Editing Terraforming (section)

==Other possibilities==

===Biological terraforming===
{{See also|Interplanetary contamination}}

Many proposals for planetary engineering involve the use of genetically engineered bacteria.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hiscox |first1=Juliana A. |last2=Thomas |first2=David J. |title=Genetic modification and selection of microorganisms for growth on Mars. |journal=Journal of the British Interplanetary Society |date=October 1995 |volume=48 |issue=10 |pages=419–26 |pmid=11541203 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Mercury|journal=The Society|year=2000|volume=29|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WkNBAQAAIAAJ|access-date=10 January 2017|language=en}}</ref>

As [[synthetic biology]] matures over the coming decades it may become possible to build designer organisms from scratch that directly manufacture desired products efficiently.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Menezes |first1=Amor A. |last2=Cumbers |first2=John |last3=Hogan |first3=John A. |last4=Arkin |first4=Adam P. |title=Towards synthetic biological approaches to resource utilization on space missions |journal=Journal of the Royal Society Interface |date=6 January 2015 |volume=12 |issue=102 |pages=20140715 |doi=10.1098/rsif.2014.0715 |pmid=25376875 |pmc=4277073 }}</ref> Lisa Nip, Ph.D. candidate at the [[MIT Media Lab]]'s Molecular Machines group, said that by synthetic biology, scientists could genetically engineer humans, plants and bacteria to create Earth-like conditions on another planet.<ref>{{cite web|title=Video: Humans Could Engineer Themselves for Long-Term Space Travel|date=7 April 2016|url=http://www.livescience.com/54341-synthetic-biology-for-space-exploration.html|publisher=Live Science|access-date=10 January 2017}}</ref><!--engineering bacteria--><ref>{{cite web|title=You Can Now Play God From The Comfort Of Your Garage|url=http://fusion.net/story/285454/diy-crispr-biohackers-garage-labs/|publisher=Fusion |date=29 March 2016 |first=Kristen V. |last=Brown |access-date=10 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402053819/http://fusion.net/story/285454/diy-crispr-biohackers-garage-labs/ |archive-date=2016-04-02}}</ref>

Gary King, microbiologist at [[Louisiana State University]] studying the most extreme organisms on Earth, notes that "synthetic biology has given us a remarkable toolkit that can be used to manufacture new kinds of organisms specially suited for the systems we want to plan for" and outlines the prospects for terraforming, saying "we'll want to investigate our chosen microbes, find the genes that code for the survival and terraforming properties that we want (like radiation and [[drought tolerance|drought resistance]]), and then use that knowledge to genetically engineer specifically Martian-designed microbes". He sees the project's biggest bottleneck in the ability to genetically tweak and tailor the right microbes, estimating that this could take "a decade or more" to be solved<!--grammar?-->. He also notes that it would be best to develop "not a single kind of microbe but a suite of several that work together".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Here's How We'll Terraform Mars With Microbes|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a15410/terraform-mars-with-microbes/|magazine=Popular Mechanics|access-date=10 January 2017|date=7 May 2015 |first=William |last=Herkewitz}}</ref>

[[DARPA]] is researching the use of photosynthesizing plants, bacteria, and algae grown directly on the Mars surface that could warm up and thicken its atmosphere. In 2015 the agency and some of its research partners created a software called [[DTA GView]], in which [[Genome|genomes]] of several organisms can be pulled up on the program to immediately show a list of known genes and where they are located in the genome. According to Alicia Jackson, deputy director of [[Biological Technologies Office (DARPA)|DARPA's Biological Technologies Office]], they have developed a "technological toolkit to transform not just hostile places here on Earth, but to go into space not just to visit, but to stay".<ref>{{cite news|title=Will tweaked microbes make Mars Earth-like? |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Will-tweaked-microbes-make-Mars-Earth-like/articleshow/47858464.cms|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=10 January 2017 |date=29 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=DARPA: We Are Engineering the Organisms That Will Terraform Mars|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/darpa-we-are-engineering-the-organisms-that-will-terraform-mars/ |first=Jason |last=Koebler |date=24 June 2015 |publisher=Vice Motherboard|access-date=10 January 2017|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Chris|title=We Definitely Want to Live on Mars – Here's How We Plan to Tame the Red Planet|url=https://bgr.com/2015/06/25/mars-darpa-terraforming-project/|publisher=BGR|access-date=10 January 2017|date=25 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=DARPA Wants To Use Genetically Engineered Organisms To Make Mars More Earth-Like|url=http://www.techtimes.com/articles/63927/20150627/darpa-wants-to-use-genetically-engineered-organisms-to-turn-make-mars-more-earth-like.htm|publisher=Tech Times|access-date=10 January 2017|date=27 June 2015 |first=Dianne |last=Depra}}</ref>

===Paraterraforming===
{{See also|Westland (region), Netherlands}}
Also known as the "world house" concept, para-terraforming involves the construction of a habitable enclosure on a planet that encompasses most of the planet's usable area.<ref>Taylor, 1992</ref> The enclosure would consist of a transparent roof held one or more kilometers above the surface, pressurized with a breathable atmosphere, and anchored with tension towers and cables at regular intervals. The world house concept is similar to the concept of a [[Domed city|domed habitat]], but one which covers all (or most) of the planet.

Potential targets for paraterraforming include Mercury, the Moon, Ceres and the gas giant moons.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Matthew S. |date=2019-08-09 |title=Making a Greenhouse on Another World: Paraterraforming in Our Solar System |url=https://interestingengineering.com/science/making-a-greenhouse-on-another-world-where-can-we-paraterraform-in-our-solar-system |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=interestingengineering.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Adapting humans===
It has also been suggested that instead of or in addition to terraforming a hostile environment humans might adapt to these places by the use of [[genetic engineering]], [[biotechnology]] and [[Cyborg|cybernetic enhancements]].<ref>{{cite conference |first1=Aaron |last1=Gronstal |first2=Julio Aprea |last2=Perez |first3=Tobias |last3=Bittner |first4=Erik |last4=Clacey |first5=Angelo |last5=Grubisic |first6=Damian |last6=Rogers |year=2005 |title=Bioforming and terraforming: A balance of methods for feasible space colonization |conference=56th International Astronautical Congress |url=http://iafastro.directory/iac/archive/browse/IAC-05/A5/1/2157/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Lunan|first1=Duncan|title=Man and the Planets: The Resources of the Solar System|publisher=Ashgrove Press|isbn=9780906798171|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=St8JAAAAMAAJ|access-date=10 January 2017|language=en|date=January 1983}}{{page needed|date=October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Spitzmiller|first1=Ted|title=Astronautics: A Historical Perspective of Mankind's Efforts to Conquer the Cosmos|publisher=Apogee Books|isbn=9781894959667|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kjVGAAAAYAAJ|access-date=10 January 2017|language=en|year=2007}}{{page needed|date=October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Could We Marsiform Ourselves? |url=http://www.universetoday.com/132783/could-we-marsiform-ourselves/|work=Universe Today|access-date=10 January 2017|date=10 January 2017 |first=Fraser |last=Cain}}</ref><ref name=motherboard1>{{cite web|title=Be Your Own Spaceship: How We Can Adapt Human Bodies for Alien Worlds|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/be-your-own-spaceship-how-we-can-adapt-human-bodies-for-alien-worlds/|publisher=Vice Motherboard|access-date=10 January 2017|language=en-us|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113041207/https://motherboard.vice.com/blog/be-your-own-spaceship-how-we-can-adapt-human-bodies-for-alien-worlds|archive-date=13 January 2017 |date=29 July 2013 |first=Becky |last=Ferreira}}</ref> This is known as [[pantropy]].
<!--Examples of such adjustments include the making organs fit for low gravity, increasing [[lung volumes]] for atmospheres with low oxygen levels and [[Powered exoskeleton|exoskeletons]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Humanity and Space|url=https://web.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-031015-113556/unrestricted/Humanity_and_Space_IQP.pdf|access-date=10 January 2017}}</ref><ref name=motherboard1/> for high pressure ratios.-->