You don't need a magnetic field. An atmosphere will protect you from most shit..... just have to head inside for more protection from big solar storms. Life on Earth has survived magnetic pole reversals afterall.

Are you sure that during those reversals there are significant time-periods of low magnetic field in any locale? I was under the impression things were just kind of magnetically chaotic for a few millennia according to models, but the field remained pretty strong for the most part throughout, and I am pretty sure the magnetic field protects us more than you imply. This I can look up, but if you're pretty sure and can give quick references too, it would save me trouble. Don't go out of your way though.

MattHunX wrote:

CJ wrote:By all accounts the Earth's magnetic field is caused by the rotation of its molten iron core. Because of its smaller size Mars ' core has solidified so from a magnetic field point of view Mars is fucked. As a result it has no protection from ionised particles from the Sun or the solar winds effects on its atmosphere. Terraforming Mars is a bloody waste of time and effort when one considers the resources it would take. Every penny would be better spent building an effective large scale moon base, extinction event protections and shelters.

Indeed. That's why I asked. Unless they can kick-start Mars' core, terra-forming is not only pointless, but impossible.

Not necessarily,

The pertinent question is how fast mars would lose an atmosphere capable of supporting life taken there from earth.

If its a long timescale and the process of regenerating the atmosphere could be maintained from other bodies in the solar system than it might be possible to terraform mars. If the technology available to create and maintain a breathable atmosphere could stretch that peroid where mars is inhabitable to over a million years then it could be economic to terraform the planet.

I say we finish the Dyson sphere first, then use the energy to power EM generators to produce an artificial magnetosphere on Mars.

Someone wrote:Are you sure that during those reversals there are significant time-periods of low magnetic field in any locale? I was under the impression things were just kind of magnetically chaotic for a few millennia according to models, but the field remained pretty strong for the most part throughout, and I am pretty sure the magnetic field protects us more than you imply. This I can look up, but if you're pretty sure and can give quick references too, it would save me trouble. Don't go out of your way though.

The interaction of our magnetic field and the particles from the sun produces a nice layer of plasma which further protects us. The plasma forms currents and acts as an electromagnet itself, extending the earth's field well beyond what it would be without it. This layer would remain for a while even if the field were to weaken, collapse, or flip, so there would always be some kind of field protecting us even if our own field completely vanished for a time. Providing that the plasma was not yet brushed away by the solar wind of course.

That's always been my understanding anyway.

Greetings, i'm new at these forums....

Please apolagise me about my bad English.

I've read most of the posts in this thread, and i have same ideas i would like to share.

To start we must understant what is a magnetic field, and how is it formed.... Unfortunelly, we can only guess. Most of the magnetic fields in rocky planets (and moons to) are formed by a tidal wave model (gravity), in Mercury is the gravity of the sun (the result is a magnetic field stronger the Earth), Venus and Mars have no MF, our magnetic field also uses a tidal wave model, our Moon stretches the Earth core and heats them. The stranger MF in the solar System is from one of Jupiter's moon's, Ganymedes, its week, but is there, it is also formed by a tidal wave model, the orbital resonance betwin Io, Europa and Ganymedes heats is core....
The second thing we need to have a MF is an internal solid core surrounded by liquid layer.... the diference betwin this two layers will form a MF.

Mars had a MF field in the past, but can he be reactivated??? I dont know the answer.... no one does.
Mars MF stopped 4 bilions years ago, all the south pole of Mars is magnetised as prove of it, but not the north pole, why??? 3.9 bilions years ago a Moon sized objected crashed against mars in is north pole, it seems that area became molten lava and was not magnetised again. The issue is that such a huge objected could have reacted with the martian core, making him unviable to produce a MF again.

our best shoot to try to reactivate it, is try to replicate a Earth-Moon simbiosys.... But how??? Our Moon is around 1/6 of the Earth mass, if we could put an objected with the same porpotion in Mars orbit we may have same luck. The combined mass of Ceres and Vesta (in the asteroid Belt) is almost 1/6 of Mars mass..... It won't be quick...... We don't even know that will work.... But is our best shoot.

With out a MF, terraforming Mars is just useless waste of time, a dome (or hundreds of them) would be so much more cheaper.

About the impact theory....

Forcing asteroid or comets to crash into Mars would have a big issue..... Mars as a very thick atmosphere, every time we crash such objects into Mars, a portion of is already very thick atmosphere is directly ejected into space (depending on the object size), i would say, everything bigger then 10km would eject much more gas then then desirable.

Tuor wrote:Greetings, i'm new at these forums....

Please apolagise me about my bad English.

I've read most of the posts in this thread, and i have same ideas i would like to share.

To start we must understant what is a magnetic field, and how is it formed.... Unfortunelly, we can only guess. Most of the magnetic fields in rocky planets (and moons to) are formed by a tidal wave model (gravity), in Mercury is the gravity of the sun (the result is a magnetic field stronger the Earth), Venus and Mars have no MF, our magnetic field also uses a tidal wave model, our Moon stretches the Earth core and heats them. The stranger MF in the solar System is from one of Jupiter's moon's, Ganymedes, its week, but is there, it is also formed by a tidal wave model, the orbital resonance betwin Io, Europa and Ganymedes heats is core....
The second thing we need to have a MF is an internal solid core surrounded by liquid layer.... the diference betwin this two layers will form a MF.

Mars had a MF field in the past, but can he be reactivated??? I dont know the answer.... no one does.
Mars MF stopped 4 bilions years ago, all the south pole of Mars is magnetised as prove of it, but not the north pole, why??? 3.9 bilions years ago a Moon sized objected crashed against mars in is north pole, it seems that area became molten lava and was not magnetised again. The issue is that such a huge objected could have reacted with the martian core, making him unviable to produce a MF again.

our best shoot to try to reactivate it, is try to replicate a Earth-Moon simbiosys.... But how??? Our Moon is around 1/6 of the Earth mass, if we could put an objected with the same porpotion in Mars orbit we may have same luck. The combined mass of Ceres and Vesta (in the asteroid Belt) is almost 1/6 of Mars mass..... It won't be quick...... We don't even know that will work.... But is our best shoot.

With out a MF, terraforming Mars is just useless waste of time, a dome (or hundreds of them) would be so much more cheaper.

About the impact theory....

Forcing asteroid or comets to crash into Mars would have a big issue..... Mars as a very thick atmosphere, every time we crash such objects into Mars, a portion of is already very thick atmosphere is directly ejected into space (depending on the object size), i would say, everything bigger then 10km would eject much more gas then then desirable.

Welcome!

And nice post. And agreed.