What planetary body would you terraform and why if...?

[hansolo0]

you had a only 1 Genesis probe (from star trek 2) it worked and was stable if you could only terraform 1 planetary body in our solar system and why?<br /><br />Scenario 1: Only the atmosphere/temperature is Earth normal<br /><br />Scenario 2: above + gravity is changed to earth normal w/o adversely affecting other bodies.<br /><br />Scenario 3: all above + Day length is changed to Earth normal.<br /><br />1 & 3 only:<br /><br />pick best 1 for all scenarios?: <br />

 

[nuaetius]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p> Scenario 1: Only the atmosphere/temperature is Earth normal <br /><br />Scenario 2: above + gravity is changed to earth normal w/o adversely affecting other bodies. <br /><br />Scenario 3: all above + Day length is changed to Earth normal.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />1st I would rather keep it in orbit for 4-5 hundred years and make sure we don’t nuke our nice little planet into oblivion.. If we do I would like to re-terraform Earth… but that is cheating at the question you are asking.<br /><br />I would say the Moon, but I think changing its gravity or atmosphere might not be too healthy for the Earth.<br /><br />Next Choice would have to be Mars, Close enough that we can get there without too much Delta V, and it’ easier to chase Mars down than it is too slow down to Venus. <br /><br /><br />Ohh I just noticed I am a Comet now... Wo Ho!! I really need to get a life

 

[bmaone23]

You might even speed up venus' orbit so that it would assume a farther , more earth like orbit and park it on the oppostie side of the sun from the earth.<br />Venus is roughly the same size and gravity as Earth so the transition would be relatively easy. Once the planet was parked in it's new orbit, I would siphon off some of the CO2 and send it to mars thereby terraforming 2 planets at once.

 

[kelvinzero]

It would be a hell of a lot easier just to be able to vary your sunshade, and use mirrors to light the other side during its long night. You could syncronise day and night over the whole planet and avoid that annoying jetlag. What is more, you could probably do this and maintain the illusion of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west every 24 hours exactly. <br /><br />nice piccy.. the articles were good too:<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_Venus<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Venus

 

[jsmoody]

Rush Limbaugh....he's about as fat as a planet....oh..wait, he already has his own atmosphere...mostly methane I think.... <br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> No amount of belief makes something a fact" - James Randi </div>

 

[hansolo0]

nuaetius: <br />Subject: Re: What planetary body would you terraform and why if...?1st I would rather keep it in orbit for 4-5 hundred years and make sure we don’t nuke our nice little planet into oblivion.. If we do I would like to re-terraform Earth… but that is cheating at the question you are asking. <br /><br /><br />HUH?<br /><br /><br />Have any of you seen star trek 2? I don't think I'm communicating my ideas well.<br />They fire this probe to a dead planet and it makes it earth like. It doesn't stay in orbit, and I'm not asking people how they would terraform, just what body they would with this technology and only had 1 probe and under the scenarios I mention.<br /><br />Here is a poor quality clip of what I mean (start at time index 30 seconds or 1 minute)<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsr-XtuKuSw&feature=related<br /><br /><br />

 

[shadow735]

its called Wrath of Khan, its about the genesis project.<br />It introduced the genesis wave that reorganize the matrix of matter to that of life supporting matter.<br /><br />The probe was not shot at a planet it went off in a nebula which created a complete solar system.<br />Because proto matter was used in the genesis probe it was faulty and caused the planet to form an unstable matrix and go thru its life cycle at a greatly accelerated pace. <br />Almost like the system had a time acceleration bubble around it.<br />This led to the planet being destroyed.<br /><br />I have watched wrath of khan so many times its one of the best star trek movies... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[bdewoody]

I would use it on Venus since it is (A) close and (B) nearly the same mass as earth. So if Venus were made inhabitable we could live there fairly comfortably. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[qso1]

hansolo0:<br />If we do I would like to re-terraform Earth… but that is cheating at the question you are asking.<br /><br />Me:<br />I think we are already terraforming earth. Its called greenhouse gasses and global warming. <br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[hansolo0]

qso1: I was quoting nuaetius: qso1, I wasn't the one who said I'd redo earth.<br /><br />shadow735: I know in the movie it just exploded in a nebula, but it was demonstrated being used on a dead moon and in the link i provided.<br /><br /><br />Personally I'd use it on Venus too for all scenarios, only bad part if it didn't fix day length is Venus's day.<br /><br />

 

[qso1]

I recall the terraforming scene in "The Wrath Of Khan". It was awsome and one of the first early attempts at using computer animation in a major motion picture. I guess if I were to terraform a world, it would be Venus. I preferred Mars but Venus has more to work with as far as whats already there. As you mentioned, the biggest drawback to Venus is its rotational period.<br /><br />Ideally, it would be nice to do both. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[hansolo0]

and Mars's main drawback would be the gravity difference, otherwise it'd be perfect, and the moon would be even better, except for both gravity and day/night cycle. I wouldn't want to risk it on a body that close though, especially if it caused it to blow up!<br /><br />

 

[qso1]

Yep, mars gravity would probably mean terraforming maintenance of an atmosphere on a continuous basis. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[hansolo0]

I think it's more of a lack of a magnetic field than the gravity,but it might be a factor too. The main thing is settlers couldn't easily come back to earth at less than .5 g.<br /><br /><br />

 

[jsmoody]

I think one day we'll have the technology to divert comets and asteroids to crash into Mars. The comets would bring water and help build up the atmosphere, the asteroids would help to add mass. I think that kind of thing is really a long way off though. at least a few centuries.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> No amount of belief makes something a fact" - James Randi </div>

 

[qso1]

That would probably be difficult for anyone coming back, adjusting to earth grav, especially if born on mars. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[kelvinzero]

Not for a dolphin.<br /><br />You guys should stop being so anthropocentric. The earth is 70% ocean you know.<br /><br />You two-legs keep winging about how hard it is to stand on other planets and not have your blood boil or die of all the radiation, and you talk about bombarding mars with asteroids and spinning up its core to get a magnetosphere. I think it is time you guys admitted that climbing out of the oceans was a mistake.<br /><br />Think of it from a water-breather's point of view. The solar system is full of worlds containing huge amounts of ice. You deliver a bit of sunlike energy anywhere deep within these ice shells and there you have it, a small enclosed earth-ocean-like environment:<li> It's water dude! like 70% of the earth environment! <li> Somewhere to grow your food!<li> Something to cool your decent sized nuclear power plant!<li> Let me repeat, it isnt CO2 or ammonia or sulfuric acid or methane. Its water!<li> Very good protection from radiation! Darn sight easier than spinning up the core!<li> Robustly maintains earthlike pressure. (under 30meters of water on mars you get earthlike pressure for free.<li> No energy requirements for keeping ice melted. For right scale colony, unavoidable waste heat will exactly balance heat requirements.<li> A square km of ground is small. A cubic km of ocean is big.<li> No concerns of gravity. We can move between oceans on mars, ceres, calisto, earth or deep space. It is all the same to us.<br /><br />See the mako at the door about trading in your arms and legs.<br /><br /><br /></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></li>

 

[billslugg]

So how come fish don't throw hooks out onto the ground and catch humans? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[kelvinzero]

Better schooling.

 

[astralith]

"Not for a dolphin. <br /><br />You guys should stop being so anthropocentric. The earth is 70% ocean you know...<br /><br /> No concerns of gravity. We can move between oceans on mars, ceres, calisto, earth or deep space. It is all the same to us."<br /><br />You know... this is darn good idea for a new sci-fi backdrop. Ingredients:<br /><br />1 part David Brin's Uplift series Dolphin's<br />1 part Seaquest DSV technology (may be subtituted for Aquatic Stargate)<br />Add ancient mythological sea villians<br />A sprinkle of Waterworld's Smokers<br />A pinch of Greek Atlantis

 

[bdewoody]

Heck , if we develope the technology to terraform it should be easy to drag an object like Ceres into Venusean orbit and spin up Venuses rotation to something closer to 24 hrs. As I understand it would need a moon to keep it from wobbling and also to create tides. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[shadow735]

can we inject materials into mars core to start back up a nuclear process to restart mars magnetic field <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[hansolo0]

I was wondering if it would be possible with today's tech to give mars a magnetic field, I doubt it.

 

[bmaone23]

We likely could but it would be from without, in the form of satallites that create n/s polarity and are able to project it to polar receiving stations. Effectively creating a magnetic shield as opposed to a magnetic field.

 

[jsmoody]

The Earth's magnetic field arises from it's swirling core of molten iron. You could bombard Mars with enough iron asteroids but the iron would have to somehow get to the center of Mars and become molten.....I guess you could hit it with enough of them to melt the whole planet...but then it would be unusable for a few million years at least. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> No amount of belief makes something a fact" - James Randi </div>