Could people turn Mars into another Earth?

Sven Bilén explores how humans might make a home on another world.

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Iam an engineer and professor developing technologies to extend the human presence beyond Earth. I am working on advanced propulsion systems to take spacecraft beyond Earth's orbit. I'm also helping to develop lunar construction technologies to support NASA's goal of long-term human presence on the Moon, and I've been on a team that showed how it would be possible to 3D-print habitats on Mars.

To sustain people beyond our planet will take a lot of time, energy and imagination. However, engineers and scientists have started to chip away at the many challenges that stand in the way of it becoming a reality.

Transforming another world

After the Moon, the next logical place for humans to live beyond planet Earth is Mars, but is it possible to “terraform” the Red Planet so it can support life, like Earth? To live on Mars, humans will need liquid water, food and shelter, plus an atmosphere with enough oxygen to breathe, which is thick enough to retain heat and protect against radiation from the Sun.