Terraforming & Geoengineering – My WordPress Site

Habitability factors at time period from ∼4.1 Ga till end of LHB (left) and current (right) Earth (green), Venus (yellow), and Mars (red). -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Mars, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Venus

Habitability Study of Terrestrial Planets: Application to Venus-like Worlds

by Keith CowingApril 9, 2026April 9, 2026

The study of planetary habitability beyond Earth remains a central and challenging project in planetary science. Analysis of large volumes of planetary data from space missions such as CoRoT, Kepler, and JWST is directed ultimately at finding a planet similar to Earth, the Earth’s twin, and answering the question of potential exo-habitability. The Earth Similarity […]

Artist’s impression showing possible choices for the scale of human involvement in the future of Mars.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Beta Pictoris, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Mars, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Research Roadmap For Assessing The Feasibility Of Warming Mars

by Keith CowingApril 3, 2026April 3, 2026

(a) Annual mean sea ice concentration and sea ice thickness at the end of the simulations. Red lines in TSI100 indicate the presentday winter sea ice edge (Hirahara et al., 2014), and the contour in TSI094 indicates the simulated annual mean sea ice thickness (unit: m). The red shades on the land grid indicate that the monthly minimum snow depth exceeds 1 cm. (b) Annual mean surface shortwave albedo. -- physics.geo-ph

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Climate And Ocean Circulation Changes Toward A Modern Snowball Earth

by Keith CowingApril 2, 2026April 2, 2026

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/KSC

Habitable Zones, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Limits of Terrestrial Life and the Probability of Growth on Mars: Call for Speakers and Topics

by Keith CowingMarch 18, 2026March 18, 2026

Snowball Earth -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Subglacial Weathering May Have Slowed Earth’s Escape From Snowball Earth

by Keith CowingMarch 11, 2026March 11, 2026

Aerosol deposition on the surface following 5 Mars years of 2.5 l/s release and 15 Mars years of shutoff. The distribution is comparatively uniform, with more deposition at low elevations, high latitudes and close to the release site (marked by the black cross). Including radiative cloud feedbacks makes little difference to the deposition. -- astro-ph.EP

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Modelling The Long-term Impacts Of Artificial Warming On The Martian Water Cycle And Surface Ice Distribution

by Keith CowingMarch 4, 2026March 4, 2026

In a futuristic world where teleportation technology has become a reality, a bustling cityscape filled with towering skyscrapers and advanced architecture stands in the background.

Terraforming & Geoengineering

Terraforming Mars: Mass, Forcing, And Industrial Throughput Constraints

by Keith CowingMarch 4, 2026March 4, 2026

Images of tardigrades with mineral coatings. Each image is annotated with the sample, simulant and time of exposure in days. Before treatment: Panels A–C show example active animals from inoculums with smooth exteriors. After treatment: Panels D–G show examples of active animals with mineral particles visible as a rough, bumpy exterior (arrows point to examples). Panels H–M show inactive (presumed dead) animals with mineral particles attached. Panels H, K and M show examples of bloated animals. Scale bar is 100 microns and the same size in each image. Images without scale bars are from videos and are shown at approximately the same scale. -- International Journal of Astrobiology

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Life Support Systems, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Short-term Survival Of Tardigrades In Martian Regolith Simulants

by Keith CowingFebruary 28, 2026February 28, 2026

Graphical abstract -- cs.MA

Exploration Gear & Tech, Life Support Systems, Mars, Moon, Space Agriculture, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Agent Mars: Multi-Agent Simulation for Multi-Planetary Life Exploration and Settlement

by Keith CowingFebruary 20, 2026February 20, 2026

Design of the space exposure unit and assemblage of samples for the space exposure experiment (A) The space exposure unit with a UV-blocking filter installed. A UV-blocking filter, which only allows light above 400 nm to pass, was added below the MgF2 window. A double-layered sample holder was installed, designed so that the samples placed in the lower section would not be exposed to light. (B) The space exposure unit without a UV-blocking filter installed.(C) Design of sample holder (unit: mm). (D) Top: a schematic showing a single well (5.5 mm in diameter) with samples (sporophytes) installed. Brown: sporophytes, blue: ES of cyanobacteria as adhesive, black: aluminum foil, gray: sample holder. Bottom: the actual appearance of the sporophytes installed in the sample holder. (E) Impact assessment of ES. After treating both ES-primed sporophytes and control sporophytes with dark conditions or 2 MJ/m2 of UVC (254 nm), the germination rate was observed. Different letters indicate statistically significant differences as determined by ANOVA with Tukey’s HSD post hoc test. The numbers inside the bar graphs represent the sample sizes. Error bar: SD. (F) The completed space exposure unit. -- iScience via PubMed

Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microgravity, Plant Biology, Sample Return, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Extreme Environmental Tolerance And Space Survivability Of The Moss, Physcomitrium patens

by Keith CowingJanuary 8, 2026January 8, 2026