Mars Will Never Be A “Second Earth,” German Researcher Say

Mars Will Never Be A “Second Earth,” German Researcher Say
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Earlier in June, NASA held a press conference to announce the discovery of 3-billion-year-old organic matter the Mars Rover Curiosity found in the rocks of the Red Planet. Also, on that occasion, the US space agency also discussed the presence of methane emissions on Mars. However, according to scientists Mars will never be a “second Earth,” and German researcher Thorsten Dambeck addressed that matter recently, in an article in Der Spiegel.

According to Dambeck, the temperatures on Mars are around minus 63 degrees Celsius, with only a few occasions when they go above 0 degrees. In this regard, the German researcher recalled a study conducted at the University of Colorado on the potential methods of changing Mars atmosphere using the greenhouse effect to warm up the planet.

Mars will never be a “second Earth”

“The results of the study finally revealed that influencing terraforming of Mars is a mission that will never be achieved because to heat up to the thaw of water ice, air on Mars should contain about 1000 millibars of carbon dioxide,” explained Thorsten Dambeck.

The Red Planet is deficient in minerals containing carbon dioxide, in comparison to the Earth where such element is found in abundance. Therefore, is challenging, if not impossible, to extract over 50 millibars of gaseous CO2 from the Mars’ reserves of carbon dioxide.

According to the University of Colorado’s study’s leading author, Bruce Jakosky, “even if even more carbon dioxide is detected on Mars, most of the planet’s surface will have to be transformed.”

“Since the US astronomer Carl Sagan mentioned something similar to this project in 1973, Mars-related data has increased significantly. However, the plan to transform the desert Red Planet with the help of its gas shell still remains the idea of a science fiction novel,” concluded Thorsten Dambeck.

Therefore, with the current technologies, there is no chance to terraform Mars and make it a “second Earth.”.


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