceladus also shows signs of hydrocarbons in its plumes, which is another key ingredient for life.

Mars

Mars is a radioactive desert planet, with an atmosphere 1% the thickness of the atmosphere on Earth, and has extreme weather.

We need to first decontaminate the Martian surface from the radioactively charged surface. To terraform this planet, we need to then develop a good atmosphere for the planet with enough greenhouse gasses. The planet already has oxygen and carbon in its system because of iron oxide and carbonates present on the surface, we simply need to melt the atmosphere out of these rocks. After this, we need to develop harvestable land, to then truly being transforming the red planet into a blue planet. Later down the road we also need to make rivers and seas and other water bodies.

It is a great option as it has polar ice caps, 2 moons, water underneath the surface, and a decent terrain. Additionally, one day on Mars is roughly half an hour longer than on Earth.

But, It is a very cold, radioactive desert and breathing under normal circumstances is impossible. It doesn’t have an extended magnetosphere so half of all radiation from the sun reaches the ground. In 3 years you would have exceeded taking what is more radiation than what astronauts are allowed for their lifetime. Mars dust has many toxic components and it is very fine, so it can get into machinery and jam it.

Venus

Its surface temp. is 460°C. A very small increase of 0.01% increase in carbon levels is heating up our planet right now (currently a total of 0.04%). Venus’s atmosphere is 97% CO2!! It is also almost double our atmosphere, the pressure will kill you instantly. The CO2 is about 465 million billion tonnes.

To terraform the planet, we need to first cool it down and to do that we must put Venus in a shade.

Over the time period of 2 centuries, frozen oceans of CO2 will have formed on Venus. Because we need to heat the planet again, we need to get rid of the trapped CO2. We can hurl it into space in the shape of a meteor and use it for other purposes later.

For actual water, however, we’d need to collect it from someplace else, like the ice moon Europa where we could take chunks of ice and bring them to Venus with something like space tethers. Reaching the end, we finally need only to fill this Venus with life-like cyanobacteria which prepare oxygen for our survival, and then plant trees to finally make it the blue planet we wish to live on one day.

Having a denser atmosphere, it easily prevents most harmful rays from the sun from reaching the surface.

Although it would take longer to terraform, factors affecting terraformation aren’t too many and the process is straightforward.

Venus isn't very straightforward however, it is very hot and requires a long time to cool down, it does not have any water and has massive amounts of carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide in its atmosphere. A single Venusian day is 243 earth days long.

Terraformation

There are some basic steps to terraformation.

Living habitats should have a stable temperature of 14-40°C, and atmospheric pressure of <1 bar. Habitats should also have methods of harvest and water bodies.

Types:

• Biological Terraforming: Converting an entire planet into a working ecosystem like our Earth.

• Para Terraforming: Building massive domes inside which livable conditions exist.

• Adapting Humans: Building advanced bases and life inside jumpsuits.

So what do you think? Where will humanity end up in the next 10 or 20 years?

Article Written By:

Shantanu Shaji

(Writing Associate, TAO)

Design By:

Ankit Agarwal

(Design Associate, TAO)