Can crashing icy asteroids into Mars make it habitable? Here's scientist's new plan

Asteroids, not crops, could hold the key to Mars habitability (Image: Canva)

Someday, terraforming Mars may not be so much science fiction. One researcher thinks we ought to aim a lot higher—literally—rather than raising hardy plants. A Polish scientist now suggests hurling frozen asteroids at the Red Planet.

Martian crops won't grow on Martian soil, says expert Dr. Leszek Czechowski of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Perchlorates, toxic to humans, are present in regolith soil. He warns against scenarios where plants grew in Martian soil in the film The Martian. "This would not work in real conditions," he said.

Another hazard on Mars is low pressure. Human bodily fluids would begin to boil if there were no pressurized suit. He argues that conventional farming and plant-based terraforming are not feasible because of these conditions.

With the help of asteroids, a breathable atmosphere can be created

Dr. Czechowski explains his idea in a recent study titled Energy Problems of Terraforming Mars. He proposes impacting Mars with icy Oort Cloud or Kuiper Belt asteroids. When the asteroids impact, they could emit gases that would be responsible for the creation of a denser, breathable atmosphere.

The Martian atmosphere is currently very thin and mostly made up of carbon dioxide. It is incapable of supporting human life. But hitting the surface with these frozen corpses could release necessary elements necessary for habitability.

The Oort Cloud, which is distant from Neptune, could be key. There are likely to be billions of suitable asteroids in there. These could ultimately be directed towards Mars, Dr. Czechowski says.

It would take thousands of years to journey from deep space

The greatest challenge is time. It would take approximately 15,000 years to relocate an asteroid from the Oort Cloud with existing technologies. Therefore, the idea is more of a long-term aspiration than a short-term plan.

However, the scientist feels this tactic holds merit. His method attacks the atmosphere of Mars head-on, unlike modern proposals involving moss or lichen. This introduces yet another possibility to the ongoing debate regarding terraforming Mars but won't become a reality in the near future.

The concept released by Dr. Czechowski is a welcome break from existing thinking on colonization of Mars. Even though it will not soon come to be, it may someday allow for people to be able to make Mars feel homier.