Mars is the most Earth-like planet in our solar system. It has a day just over 24 hours, polar ice caps, seasons, and the potential for past microbial life. Most importantly, it’s close enough, relatively speaking, for human missions to be feasible with current and near-future space technologies.

In 2015, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX & Tesla, suggested making Mars habitable by dropping nuclear bombs in the Martian atmosphere to melt its polar ice caps. Warming up the planet’s atmosphere is required so that carbon dioxide could thicken its atmosphere enough for water to exist in its liquid form and start the greenhouse gas effect, but due to low gravity and the absence of a magnetosphere at Mars, it is hard to keep the planet in this state, called the terraformed state.

The word “terraforming” means to make Earth-like.” It was invented by the author Jack Williamson in 1942. Since then, various movies and TV series have shown terraforming planets and moons. Later, the scientists took this term seriously and proposed ideas of actual terraforming. Astronomer Carl Sagan, NASA engineer James Oberg, and biophysicist Robert Hynes published journals about practical terraforming with the help of planetary, environmental, and geoengineering.

Terraforming Mars

Terraforming means to make a planet’s or a moon’s environment breathable for humans. Planets/moons existing in Goldilocks zones (habitable zones ) are more likely to be terraformed. There are 3 primary steps to terraforming a planet/the moon: Increasing its temperature, changing partial pressures of gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen) similar to those of Earth, and providing some biosphere content, i.e., microbial life and plant life. It could be done with the help of recently discovered extremophiles, organisms that can survive in physically or geochemically extreme conditions, i.e., Dinococcus Radiodurans, Chrooccidiopsis & Mattia sp. Merely survival of these extremophiles is not needed, we need some kind of effect by them on the environment too. If the plan of bombing thermonuclear weapons in the Martian atmosphere succeeds, we get enough liquid water in which basic DNA life could survive. The more stable the environment we get, the less the need for genetically engineered extremophiles or plants.

Chroococcidiopsis polanisana, a cyanobacterium with aggregated cells forming a sheet-like array.

Terraforming is a long-term and expensive plan. If we want to drop bombs on Mars, it will take almost all the nuclear weapons of America and Russia. Realizing this fact, the attention of scientists has diverged towards the concept of colonizing planets or moons that are located in habitable zones. “Colonizing” (colonizing space) means to create an extraterrestrial settlement for permanent human habitation without changing its entire atmosphere to make it breathable for humans.

This year, Elon Musk came up with the idea of the Interplanetary Transport System, by which humans will be transported to Mars in special spaceships (by SpaceX ). Each spaceship will carry 100 human beings to Mars, and he proposed to send 1000 spaceships. This plan is costly, but for this purpose, fuel refills will be designed with the help of reusable space technology. SpaceX is familiar with this technology by launching and landing orbital rockets. It may become less expensive, more effective, and more productive than terraforming Mars.

The idea of humans setting foot on Mars has long captured the imagination of scientists, dreamers, and storytellers. As technology advances and interest in space exploration intensifies, the possibility of sending humans to the Red Planet is shifting from science fiction to an impending reality.

The journey so far

Robotic explorers have been surveying Mars for decades. NASA’s rovers — from Sojourner in 1997 to Perseverance in 2021 — have collected valuable data on Martian geology and climate. These missions have paved the way for human exploration by identifying landing sites, testing technologies, and searching for signs of water and life.

Private companies, especially SpaceX, have revolutionized the pace and ambition of Mars missions. Elon Musk’s vision of building a self-sustaining colony on Mars is driving rapid development of reusable rockets and interplanetary transport systems like Starship.

Challenges to overcome

Sending humans to Mars involves major challenges:

  • Distance & duration: a round-trip could take 1.5 to 3 years.

  • Radiation exposure: deep space and Mars offer little protection from cosmic rays and solar radiation.

  • Life support: sustainable systems for food, water, and breathable air must be developed.

  • Psychological strain: the isolation, confinement, and communication delays pose serious mental health challenges.

The future of Mars exploration

NASA plans to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s, likely after completing the Artemis program to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon. China, the UAE, and European space agencies are also considering manned Mars missions.

If successful, a human presence on Mars could lead to scientific breakthroughs, inspire generations, and serve as a critical step in becoming a multi-planetary species. It may even answer one of humanity’s oldest questions: Are we alone in the universe?

Elon Musk says that he’ll send humans to Mars by 2030. Earthlings have to wait to see how successful the contamination of Mars with humans would be.