Scientists are thinking about creating an artificial magnetic field around Mars, which could give the planet a second birth
The transformation or scientifically terraforming of Mars is perhaps the most important dream of all mankind. Indeed, the very fact of the possibility of creating conditions on our “red neighbor” that are acceptable for human living will solve the impending problem of overpopulation.
It will also protect humanity from complete extinction in the event of global cataclysms. Let's find out how scientists plan to form an artificial magnetic field on Mars.
The planet's magnetic field and its global role
As you know, the planet's magnetic field creates a bubble-like region around it, which performs the protective function of the planet's surface from solar winds.
And it turns out that most of the infected high-energy particles do not hit the surface, and all life on Earth is safe. And if in the future we plan to colonize Mars, then we just need to form an artificial magnetosphere around the planet.
Why exactly Mars
In fact, the Red Planet is almost perfect for such ambitious plans. After all, the length of a Martian day is not very different from that of the earth.
There is a large amount of ice hidden under the surface of Mars, which can be easily turned into liquid water. And there are already theoretical developments on how to make the atmosphere on Mars breathable.
But the Red Planet lacks a sufficiently powerful magnetic field. Scientists believe that the planet used to have it when the metal core was still in a liquid state.
But as it cooled, Mars lost its protection, and the once dense and moisture-rich atmosphere was depleted due to the aggressive and destructive effects of solar winds.
Unfortunately, scientists argue that it will not be possible to reheat the planet's core, but as an extreme study has shown, there are a couple of options still to form an artificial magnetic field.
How scientists plan to create an artificial magnetic field
Scientists have previously studied this issue, and mainly considered the creation of powerful solenoids either directly on the surface of the planet, or in orbit. In a new scientific paper devoted to this problem, scientists have proposed a rather elegant solution.
It turns out that it is a little easier to create an orbital solenoid, and the Mars satellite Phobos can help with this.
Phobos is the largest Martian satellite, and its orbit is quite low. It is so close to the planet's surface that its full orbital period is eight Earth hours.
So scientists propose to ionize particles from the surface of Phobos, and then accelerate them in order to thereby create a plasma torus along the orbit of Phobos.
According to scientists, this will create a fairly powerful magnetic field, which will be enough to protect the surface of the Red Planet from the harmful effects of the solar wind.
Of course, this is a very daring plan, but it does not look impracticable, although scientists have to solve quite serious engineering problems.
A scientific article describing the proposed option for creating an artificial magnetic field on Mars, scientists published on the portal Acta Astronautica.
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