Elon Musk

Out of context: Reply #52

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  • utopian1

    How many years will it take to terraform Mars?

    Some of the main things that could go wrong with an attempt to terraform Mars are: The simple approach takes far longer than expected. Chris McKay estimates 100,000 years for this simple approach to reach a breathable atmosphere, not 1000 years.

    https://www.science20.com/robert…

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    • Come on, without a really functioning magnetic field you can forget it. Why does nobody talk about that?NBQ00
    • Sun rays/ solar wind & radiation will evaporate every attempt if you don't have a magnetic field strong enough to shield from it.NBQ00
    • And yes even if you have a magnetic field why would somebody think it could only take 1000 years what took earth millions of years to do?NBQ00
    • Because renewal rates can counter, by an order of magnitude, the losses from the lack of a magnetic field.Nairn
    • ..if you mean atmospheric bleed-off, that is. i've seen 'credible' plans for artificial magnetic fields to counter radiation. We're not there yet though. By farNairn
    • Maybe we should focus on fixing Earth first.yuekit
    • I think pushing for development there is a good all-round evolutionary prompt for tech so will lead to useful gains for improving Earth in the neanwhile.Nairn
    • aka "Why not both?"Nairn
    • I actually prefer Bezos' rationale about moving heavy/polluting/dang... industry off-world, especially for near-future bio and nano tech advances.Nairn
    • We should definitely be putting a lot more resources into both. But keep in mind, it's almost 2020 and a big country like India just failed at a mission toyuekit
    • simply land a vehicle on the moon. Imagine the challenges and cost of reliably transporting fuel back and forth.yuekit
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