Elon Musk Wants To Make Mars Habitable By Nuking It
Mars isn’t exactly a place that people can take a Sunday stroll to — and even if they could, the red planet wouldn’t have much in the way of a welcome habitat. It’s a well-noted, if obvious fact, and it’s one that some of the world’s brightest minds have campaigned to change. Then there’s SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who came up with an idea of his own: nukes will solve all of the problems.
When used on Earth, nuclear weapons are the stuff of nightmares and death. But Musk argued on a recent late show appearance that the big issue with Mars is that its inhospitable nature comes from its coldness; if the planet heated up, it could make for a much better environment. While enough greenhouse gases could do the trick, the quicker and more direct approach would be bombing of Mars’ poles — and that’s where the nukes come in. The heat released by the bombs could make for a fast reaction, as well as permanent relief from the nigh-intolerable temperatures of the planet.
Given the intent of NASA and other space organizations to explore — and eventually colonize — Mars, figuring out how to make it more suitable for humans is a problem that needs to be solved sooner rather than later. Still, Musk has at least offered a potential answer; time will tell if proves just crazy enough to work.
