Scientists have announced a revolutionary method of warming Mars, a step that could close the gap forward towards allowing humans the dream of establishing a sustainable presence on the Red Planet. The main obstacle in the way of making Mars habitable is the frigid temperature, with surface averages around -80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Scientists from the US Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and tailing members have offered a new approach inspired by an unplanned byproduct of human activity on Earth: increasing Mars’ naturally occurring greenhouse effect by releasing engineered nanoparticles into the atmosphere. The approach would trap solar heat at the surface of the planet, dramatically warming it.
Earlier ideas for warming Mars required transporting gases from Earth or mining the planet for rare elements. Both are extremely costly and complicated. The new method, however, uses materials that are already widespread on Mars. Data received from rovers like Curiosity show that Martian dust is rich in iron and aluminum. As individual particles, they are not suitable for warming the planet, but the researchers thought that by engineering them into different shapes or compositions, the particles would be much more suitable.
The scientists designed minute rod-like particles, smaller in size compared to those normally used for making glitter. The design of these engineered particles is to maximize the greenhouse effect on Mars, trapping the escaping heat, and redirecting sunlight towards its surface. “How light interacts with sub-wavelength objects is fascinating,” said co-author Ansari. Mohseni added: “We have barely even started thinking in terms of the new and exciting possibilities that will be opened up by these new ideas. I think it may be the tip of the iceberg in terms of what you can ultimately do.”.
“You’d still need millions of tons to warm the planet, but that’s five thousand times less than previous proposals,” said Kite. This would significantly ease the practicality chills that the project previously faced.
Calculations show that if the dust particles are shot into the atmosphere of Mars at a rate of 30 liters per second, the planet’s temperature on its surface could increase by up to 50 °F within months—a significant change. The warming process is easily reversible since it would stop within a few years if the emission were to be stopped.
The scientists themselves noted that there were many uncertainties in the results, including how rapidly the engineered dust would cycle out of the Martian atmosphere. As the planet warms, water might increasingly condense around the particles and fall back to the surface as rain, making the model more complex.
“Climate feedbacks are really difficult to model accurately,” Kite warned. It would take further information from Mars and Earth for this method to be implemented, for it is a cautious, reversible approach.
While the method forms rather an advancement, the researchers maintained a soft line for their research and stated that their study dealt with warming Mars to temperatures that are appropriate for its microbial life and possibly for growing food crops, but not for looking for a breathable atmosphere for humans. “This research opens new avenues for exploration and potentially brings us one step closer to the long-held dream of establishing a sustainable human presence on Mars,” Kite concluded.
The work, “Feasibility of keeping Mars warm with nanoparticles,” was published August 7, 2024 in Science Advances. Co-authors Ramses Ramirez and Liam Steele is now at the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, previously as a postdoctoral researcher at UChicago. This work used computing resources at Northwestern’s Quest high-performance computing facility and the University of Chicago Research Computing Center.