As we blow through the resources on Earth, it's clear we're going to need a new planet soon.

當我們揮霍完地球上的資源時，很明顯，我們很快就需要一個新地球。

And since there isn't another Earth out there, is it possible we could make one through terraforming?

而且由於現在沒有另一個地球，我們有沒有可能透過地球化做出另一個地球？

Terraforming is the process of turning a hostile environment into one that can support human life.

地球化是將惡劣的環境轉為可以支撐人類生活環境的過程。

And a possible place where this could happen is Mars.

火星或許是個可行的地方。

After all, it's literally right there, and might be a good replacement for Earth.

畢竟，它確實就在那裡，對地球來說可能是不錯的替代品。

So what do we have to work with?

那我們必須做什麼工作？

Well, Mars' atmosphere is really thin, only about one percent of what we have on Earth.

好，火星的大氣非常稀薄，只有地球的百分之一。

And it's carbon dioxide, so toxic to humans.

而且是二氧化碳，對人類有毒。

Mars is also further from the Sun and that coupled with its thin atmosphere means it's about -63 degrees Celsius.

火星距離太陽更遠，再加上稀薄的大氣，代表它的溫度約為 -63°C 。

So, sorry folks, your winter coats won't quite cut it.

所以，抱歉啦各位，你的冬天大衣可能沒用。

On top of that, Mars also has no magnetosphere so no protection against radiation.

除此之外，火星也沒有磁層，因此沒有防輻射保護。

And it also only has about one-third of the gravity we feel on Earth.

而且它的重力約只有地球的三分之一

So, clearly, there's a lot we'd need to change.

所以，我們顯然要改變很多東西。

Let's start with the atmosphere.

讓我們從大氣開始。

We'd have to make it thicker and change its composition.

我們必須讓它變厚並改變它的成分。

One way to do this would be to trigger a greenhouse effect, making it so any heat from the Sun is trapped, heating the planet all over.

要做到這點有一個辦法，就是引發溫室效應，讓它保存太陽發出的任何熱能，進而加熱整個行星。

We could do this a bunch of different ways, like using methane mined from the rocks on Mars,

我們可以用各種不同的方式來做到這點，例如：使用從火星岩石中開采的甲烷，

carbon dioxide -- if we could get enough of it, or even with ammonia!

或是二氧化碳( 如果我們能取得足夠的量)，甚至是從氨氣中！

Let's focus on that last one for a minute.

我們稍微提一下最後一種方式。

We could release that ammonia by smashing ice-rich comets from the outer Solar System.

我們可以利用打碎太陽系外層中，富含冰的彗星來釋放氨氣。

And since ammonia is mostly nitrogen by weight, once we add oxygen through plant life,

由於氨的主要重量是氮，一旦我們在植物生命中添加氧氣，

we could have an atmosphere pretty similar to Earth's!

我們就有一個和地球非常相似的大氣！

And with a thicker atmosphere, the atmospheric pressure would be high enough for human to possibly live.

在較厚的大氣下，大氣壓力可能夠高，才能讓人類生存。

From here, the atmosphere will warm the planet and the rest of the terraforming job will be a relative cakewalk.

從這裡開始，大氣將溫暖地球，其餘的地球化工作，會是輕而易舉的事情。

We can melt Mars' polar ice caps and have water, and with water we can have the environment for life,

我們可以融化火星的極地冰帽來取得水，而且可以用水打造出生活環境，

make some changes to the Martian soil, and set up shop on the formerly red planet.

對火星土壤進行一些改變，並在以前的紅色星球上開設商店。

But wait, there's more!

但等等，還有一些問題！

Remember the whole “Mars has no magnetosphere” thing?

還記得整個「火星沒有磁層」的事嗎？

Turns out, that's a big part of why Mars lost its atmosphere in the first place.

事實證明，這是火星開始失去大氣層的重要原因。

Mars' global magnetic field shut down around 4.2 billion years ago,

火星的整體磁場在大約 42 億年前關閉，

and from there the solar wind and powerful sun explosions stripped away most the atmosphere, sending it off into space.

那裡的太陽風和強大的太陽爆炸，奪走了大部分的大氣層，將其送入外太空。

And that's not good, since that means there isn't a trove of carbon dioxide in the Mars rocks to release in order to trigger a greenhouse effect.

這並不好好消息，因為這代表火星的岩石中，不會釋放出二氧化碳，來引發溫室效應。

And also, any atmosphere we do add to Mars won't last.

而且，我們添加到火星的任何氣體都不會長久。

Eventually, it'll be stripped away by radiation and solar wind, too.

最終，它也將被輻射和太陽風奪走。

And whatever wasn't would be hard to hold onto with Mars' weaker gravity.

而且不管怎麼說，都沒辦法讓火星的重力減弱。

So, Mars isn't the best option.

所以，火星不是最好的方案。

Instead, let's check our other nearest neighbor: Venus.

不然來看看離我們最近的鄰居：金星。

Venus has a super-thick atmosphere and temperatures around 460 degrees Celsius so we'd have to change a lot of that, too.

金星有超厚的大氣層，溫度在 460°C 左右，金星有一個超厚的氣氛，溫度在460攝氏度左右，所以我們也必須改變很多。

One option is to bombard Venus with hydrogen from gas giants, creating graphite and water that would turn into global oceans.

有一種方法是，用來自氣態巨行星的氫氣轟擊金星，藉此產生石墨和水，讓整體變成海洋。

These would dissolve produced nitrogen and lower the atmospheric pressure to something more Earth-like.

這些會溶解產生的氮氣，並將大氣壓力降低到類似地球的狀態。

We could also terraform parts of Mercury.

我們也可以地球化部分的水星。

There's water and organic molecules in the northern polar region, so heating the bottoms of big craters with mirrors could melt the ice.

水星的北極地區有水和有機分子，因此用鏡子加熱大隕石坑底會使冰融化。

And adding a dome on top could create a little life-bubble on a hostile planet.

而且在頂部加上一個圓頂，可能會在環境惡劣的星球上，產生一點生命泡沫。

The same thing could be done on the Moon, too.

Hopefully that life-bubble has Wi-Fi.

We could maybe terraform Europa … well, sort of.

If we could melt the surface ice, some of the released oxygen could populate the atmosphere

and we could have a water world on our hands.

and it's even possible to terraform Titan, too, but we'd also have to create oxygen and make the moon less toxic to humans.

But all this is really hard and really far off in the future.

While I'd love to call another place in this universe my home, we should probably just protect the Earth we have now.

What do you think?

你的想法是什麼？

Should we be terraforming other planets?

我們應該地球化其他星球嗎？

This video was written by space historian Amy Shira Teitel.

此影片由航天歷史學家艾米·希拉·泰特爾所撰寫。

She makes a new video every week over on her channel, and you HAVE to check them out!

There's a link in the description if you’re on mobile.

Make sure you come back every Monday for a brand new video.

As always, I'm Blocko and this has been Life Noggin.

一如往常，我是 Blocko，這裡是 Life Noggin。

Don't forget to keep on thinking!

別忘了繼續思考！