How about terraforming the Moon?

[weatheriscool]

One way we could protect the atmosphere is a massive solar shield that would let in the light while stopping the solar wind. Kind of like a 200 mile solar sail 200 thousand miles from the surface of our moon...Once we did that then the solar winds wouldn't tar off the atmosphere that we'd build.

We could build massive mining plants that would drill into the surface of the moon and turn the solid elements of co2, o2, etc into gases that would be released into the atmosphere of our moon. Over time the atmosphere would thicken up and with enough co2 the moon would warm up melting the water. This would help form lakes, seas and oceans that would allow for a thicker atmosphere and a more favorable climate. We could slowly make this atmosphere breathable. And even if we can't solve the gravity problem we could always maintain the atmosphere through adding more gases to maintain any loses over time.

A moon that was favorable for life would be a place worth going to for humanity and would allow us to make the step with long term in mind.

[Powers]

A moon that was favorable for life would be a place worth going to for humanity and would allow us to make the step with long term in mind.

Mars sounds way more profitable to terraform first.

[firestar464]

Furthermore we need the Moon to be relatively lifeless and atmosphere-less for research purposes.

[wjfox]

Do we even need to terraform the Moon? Its land surface is only 7% of Earth's. The low gravity would also be a massive hindrance and complication.

Mars and Venus are much better candidates for such an effort.

Rather than trying to recreate Earth, I think the Moon will increasingly be used to offload much of our heavy industry. This process would enable a gradual Eden-like restoration of our home planet – unspoiled by manufacturing and other infrastructures – beginning around 2150-2200 and perhaps completed by the second half of this millennium.

[Vakanai]

Agreed with the major consensus, there's too many complications and too few perks of terraforming the moon. Domed or underground cities that can sustain themselves would be more ideal.

[firestar464]

Do we even need to terraform the Moon? Its land surface is only 7% of Earth's. The low gravity would also be a massive hindrance and complication.

Mars and Venus are much better candidates for such an effort.

Rather than trying to recreate Earth, I think the Moon will increasingly be used to offload much of our heavy industry. This process would enable a gradual Eden-like restoration of our home planet – unspoiled by manufacturing and other infrastructures – beginning around 2150-2200 and perhaps completed by the second half of this millennium.

The moon is quite small. We might risk depleting it if we just kept mining without any restrictions. Might be better to mine them asteroids and use the Moon as a base to launch stuff.

[Vakanai]

Do we even need to terraform the Moon? Its land surface is only 7% of Earth's. The low gravity would also be a massive hindrance and complication.

Mars and Venus are much better candidates for such an effort.

Rather than trying to recreate Earth, I think the Moon will increasingly be used to offload much of our heavy industry. This process would enable a gradual Eden-like restoration of our home planet – unspoiled by manufacturing and other infrastructures – beginning around 2150-2200 and perhaps completed by the second half of this millennium.

The moon is quite small. We might risk depleting it if we just kept mining without any restrictions. Might be better to mine them asteroids and use the Moon as a base to launch stuff.

The said heavy manufacturing, not mining. Perhaps what is mined from the asteroids we can send to the moon to refine and manufacture into stuff...

[Bird]

I agree with the consensus and that Mars & Venus are more logical terraforming targets. The low gravity alone would cause all sorts of problems, wouldn't it?

I actually think turning those two into liveable planets is one of the coolest scientifically plausible concepts I've ever heard. Taking an uninhabitable husk and turning it into a fully habitable planet would be a truly grand achievement.

It's sad that it will probably happen long past my time and would take centuries or more to complete, but it's nice to think about. Might write a book about it sometime.

[Vordus]

Despite the low gravity, the moon is much more feasible to terraform simply due to its proximity to Earth and being able to bring the materials and workers needed to do it more efficiently. Mars and Venus are too far away. Also the moon could serve as practice before trying other planets.

[Yuli Ban]

I asked o3
https://chatgpt.com/share/68102a81-85f4 ... d8337d4051

It's feasible, and not even far beyond us, but the low gravity makes it cumbersome more than anything. RTSC artificial magnetic shielding in orbit could compensate for the lack of a magnetic field, so solar winds and galactic radiation isn't a grave issue. It's all really down to the fact the moon is just a bit too small to make it a viable habitat for a lot of people. More a research and vacationing destination, maybe a few extremists would love to live there, but I wouldn't anticipate lunar megacities anytime this millennium.

Pretty much all the inner solar system celestial bodies are pretty poor for habitation and require extensive geoengineering. Mars is probably the best bet. It's still too small, but an artificial magnetic field could allow an atmosphere to thicken up naturally.

Venus is going to be a hell of a task. That one is a habitable Earth-twin Goldilocks Zone planet where pretty much everything that could go wrong did. The best way to terraform Venus would be to move a celestial body like Ceres or Mercury into a lunar orbit around it. Otherwise there isn't much you can do, because most of its problems are issues relating to its total lack of a moon.


Terraform Mercury? Sure, let me also keep my pet goldfish in an industrial oven. I'll just make sure its water is cool enough. Enough ice ought to do the trick

[wjfox]

Terraform Mercury? Sure, let me also keep my pet goldfish in an industrial oven. I'll just make sure its water is cool enough. Enough ice ought to do the trick

Yeah, Mercury won't be terraformed. At least, not fully.

The best idea I've heard is from Kim Stanley Robinson's 2312 novel – using a system of train tracks, going around the entire planet, on which a domed city is placed. By moving at the exact same speed as the planet's rotation, it would always stay within the "terminator zone", i.e. midway between day and night, providing the optimal sunlight and temperature.