Mars, a distant dream for human habitation

Washington, July 31: Terraforming or creating a habitable environment on Mars, that would allow humans to explore it without life support, is still a far- fetched dream, say scientists who found that existing technologies are incapable of forming an Earth- like atmosphere on the red planet.

Science fiction writers have long featured terraforming, the process of creating an Earth- like or habitable environment on another planet, in their stories.

Scientists themselves have proposed terraforming to enable the longterm colonisation of Mars.

A solution common to both groups is to release carbon dioxide gas trapped in the Martian surface to thicken the atmosphere and act as a blanket to warm the planet.

However, according to scientists from University of Colorado, Boulder in the US, Mars does not retain enough carbon dioxide that could practically be put back into the atmosphere to warm the planet.

Transforming the inhospitable Martian environment into a place astronauts could explore without life support is not possible without technology well beyond today's capabilities, researchers said.

Although the current Martian atmosphere itself consists mostly of carbon dioxide, it is far too thin and cold to support liquid water, an essential ingredient for life.

On Mars, the pressure of the atmosphere is less than one percent of the pressure of Earth's atmosphere.

Proponents of terraforming Mars propose releasing gases from a variety of sources on the Red Planet to thicken the atmosphere and increase the temperature.