Terraforming

Engineering Planetary Environments

Author(s): Martyn J. Fogg
Date Published: 1995
SAE Member Price: $39.00
List Price: $49.00
ISBN Number: 1-56091-609-5
Chapters: 9
Binding: Hardbound
Order Number: R-153

Although terraforming (the transformation of a hostile planetary surface and atmosphere into an aerobic environment suitable for humans) is a futuristic concept, it is no longer science fiction. In fact, a significant number of researchers are now taking the concept seriously enough to devote some of their time to exploring its possibilities. This book presents an up-to-date review of the entire field, while it is still possible to do so in a single volume. Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments is the first technical-level book to review in detail the conscious modification of planetary environments, including the possibilities of stabilizing Earth's biosphere and making other planets habitable.

Contents include: Glossary; Introduction - The history of terraforming-related ideas, in both fiction and academia. A portrait of a growing subject for serious study; Contained, Uncontained, and Terraformed Biospheres - A review of life-support system dynamics dealing with the issues of scale and containment. An argument for planets as the best long-term homes for life; Some Guidelines for the Study of Terraforming - The nature of the thought experiment, nomenclature, philosophical approaches to the subject (ecocentrism and technocentrism), and environmental parameters necessary for life; Planetary Engineering on the Earth - A review of man's influence on the global environment and proposals for geoengineering - deliberate modification of the Earth's climate, usually for the purpose of mitigation of damage; The Ecopoiesis of Mars - Our current knowledge and models of Mars and ecocentric proposals for implanting life. Includes the runaway CO2 greenhouse model, artificial trace greenhouse gases, and proposals for a pioneering microbiota; The Terraforming of Mars - The completion of the Mars thought experiment, taking the planet to the stage of human habitability. Review of technocentric planetary engineering proposals, including nuclear mining, solettas, and impacts; The Terraforming of Venus - Account of the various and diverse concepts for making Venus more habitable. Includes three proposals for altering planetary spin rates; Terraforming: Alternative Methods, Fringe Concepts, and Ultimate Possibilities - Includes paraterraforming, possibilities of terraforming smaller bodies such as the Moon and Titan, proposals for altering planetary orbits, and more; Back to the Present - Discussion of the present relevance of terraforming studies, including pieces on education and environmental ethics. An attempt to speculate from now, to a future that includes the realization of terraforming. Well-illustrated with numerous photographs, drawings, and tables.

About the author...Martyn Fogg has spent almost a decade investigating planetary systems, concentrating his recent efforts on the study of planetary habitability and terraforming. He is internationally recognized as Britain's principal researcher on terraforming, publishing numerous scientific articles and papers on this topic. Fogg has also been a consultant to Time-Life and BBC television and radio, and has given numerous lectures and presentations worldwide on terraforming.

"In this fascinating work of scientific synthesis, Martyn Fogg describes how it might become possible to implant life on other planets, and to ameliorate, through ecological engineering techniques, the currently corrosive processes of global change on Earth...Fogg's book is the first major study of the science and technology of terraforming. It is a nascent classic, a textbook for the future. Even though the subject matter ranges widely over the physical and biological sciences, the ideas are clearly and logically presented at a level that should be accessible to readers with a basic knowledge of science and mathematics." - Robert Haynes

"...will certainly be the definitive work on the subject for many years to come." - Arthur C. Clarke "An impressive work...a monumental contribution to the field." - Jack Williamson (originator of the term "terraforming")

"...the most comprehensive and epock-making book on the study of terraforming..." - Kiyoshi Yazawa "What the SF writing community desperately needs is a good, annotated review of the scientific literature. Martyn Fogg just wrote it: an exhaustive book-length review of the scientific literature on terraforming, written at a level that's accessible to the casual (but scientifically-literate) reader. In brief, having this book on the reference shelf will save weeks of library work for the SF writer who is going to use terraforming as an element of a story and wants to get the details right, or one who wants a source of nifty ideas for possible plot elements...the book reads quite smoothly...At thirty-nine bucks for a 544 page hardcover, it's a bargain for the science-fiction writer. I highly recommend it." - Geoffrey Landis, SFWA Bulletin "An admirable work...which will over the long stretch of centuries have great impact. This will have the centripetal effect that Dole's Habitable Planets for Man exerted from the early 1960s on." - Professor Gregory Benford, University of California at Irvine "Fogg's vast reach of ideas and his clear and pleasant writing style makes this book absolutely splendid. It is a work of profound synthesis and of seminal importance. I recommend it to everyone." - Robert Zubrin, Ad Astra, Jan/Feb 1996 "This book is likely to become the definitive reference work on the subject of changing other planets into Earth-like worlds for some time to come." - Larry Klaes, SETIQuest "Well referenced, this book is a tour-de-force for engineers, chemists and biologists who envision 21st-century challenges, including the reshaping of the known solar system." - Leonard David, SpaceNews

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