Topic: Online article on terraforming Mars.

[Nemesis]

Link to article

At the Astrobiology Science Conference earlier this year, scientists and science fiction writers -- from NASA researcher Chris McKay to author Kim Stanley Robinson -- faced off on the promises and pitfalls of terraforming Mars. Their debate is recreated in these seven pages. The Mars Terraforming Debate was co-sponsored by NASA's

I have only read part of the article at present.  It seems to debate among can Mars be Terraformed and to what degree vs should Mars be Terraformed.

[Stormbringer]

Damn. Beat me to it. Oh well, I was going to put thin in my old lets build a planet thread.

[Nemesis]

Damn. Beat me to it. Oh well, I was going to put thin in my old lets build a planet thread.

Your problem is that you waited to read the article.  I posted after skimming the first part and the list of pariticpants.   

The moral is post first, read later.

[Stormbringer]

You're right.

[Don Karnage]

well if the can do that but the problem is how will the leave mars since there no ship capable of leaving the planet without rocket boost and a lauchpad, well unless there a lot less gravity on mars like on the moon.

[Nemesis]

well if the can do that but the problem is how will the leave mars since there no ship capable of leaving the planet without rocket boost and a lauchpad, well unless there a lot less gravity on mars like on the moon.

Mars has about 1/3 of the Earth's gravity.  One proposal is to use methane and oxygen as fuel for a return vehicle and make it on Mars.  This would use the CO2 in the air and water as raw materials for fuel manufacturing.   The recent rovers finding evidence of past water on Mars and indications of present water as well are very important for the future.