The terraforming of the red planet is a process in which the climate and surface of Mars would be deliberately changed to make large areas of the environment hospitable to humans, thus making human colonization sustainable. One way to create a martian atmosphere would be to import methane or other hydrocarbons, which are common in Titan’s atmosphere and on its surface; the methane could be vented into the atmosphere where it would act to compound the greenhouse effect. According to modern theorists, Mars exists on the outer edge of the habitable zone, a region of the Solar System where life can exist. Mars is on the border of a region known as the extended habitable zone where liquid water on the surface may be supported if concentrated greenhouse gases could increase the atmospheric pressure. Continue reading for another video and more information.
Mirrors made of thin aluminized PET film could be placed in orbit around Mars to increase the total insolation it receives. This would direct the sunlight onto the surface and could increase Mars’s surface temperature directly. The mirror could be positioned as a statite, using its effectiveness as a solar sail to orbit in a stationary position relative to Mars, near the poles, to sublimate the CO2 ice sheet and contribute to the warming greenhouse effect.
