Terraforming

[airbolt]

A common theme in science fiction is terraforming - ie the recreation of earth like envoirenment.. Are there any technologies available now ( even at proto stage ) and is the problem being worked on anywhere? Or is it totally unfeasable like warp Drive?

[Llamatron]

I think there's a lot more to it than sci-fi lets on.
It's not enough to just give a planet an earth like surface it needs to be able to sustain it.
For instance the planet needs to be in a fairly circular orbit around a star. Too near and water will not stay liquid for long and too far away and the water freezes.
It needs a magnetic field to help retain it's atmosphere.
I imagine the list is quite long.

I think all we can hope to do is to create a small earth like habitat. But as various experments have discovered it aint that simple to create somthing that's self contained and self sustaining.