Should We, and Can We, Terraform Mars?
https://theness.com/neurologicablog/should-we-and-can-we-terraform-mars/
Mars terraforming isn’t the sci‑fi miracle it’s often made out to be. Even with all Martian ice and native volatiles released, you’d only get a thin, dangerous atmosphere—far short of breathable, long‑term warmth. To warm Mars to comfortable levels, you’d need about 1 bar of CO2, which would be deadly to humans. Importing billions of comets or relying on surface ice could bring the atmosphere up to a few percent, but not enough for breathable air or life support without heavy, pressurized habitats. In short, real terraforming would take feats we don’t yet have and would still face radiation, low gravity, and moons of other problems. The practical route is living in protected habitats, possibly with underground or lava-tube settlements, while slowly improving soil and limited oxygen via extremophile plants. The Expanse style “make Mars human‑ready” remains fantasy with today’s tech.