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posted by janrinok on Tuesday November 23 2021, @06:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the R-x-F dept.

An absolutely bonkers plan to give Mars an artificial magnetosphere:

As the study points out, if you want a good planetary magnetic field, what you really need is a strong flow of charged particles, either within the planet or around the planet. Since the former isn't a great option for Mars, the team looks at the latter. It turns out you can create a ring of charged particles around Mars, thanks to its moon Phobos.

Phobos is the larger of the two Martian moons, and it orbits the planet quite closely—so closely that it makes a trip around Mars every eight hours. So the team proposes using Phobos by ionizing particles from its surface, then accelerating them so they create a plasma torus along the orbit of Phobos. This would create a magnetic field strong enough to protect a terraformed Mars.

It's a bold plan, and while it seems achievable, the engineering hurdles would be significant. But as the authors point out, this is the time for ideas. Start thinking about the problems we need to solve, and how we can solve them, so when humanity does reach Mars, we will be ready to put the best ideas to the test.

Simple solution, really. It's the dependencies that are a bear...

Journal Reference:
R. A. Bamford, B. J. Kelletta, J. L. Green, et al How to create an artificial magnetosphere for Mars How to create an artificial magnetosphere for Mars (DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.09.023https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.09.023


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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday November 23 2021, @11:15PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Tuesday November 23 2021, @11:15PM (#1199081)

    I mean, shallow (like 10-20 meter) seafloor colonies have so much going for them: relatively protected from storms, near constant temperatures which can be in comfortable ranges, abundant oxygen, relatively easy to access potable water, and even food sources nearby. These days, you could put up a windfarm right in the colony for power. If you're just offshore from a major city you've got quick access to advanced medical care (particularly if you're saturated to 10m or less depth, even if you're saturated to 20m decompression is quicker and easier than a de-orbit from LEO). Certainly instant communication as good as anywhere on the surface. Appealing views out the windows... And, other than commercial (oil) operations, I believe there have been fewer long-term residents in underwater habitats during the last 20 years than we have had on the ISS during the same time period.

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