/sci/ - Science & Math

>>5260298
Personally if I were overseeing the terraformation procedure I'd mill down asteroid regolith via automated stations designed to seperate out required elements to extrude some kind of radiation-tolerant, transparent, fracture-resistant sheeting. Each thin strip of this material would be indented with slightly curving lines. So basically a composite fresnel lens.

Completing a 20 x 20km sheet strung together placed at 25,000,000km orbit from Sol could do the same job as a faaaar, far larger sail array near Martian orbit, as the solar irradiance at that distance is roughly 40,000W m2 (Earth is 1.2kW, Mars is ~470W)

'Course, even such a development requires automation to advance a great deal. I reckon the technology will be available by 2040.

>>4017552
NASA needs to start with the groundwork for such a project, namely asteroid mining. It seems like the 2025 manned mission to an asteroid will be prospecting, so I can't wait.

>>4017556
Import CO2 from Venus. And the asteroid belt doesn't have nearly enough mass for an entirely new planet.

>>4017555
LFTRs if power is your concern. Just as well, they're the only practical off-world power source for a proper colony.

>>3922567
Mars, circa 2123.

>>3842966
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tharsis

The technology:
http://techland.time.com/2011/04/06/spacexs-falcon-heavy-most-powerful-private-rocket-ever/
http://www.universetoday.com/73536/nasa-considering-rail-gun-launch-system-to-the-stars/
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article4799369.ece
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43451526/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/nasa-selects-new-heavy-lift-r
ocket-say-sources/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/24/skylon_esa_report/

The will:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8bIQLiKi3g
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/02/lord-british-wants-to-take-you-to-space-and-hes-closer-th
an-you-think.ars/3
http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/04/26/elon-musk-we-can-put-a-man-on-mars-in-10-years/
http://www.gamefront.com/john-carmack-helps-make-space-travel-more-affordable/
http://www.virgingalactic.com/