Can Mars’ Core be Restarted? Questions for the Future


Can Mars’ Core be Restarted?

There has been a lot of talk about sending humans to live on Mars. It is easier to say but more complex to handle or achieve. A major reason is that Mars is not exactly friendly to human life or life at all. It is a very cold planet with a super-thin atmosphere that not only makes it impossible to breathe but also doesn’t give much protection from all the deadly radiation coming from space. However, the thing is, Mars was not always like this. 

Billions of years ago, Mars still had its magnetic field and was just like Earth until its core cooled down. There are several reasons why this happened. Over the years, scientists have speculated on the possibility of revitalizing Mars. If so, can Mars core be restarted? 

The simple answer is no. Realistically, the kind of technology needed to achieve this is non-existent. However, theoretically, it can be done; depending on technological advancement.

Mars is the 4th planet from the sun. It is located between the orbits of Earth and Jupiter. It circles the sun at an average of about 229 million Km from the sun. It has a distinct red color due to the abundance of iron oxide on its surface.  It has about half one-tenth of our own planet’s mass and about half of its diameter. To learn more about this exciting planet, read on!

What is the surface and core of Mars made of?

Just like Earth, Mars has undergone differentiation leading to a dense, metallic centralized region covered by less dense materials.  From the most recent model of Mars, its core region is about 1,794km ± 65 km (1,115mi) in radius and it is mainly made up of nickel and iron with about 16-17% of sulfur. The iron sulfide core is partly fluid and the concentration of the lighter elements is twice that of Earth’s core. The core of Mars is overlaid by a silicate mantle forming many of the volcanic characteristics which are signs that the core was once active. Apart from oxygen and silicon, the most abundant elements in the Martian crust are potassium, iron, magnesium, and aluminum.

How to restart Mars’ core

Mars’ core is made up of differentiated iron-nickel core. It measures approximately 1800 km. The temperature of Mars’ core is estimated to be about 1500 K.

Liquid iron has a specific heat of 820j/kg/v while the specific heat of nickel is 730J/kg/c. With all this, we can estimate the specific heat of the core to be at 800J/kg/c. After we then multiply the volume, density, and desired volume together, we should get the required energy of 2.9×10292.9×1029 J., which is a lot. That energy can be used to increase the rotation speed of Mars to a value almost equal to Earth. This energy is about 6 orders of magnitude more than that of the meteor that killed the dinosaurs on Earth and 12 orders of magnitude bigger than the biggest nuclear weapon.

All these comparisons are to show you the massive amount of energy we are dealing with. So it means you will need a diamond drill to get to the core and then need about a trillion of the best nuclear weapon ever to heat the core of Mars, for it to restart.

Another method that can be used to restart the core is by restoring its atmosphere. Dr. Jim (the Director of NASA‘s Planetary Science Division) and some other researchers suggested that a magnetic dipole shield should be placed at the Mars Li Lagrange point. The magnetic dipole shield is an artificial magnetosphere that can protect and shield the entire planet from solar wind and even radiation. The device must be able to generate an energy of perhaps 1 or 2 Tesla – which is about 10,000 to 20,000 Gauss – to protect the planet from the solar winds.

The researchers discovered that if a dipole field is placed at Mars L1 Lagrange point, the device will be able to counteract the solar wind which would cause Mars’ atmosphere to attain a new balance.

After it has been restored, the atmosphere of Mars will begin to get thickened with time leading to an increase in temperature. According to some scientists, an average of about 4-degrees is needed for the carbon dioxide ice in the northern polar ice caps to melt. This will eventually activate a greenhouse effect which will further increase the temperature of the atmosphere, and with time restart the core of Mars.

Why did Mars’ core cool?

There are a lot of theories concerning the cooling of the core. A more recent theory has been confirmed by such orbiters’ programs as ESA‘s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) which has been studying the atmosphere of Mars for a while now. Apart from discovering that the solar wind was responsible for removing most of Mars’ atmosphere, these orbiters have been measuring the rate at which the atmosphere is being depleted.

After losing its atmosphere due to the solar wind, Mars started to get cold including its core. We now know that the atmosphere of Mars went upwards. Why? Well, maybe Mars had a magnetic field to protect it from solar winds and then after losing it, solar winds started stripping it from its atmosphere. Mars with half of the diameter of Earth, a smaller core, probably got so cooled to the point that it made it active dynamo (magnetic field), inactive.

MAVEN calculated that Mars loses an average of 100grams (¼ pound) of atmosphere to space in one second and during flaring periods when the solar winds are far stronger, it rises to about 20 times the normal rate. It means a time frame of about 100 million years would be enough to reduce the temperature of the core and form a Mars with a more earth-like atmosphere compared to the present-day Mars.

Conclusion

With SpaceX, Blue Origin, and NASA on the mission to facilitate interplanetary transportation, it would be exciting if the core of Mars can be restarted, making the planet a lot like a second Earth. As to the possibility of this happening soon, we have no idea but what we do know is there has been a lot of research going on this topic. If it does happen, it would be one hell of a ride.

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