Scientists’ crazy plan. Artificial magnetic field for Mars

NASA at the Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop presented a crazy plan to make Mars a habitable place for humans. The concept is to place a magnetic field generator in Mars’ fixed orbit.

In the distant past, some 4.2 billion years ago, Mars was not a barren desert. There are definitely more friendly conditions. First of all, it was warmer there, there were rivers and lakes and an atmosphere. However, according to scientists, there was a seizure of the planet’s core as a result of which Mars lost its magnetic field.

This allowed high-energy solar wind particles to continuously bombard the Red Planet. Piece by piece, the atmosphere of Mars was torn apart and lifted into space. Thanks to the MAVEN probe, researchers have determined the rate at which Mars is losing its atmosphere. During normal solar weather, it’s about 100 grams per second, but during increased solar activity, the results rise to about 2 kg per second.

In this wayób Over billions of years, the Red Planet got rid of its atmosphere almost completely. Currently there is a pressure of about 600 pascals, this in cfóIn comparison to Earth, less than one percent. But all this could change. NASA scientists have come up with a proposal to place a magnetic field generator between the Sun and Mars.

The generator would be placed in a fixed L1 orbit. This would allow the currently residual atmosphere of our neighboring planet to be rebuilt and, most importantly, would end the process of losing it, i.e. stop the solar wind.

NASA engineers are currently working on magnetic field generators, whichóre could be mounted in manned spacecraft, for the protection of astronautsów. A similar solution can protect the entire planet. It is just a matter of scale. According to specialistsów with NASA such a solution could pass the test.

Such a protective shield for Mars would result in a gradual increase in pressure on Mars, which would eventually raise the temperature of the Red Planet. In this wayób there would be melting of the polar ice caps. This would release large deposits of carbon dioxide stored in Martian ice. This, in turn, would lead to a greenhouse effect, allowing the planet to warm even more.

Created in this wayób atmosphere would warm the planet. In the long term, this would lead to the melting of the ice caps. This would form rivers and lakes.

If not an artificial magnetic field, then thermonuclear bombs

This is not the first concept to create conditions on Marsów for terrestrial life. A few years ago, Elon Musk proposed a rather controversial solution. According to him, the fastest way to change the climate on the Red Planet is to detonate hydrogen bombs there.

Musk’s idea is to detonate charges over the poles of Marsóin hydrogen every few seconds. These charges would be detonated not on the surface of the planet, but above it. In this wayób, as the billionaire revealed, it is possible to create something like artificial suns, które would simulate the effect of the sun’s rays.

Heat energy released from hydrogen explosions would lead to the melting of Mars’ ice caps. A further scenario would look similar to the one outlined above: melting releases CO2, a greenhouse effect occurs, which further warms the planet, and finally rivers and lakes form from the melting polar caps.

Both visions are straight out of a movieóin science fiction. It’s hard to tell whichóra more. NASA engineers say their concept is feasible. For the first changes on Mars, according to an expertów, you would have to wait a few-odd years after installing a magnetic field generator.