Terraforming & planetary ecology
Studies on warming Mars, closed life-support ecosystems, growing life in Mars-like conditions, and restoring land and climate on Earth. Each topic lists only known properties from the cited papers; potential uses appear only when researchers proposed them.
- Closed ecosystems and life support (Biosphere 2, MELiSSA)2 studies · Sealed systems that try to recycle air, water, food and waste using living organisms.
- Enhanced rock weathering1 studies · Spreading crushed silicate rock on farmland to speed natural reactions that remove CO2 from air.
- Growing life in Mars and Moon conditions3 studies · Experiments growing plants, cyanobacteria and lichens in simulated Mars or Moon soil and atmosphere. See also the lunar regolith, Apollo samples, radiotrophic fungi and Deinococcus pages.
- Mars terraforming feasibility studies3 studies · Peer-reviewed studies that test whether, and how, parts of Mars could be made warmer or more habitable.
- MOXIE: making oxygen on Mars1 studies · An instrument on NASA's Perseverance rover that made oxygen from the Martian atmosphere.
- Ocean iron fertilization experiments2 studies · Field experiments adding iron to iron-poor ocean regions to test whether it triggers plankton blooms.
- Restoring land on Earth (biocrusts, Loess Plateau)3 studies · Large-scale and experimental efforts to restore degraded land and drylands.