Nuclear Terraforming: Using Nukes to Bring Life to Mars

Acting as though nuclear power’s ability to “render a planet uninhabitable” is somehow “balanced out” by nuclear power’s currently purely theoretical ability to “propel starships to open up other worlds” is patently absurd and ethically irresponsible. The former is a demonstrated, real, present possibility; the latter is something that—technologically speaking—we are still (Elon Musk’s megalomaniacal claims notwithstanding) at present still quite far from being able to achieve in anything resembling a safe, efficient, practical fashion. Nuclear detonations can destroy the amazing, miraculous gift of Earth’s biosphere, as abundant evidence indicates clearly; nuclear power—despite its theoretical abilities—cannot currently even take a few quite privileged, affluent friends of Musk on “tourist jaunts” to Luna—it most definitely does not yet have the technological apparatus it would need to take us to or “open up” other planets for habitation…So the two do not balance one another out in the manner of a negative and a positive, as the purported “positive” is still FAR beyond our abilities.
Furthermore, as a “proponent” of the responsible use of nuclear power (which I am too), you might accrue more credibility and authority in the minds of your audience if you at least bothered to pronounce the word “nuclear” properly. The word is pronounced “new-klee-ur,” NOT “new-ku-lur.”

I think Musk was joking, when he said it.

What about just... going underground instead?

Nuclear technology is good in theory but the reality is that no man can be trusted with that destructive power, that’s why I’m against nuclear power, fusion research and these huge spaceships that you talk about, they’re all too easy to weaponize. The only way that humanity has a chance at a safe, healthy future is to abandon these machines of death and frankly most of the products of the industrial revolution, to revert to a pre-industrial state with a global population below 2 billion, preferably more like 500 million. Even better would be a return to a pre-metallurgical state and a human population south of 10 million worldwide but that’s less plausible.

What about the use of photonically-enhanced chemical explosives? Laser accelerated reactions enhance explosive yields by orders of magnitude.

Maybe it's easier to hit mars with an asteroid.
Direct an asteroid into mars path.

Horse Feathers

redirecting asteroids would be more effective

THERE HAS TO BE OTHER WAYS OF PRODUCING BILLIONS OF TONS OF GREENHOUSE GASSES ON MARS. IN ANY EVENT IF THE ATMOSPHERE WAS TORN AWAY FROM MARS A BILLION YEARS AGO, WHY SHOULD IT STICK AROUND THIS TIME??

Someone's been snorting too much Uranium! Lol!

The problem with this is more of a cost investment in doing this AND setting up stable colonies in the first place.

Not to mention it would require global cooperation which we're nowhere near.

Only stupid and crazy will buy that idea want to destroy mar twice

you cannot teraform mars.. it has not the magnetic field to protect it from the solar winds like earth does. any atmosphere created will be for naught. this makes trying to teraform mars and its discussion quite the folly. --- . Researchers believe that Mars
once had a global magnetic field, like Earth’s. but the iron-core dynamo that generated it shut down billions
of years ago leaving behind only patches of magnetism due to magnetised minerals in the Martian crust.

I say smash Ceres into mars nudging it closer to the sun and warming the place up and giving it slightly more gravity

Elmer Fudd vibes

Stupid idea..
Elon brought this idea up a few years back. If you want to create heat warmth on the red planet consider taking one or both of its moons and much like playing pool direct those moons into the atmosphere of mars toward the poles.
Talk about rapid release of compact energy.
plus no radiation. Think about this, when terraforming Mars comes up .

Dr. Arthur, what do you think of the Mach Effect drive. Is it legit? Thank you for great reporting!

Don't screw with the space people, fix this place first.

You don't need nukes, you just need 200 tons of carbon tetrafluoride released into the martian atmosphere each year for 30 years.

I would think a few hundred m³ of plutonium placed deep into the interior of mars to restart the molten core would be a good start..

Rain mud instead. Burn mud into the plasma with direct heat and then rain the mud down by adding indirect heat and forming rain clouds.

Good idea ...
launch all nukes at mars , save humanity while creating a new enemy to fight...

Without a magnetic field, Mars is a waste of time. The amount of toxic perchlorates in the soil also make Mars a non-starter

I thought of the recomendation way back in 1989 when i was14 years old. When i said we could nuke Mars to melt the caps people thought i was crazy😂😂😂😂😂

What if we moved ceres into Mars?

...That's right, that's the best way to bring life to a barren place, bomb the sht outta the place with nukes...👍

MAGNOSPHERE IS MISSING FROM YOUR SERIES…

why not just use rocks from the belt that mostly ice still their like how early earth we can use it to brake the rocks up to mine and get the world ready to live on

Shouldn’t we go and nuke venus to give it the nuclear winter it needs?

We are decades if not centuries away to have the proper technology to terraform Mars let alone for large scale colonisation. Terraforming Mars with nukes is as primitive as what we are doing currently with our own habitat. I would rather focus on getting our house in order. However, for humanity to survive and thrive we must become a space faring race at one point in time! And the sooner we understand that we are all in this toghter and focus instead of playing the old games, the sooner we can do it!

Isaac, you’re so fucking articulate.
Love you 😘

You can't. Even talk ffs

I'm not a fan of nuclear power and the very specific risks it entails - despite the cold numbers.
But I AM a huge fan of Isaac's. Hope that's okay.

@Isaac Arthur ~
In your video pertaining to "Evacuating Earth" you mentioned that the number of rockets required to evacuate the population of Earth [to avoid a doomsday] would do a doomsday's worth of thermal damage to Earth. This had me wondering ~ what would be the impact of that fleet of rockets landing on Mars? Would it destroy Mars' atmosphere... or add just enough chemicals via emissions, and heat, to help us colonize and possibly terraform the world? If it would destroy Mars, what size fleet would be just right to warm Mars and more?

To sum it all up into one question:
How many rocket landings and/or liftoffs would be required to warm Mars enough to benefit terraforming efforts?

Is Mars the ideal world for Nuclear Terra forming?

What are the elements you would ship to Mars for the Terraforming?

nice atomic bombs

Kind of funny imagining this is Nick Mullen making this video.

Wealthfront claims that you are only an influencer of theirs but not a client, I thought you claimed to use their service and am now confused.

Legalize nuclear bombs

Yes nuke mars so we cant go there for the next 50.000 years.

What about neutron bombs?

What about drilling as far into the surface as we physically can, say, at the crust mantle boundary or lower and set off nukes in the gigaton range. Mars may have lots of water in its mantle like Earth does.

What, now because of rumors of life on MARS, you want to finish the job to further erase any or ALL possible signs that may still remain from before WW2?????? EVIL IS NEVER SATISFIED!

Maybe crash mar's moons into mars.

Great idea. Another tool to help us terraform planets.

I really like your approach to discussing things people regard as dangerous. The difference between a carpenter's hammer and a bludgeon is mostly the intent of the person holding it. It's all about intention and level of competence, because nothing is ever completely accident-proof (but we can get pretty close).

Ah, the halcyon days of thinking Melon Husk was of any value to humanity.

Why not use mass drivers to bombard with meteors? Same or bigger oomfs, no nuclear fallout