--- title: "Former NASA Scientist Explains How We Could Terraform Mars" description: "An increasing number of experts are suggesting the dream of terraforming Mars and making it at least a little bit more habitable for humans is still alive." date: "2022-01-05" modified: "2022-01-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientist-explains-terraform-mars" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "mars" - "Terraforming Mars" - "the digest" --- # Former NASA Scientist Explains How We Could Terraform Mars ![An increasing number of experts are suggesting the dream of terraforming Mars and making it at least a little bit more habitable for humans is still alive.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Terraforming Mars An increasing number of experts are suggesting the dream of terraforming Mars, a bid at making it at least a little bit more habitable for humans instead of the frozen, inhospitable rock that it remains today. Earlier this week, outgoing director of NASA’s planetary science division Jim Green [told *The New York Times*]() that it maybe possible to warm and thicken the Martian atmosphere by planting a massive magnetic shield between it and the Sun. The [idea would be]() to stop solar wind from blasting the Red Planet with radiation, which allows particles to escape its already thin atmosphere. "It’s doable," Green told the newspaper. "Stop the stripping, and the pressure is going to increase. Mars is going to start terraforming itself." "When the pressure goes up, the temperature goes up," he went on to explain. ## Planet Umbrella Green isn't the only one fascinated by the concept. Astrophysicist and former NASA scientist Hakeem Oluseyi [went on *CNN* for an interview]() this week to flesh out Green's vision. "There is a very specific location where this spacecraft has to be between Mars and the Sun," he said. "So you have to do the calculation based on that location to determine how much deflection you are actually going to get." "But it's like an umbrella for a planet," Oluseyi told *CNN*. The astrophysicist also explained that scientists choose what space exploration efforts to fund decades ahead as part of surveys — and Green is preparing to submit his idea in the form of a paper to one of these surveys. It will be difficult to convince the scientific community of the idea, though. "It doesn't really fit well anywhere," Oluseyi argued. "It's a really new idea that hasn't been done before and one of the things we do judge on is technical feasibility." "Even when you do prove yourself, \[the scientific community\] will still don't admit you're right," he added with a chuckle, "so it's a tough sell." **READ MORE:** [Astrophysicist explains how Mars could be terraformed]() \[*CNN*\] **More on terraforming Mars:** *[NASA’s Chief Scientist Quits, Says He Has a Plan to Terraform Mars]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()