Inspired By Dune, Researchers Prepare To Make Mars Habitable

Illustration of Planet Mars. (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKAFRTA - Researchers are exploring ideas to make Mars a human home, inspired by Dune's science fiction story. In the story, the harsh desert planet Arrakis is transformed into a living and breathing world.

In the real world, scientists from NASA and DARPA have long worked on plans to make Mars a more friendly place for humans. One of their plans is to release water locked on the planet's surface, heat the air so it's not too cold, and introduce bacteria to create oxygen, similar to how sandworm metabolism creates air that can be inhaled in Dune.

One big challenge is that Mars is losing most of its atmosphere due to solar radiation. This caused the planet to lose most of its water and lock the rest in ice and minerals. However, as described in Dune, researchers hope to return life to this planet.

One of the proposed strategies is to cover the planet with water, which is locked under its surface. However, without a magnetospheric like Earth has, Mars will lose its water into space. Therefore, scientists are also considering creating artificial magnetospherics that can protect planets from solar radiation.

In addition, the researchers are also considering using biology to help thermalize Mars. Bacteria that live on earth are capable of consuming gas in the atmosphere and producing water and oxygen. This idea is similar to the strategy used by the characters in Dune to change the condition of their planet.

While there are still many challenges to overcome, such as how to turn unfriendly Mars into a comfortable place for humans, researchers remain optimistic. They believe that with further research and the development of new technologies, the dream of making Mars a habitable place can come true.

So, even though there is still a lot of work to be done, researchers continue to try to follow in the footsteps of the figures in the Dune story, in the hope that one day, humans will be able to call Mars as their second home.