Can humans globalize other planets?

The influence of life activities on the earth's environment is both elusive and far-reaching. Our atmosphere is made up of 20% oxygen and 80% nitrogen. Oxygen is almost entirely produced by photosynthesis of green plants. Similarly, the latest data show that nitrogen is almost entirely the product of biological activities of soil microorganisms, which convert nitrate and ammonia into nitrogen (molecular nitrogen). Not only the main components of the earth's atmosphere are strictly controlled by biological activities, but also the components with less content. Carbon dioxide is also buffered to a great extent by the feedback loop of "Yi Deng Breath". Even a few components in the earth's atmosphere, such as methane (CH4), are produced by biological activities.

In fact, life on earth can be detected by small telescopes and infrared spectrometers, although it can't be photographed by cameras from the vantage point of Mars. Martians (if any) can easily observe a strong absorption feature through the infrared wavelength of 3.33 microns, and it can be determined by direct analysis that it is produced by methane with a content of one millionth in the earth's atmosphere. It is not difficult to infer that methane probably comes from biology. Methane is chemically unstable in excess oxygen and is easily oxidized to carbon dioxide.

CH4+2O2=CO2+2H2O

The methane balance with excess oxygen in the earth's atmosphere can't be measured11027.

Methane must be produced very quickly, so oxygen has no time to reduce excess methane to equilibrium. This may be due to the massive release of methane from ancient oil fields on earth. However, this is an unlikely assumption because of the huge emissions required according to this estimate. Most likely, methane is produced by biological processes.

Actually, it is. In the ecological literature, there are two possible reasons why this methane comes from bacteria in Anhui Province. One source is that methane bacteria live in swamps and puddles, hence the name "biogas". Another view is that another main gathering place of methanogens is the rumen of ungulates. At least one ecological school believes that the latter source produces more methane than the former. This means that the intestines of cattle swell-the intestinal activities of cattle, reindeer, elephants and elk can be detected by the distance between planets, but a lot of human activities can't be seen. We don't usually regard the expansion of livestock's intestines and stomach as the main embodiment of life on earth, but in fact it is.

Humans have not made conscious efforts, but life on earth has largely unconsciously regenerated the environment. Due to the influence of atmospheric pressure and atmospheric composition on climate, a feedback loop is generated, which makes the climate itself possibly controlled by the gas exchange reaction of life forms on the earth to some extent. In a sense, life on earth has made the earth what it is now to some extent.

First of all, before we change a planet, we should thoroughly understand its existing environment. We must strictly ensure that the primitive life on this planet will not be destroyed by globalization. If a planet (such as Mars) has a certain number of indigenous creatures that may be extinct because of the earth, then it should never be done. But if there is no life on the planet, or if the original creatures will live better near the earth, it may be very reasonable to consider changing the planet environment at some point in the future.

The motivation for rebuilding the earth should be clear. This is not the way to solve the problem of overpopulation on the earth. Hundreds of thousands of people are born every day on the earth, and it is definitely impossible to transport hundreds of thousands of people to other planets every day in the near future. Throughout human history, only a dozen people have been sent to another celestial body. Similarly, in the near future, it is impossible to see a prosperous mining industry mining on other planets and then transporting the ore back to earth, so freight transportation is not allowed to do so.

However, the human spirit develops outward. Colonization between planets can meet the highest aspirations and goals of mankind.

Venus has a very stressful atmosphere, mainly composed of carbon dioxide. The surface temperature of Venus is very high, reaching 900,000 K ... It seems a very difficult task to transform this environment into an environment where human beings can live and work without a lot of technical assistance. However, it is still possible to transform Venus into something very similar to the Earth. This method assumes that the high temperature on the surface of Venus is due to the greenhouse effect caused by carbon dioxide and water, which seems to be more tenable now than then. The idea is simple. Just put a cold-tolerant algae plant as a seed into the clouds of Venus-it is recommended to use an algae called Nostoc commune, which will produce photosynthesis near the clouds, and carbon nitride and water will be converted into organic compounds (mainly sugars) and oxygen. However, these algae will be carried by atmospheric circulation to the deeper and hotter atmosphere of Venus below, where they will be roasted to death. When algae are baked, they release simple carbides, carbon and water into the atmosphere. In this way, the moisture content in the atmosphere remains unchanged, and the final result is that carbon dioxide becomes carbon and oxygen.

At present, the greenhouse effect on Venus is mainly caused by carbon dioxide and water, and its total pressure is about 90 times that of the earth's surface. Venus's atmosphere is mainly composed of carbon dioxide. When carbon dioxide is converted into carbon and oxygen, and oxygen combines with the crust of Venus, the total pressure will drop, thus reducing the absorption of infrared rays by the atmosphere, reducing the greenhouse effect and lowering the temperature.

Therefore, if we spray algae cultivated to an appropriate degree into the clouds of Venus, the extremely harsh environment on Venus will eventually become more suitable for human beings, because algae proliferate in the clouds much faster than they die.

The amount of water vapor contained in the atmosphere of Venus, if condensed on the surface of Venus, will form a layer of water about 0.3 meters high. Although it is not an area of Wang Yang, it is enough for irrigation and other human needs. Rocks on the surface of Venus may also contain water.

No one can tell whether this is a feasible scheme or how long it will take to transform the planet next to the second sun. Most likely, there are still some loopholes in this idea. For example, the high temperature on the surface of Venus may not be caused by the greenhouse effect, but this is unlikely.

In any case, the globalization of Venus is not impossible. The Nostoc project is an example, which shows that human science and technology can transform the environment of another planet in a much shorter time than geological time.

Speaking of Mars, there is now evidence that not too long ago; Compared with now, the conditions on this planet are very close to the earth. The similarity we mentioned is that there are a lot of carbon dioxide and water fixed in the polar cap of Mars, frozen in permafrost, or combined with surface materials in some parts of Mars. Every 50,000-year precession period, this carbon dioxide and water will be released into the atmosphere twice from the polar cap. Dr Joseph Burns Bo Tu and Dr Martin Harvitt of Cornell University have considered various technical schemes, hoping to create a milder environment on Mars hundreds of years from now, not thousands. These schemes include changing the orbit of Mars, satellites or nearby asteroids to change the precession of Mars, or installing a huge orbital mirror above the polar cap of Mars to melt the material frozen in the polar cap. Perhaps it is simpler to sprinkle carbon black on the polar cap, heat the poles and raise the atmospheric pressure to warm Mars.

Similarly, we don't know whether these schemes are effective, but they don't look completely unrealistic. It is very likely that in a few hundred years, we will be able to turn Mars into a planet more like the Earth without making it look like anything else.

The moon and asteroids are less suitable for human habitation than Mars and Venus. They are much less likely to have an atmosphere, so the geochemical scheme we discussed is not applicable to them. But even on celestial bodies without air, it is possible to build human bases (such as asteroids) on their surfaces or inside. This base is much more limited than the base rebuilt on Mars or Venus, and it needs to spend much more energy to save limited resources.

Only when important natural resources are found on these celestial bodies, especially frozen water or bound water, can this foundation be established. As far as the surface of the moon itself is concerned, the samples brought back by Apollo astronauts have shown that there is no water at all. However, it is entirely possible for a large amount of water to be stored in cold and dark areas near the moon's poles, or in places quite deep under the moon's surface.

Within a few hundred years, it is unlikely that humans will emigrate on a large scale on planets and Jupiter in the solar system. Of course, this prospect is quite difficult, and the project is extremely huge, and the ecological relationship of other environments must always be considered. The risk of biological pollution brought out or brought back should also be carefully considered.

If one day we are asked to manage the solar system. From the point of view at that time, the era we are now in is only a short moment, that is, the moment when human beings left their birthplace for the first time and began to explore and transform the surrounding space tentatively.