July 30, 2018 RELEASE 18-13 Mars Terraforming Not Possible Using Present-Day Technology Science fiction writers have long featured terraforming, the process of creating an Earth-like or habitable environment on another planet, in their stories. Scientists themselves have proposed terraforming to enable the long-term colonization of Mars. A solution common to both groups is to release carbon dioxide gas trapped in the Martian surface to thicken the atmosphere and act as a blanket to warm the planet. However, Mars does not retain enough carbon dioxide that could practically be put back into the atmosphere to warm Mars, according to a new...