Scientists propose using glitter-like nanoparticles to warm Mars for colonization
A team of scientists, led by electrical engineer Samaneh Ansari from Northwestern University in the US, has proposed an innovative approach to make Mars more habitable. The method involves using nanoscopic metal rods, similar in size to commercial glitter. These would be released into the Martian atmosphere with the aim of trapping sunlight and warming up the planet. This proposal is designed to address one of the significant challenges of colonizing Mars - its extremely cold temperatures.
Cold temperatures: A hurdle to colonization
The median temperature on Mars is a chilling -64 degrees Celsius, far too cold for human comfort. Previous strategies for warming up Mars involved pumping its thin atmosphere with greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. However, these gases are scarce on Mars and would need to be transported from Earth or mined from under the Martian surface, both expensive and difficult tasks.
Utilizing abundant metallic minerals for warming
The new proposal by Ansari's team takes advantage of metallic minerals such as aluminum and iron that are abundant in Martian soil. The team modeled tiny metallic rods similar in size to Martian dust particles and calculated how much heat would be trapped by clouds of these nanorods. They found that releasing these particles at a sustained rate of 30-liter per second could warm up Mars by more than 28 degrees Celsius over several decades.
Warming Mars could make it habitable for bacteria
The proposed increase in temperature would cause surface ice to melt and raise atmospheric pressure as carbon dioxide ice sublimes. Over centuries, atmospheric pressure would continue to increase as polar carbon dioxide ice caps volatilized. While this wouldn't make Mars immediately habitable for humans due to insufficient oxygen levels, it could make the surface habitable for bacteria which could then begin producing oxygen.
What are the challenges?
There are potential challenges to this approach. It's unclear how long the nanorods would remain in Mars's atmosphere, which continues to leak into space. As Mars warms, the nanoparticles could attract water particles and fall back to the surface as rain, reducing their effectiveness.
