In their new paper, Los Alamos National Laboratory planetary scientist Nina Lanza and colleagues looked at what would be needed to make the surface environment of Mars more Earth-like and what needs to be done now if there’s a hope of the Red Planet someday being able to sustain human life.
An artist’s impression of a terraformed Mars. Image credit: Daein Ballard / CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Believe it or not, no one has really addressed whether it’s feasible to terraform Mars since 1991,” Dr. Lanza said.
“Yet since then, we’ve made great strides in Mars science, geoengineering, launch capabilities and bioscience, which give us a chance to take a fresh look at terraforming research and ask ourselves what’s actually possible.”
Terraforming Mars would require warming the atmosphere to enable engineered microbes to create oxygen through photosynthesis, which would further allow for slow oxygen build-up to support liquid water and more complex life.
“Before we can assess whether warming Mars is worthwhile, relative to the alternative of leaving Mars as a pristine wilderness, we must confront the practical requirements, cost, and possible risks,” the researchers said.
In the paper, they addressed current knowledge of Mars’ water, carbon dioxide and soil composition, and possible approaches to warming the surface temperature of Mars and raising atmospheric pressure and oxygen abundance.
New techniques have emerged that could raise Mars’ average global temperature by tens of degrees within a few decades.
Research priorities can focus on understanding fundamental physical, chemical, and biological constraints that will shape any future decisions about Mars. Such research would drive advances in Mars exploration, bioscience, and atmospheric engineering.
“This research could ultimately help maintain ‘oasis Earth’,” the scientists said.
“Technologies developed for Mars habitation, such as desiccation-resistant crops, efficiently remediating soil, and improved ecosystem modeling, will likely benefit our home planet.”
“Mars terraforming research offers a vital testbed for planetary science, potentially validating theories or exposing knowledge gaps.”
“Continued research promises significant scientific progress, regardless of whether full-scale terraforming occurs.”
“Until that research is done, we don’t even know what’s physically or biologically possible.”
“If people can learn how to terraform a world such as Mars, this may be the first step to destinations beyond.”
The team’s paper was published on May 13 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
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E.A. DeBenedictis et al. 2025. The case for Mars terraforming research. Nat Astron 9, 634-639; doi: 10.1038/s41550-025-02548-0
