Jim pondered the universe and found it to appear very large indeed… so large that the system closer to home appeared finite at last, and stretched to capacity. (But that is another story.)

Beyond Earth there is Mars and the other planets. All the notable literature indicates that this is where the future is --- but it occurred to Jim that there is definitely something missing --- so he set about finding out what that was.

In comparison to Earth, Mars is remarkably similar, if a bit smaller and, well, barren! So that was it, mars needed some greenery.

A moment of thought on the latest scientific belief regarding the matter indicated that mars needed a good heavy bombardment. The incident material, of the bombardment, is thorium and or water rich Kuiper objects. The details are trivial given the gravitational potential…

And there is nothing more.
-- madness, Jul 26 2012

//nothing more// ... but a cloud of dust. (And a hearty hi-ho Silver!)
-- lurch, Jul 26 2012


So, the idea is to bombard mars (hardly original) with kuiper belt objects (instead of the practically next door asteroids) and this is somehow supposed to produce plant life?
-- MechE, Jul 27 2012


I think the idea is not so much to produce plant life, or even life, so much as it is to produce a rudimentray environment (moist, warm but not sizzling) into which sustainable life can later be induced. The dust clouds raised by such a bombardment will serve to contain a thicker and cooler (albeit dirty) atmosphere, and will probably produce weather patterns. Early on, if we slam O2-rich objects into the planet hard enough and at just the right angle, we might even produce an ozone layer.
-- Alterother, Jul 27 2012


Mars is rather ripe for terraforming. Let's have at it.
-- RayfordSteele, Jul 27 2012


Perhaps a later bombardment with organic matter will provide areas for bacteria to survive...

I understand that alot of good bacteria exists in animal waste so perhaps a truck load of that mixed in would be good.
-- madness, Jul 31 2012


//Mars is rather ripe for terraforming. Let's have at it.//

Hear hear.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 31 2012


bun for terraforming mars by hitting it with kuiper belt objects, bone for being the six hundred millionth person to do so.
-- Voice, Jul 31 2012


[Marked-for-deletion] Widely known to exist (in concept).
-- MechE, Jul 31 2012



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