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Frequently asked questions
Why not terraform the Moon? The Moon is closer, easier to reach and smaller.
The moon is closer and easier to reach. The moon also has a lot of oxygen, but only in compounds that are difficult to brake apart, like SIO2, MgO and Al2O3.
The slow rotation of the moon wouldn't allow plant growth and domes would have to be very thick (no atmosphere).
Inside the domes, the temperature would be unsupportably hot during the day and freezing cold during the night.
The Moon is not protected against any kind of radiation, Mars is.
Mars' atmosphere makes a landing easier, too (aerobraking and parachutes).
Where is the nitrogen on Mars?
The Martian atmosphere now has little nitrogen (The atmosphere is made out of 95% carbon dioxide and only 3% nitrogen. Earth's atmosphere is made out of almost 80% nitrogen). But for terraforming, nitrogen is important, because no plant can live without nitrogen (all proteins have nitrogen). Some may have escaped into space, but a lot might exist in form of nitrates in the regolith. The nitrogen can be released through denitrating bacteriae or through extensive heating of the soil (temperature needed=Td)
Why terraform Mars, since it is possible to live on Mars even nowadays?
It is possible to live on Mars right now. But to survive, a lot of energy must be used to get water and oxygen to survive. That makes living on Mars very expensive. After some terraforming, when a thicker atmosphere and an active hydrosphere are established, less energy is necessary to get water. Enormous domes can be build where people can live as if they were on Earth's surface. The only problem is the oxygen, but plants can be used to produce oxygen.
When the ultimate goal (an atmosphere humans can breathe) is reached, Mars will be a second Earth. Everybody will be able to live in a house with no more equipment than right now, on Earth.
Wouldn't a thicker Martian atmosphere escape into space because of Mars' weaker gravity?
Many people think that the Martian atmosphere disappeared into space a long time ago because of its weaker gravity. But we know that objects with an even weaker atmosphere can support a thick atmosphere. Saturn's biggest moon Titan is the only moon with an atmosphere. It has an atmosphere of 1.5 bars, which is even 50% thicker than earth's. Titan's gravity is weaker than Mars' and has a very thick atmosphere. Probably 1.5 bars isn't even the limit for an object with a gravity of that strength. If you'd keep adding gases to a planet like Mars, it would maybe finally be a jupiterlike object. So the loss of the atmosphere is nothing to worry about.
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