Science Forums 2

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Originally Posted by Thunderbird

It would be like pouring water into a leaky bucket.

May be wrong about what? that mars is a leaky bucket.

I should have been more clear. You may be wrong that it is impossible to form an atmosphere in the first place. I assume this is what you're saying. Once you form an atmosphere presumably you have the ability to sustain it. In other words, if you have the ability to fill a leaky bucket then you should have the ability to keep the leaky bucket full. The ladder requires less work. Once you have an atmosphere and have raised pressure and temperature enough to keep water liquid on the surface then your next comment is not immediately clear:

Originally Posted by Thunderbird

Even if you could raise the temp on mars, which you cannot, to get liquid water, the water would quickly evaporate into space.

As Craig pointed out, mars once had an atmosphere substantial enough to sustain liquid water - so we know it's possible, yes?

Originally Posted by Thunderbird

The south pole is on earth, its part of our bioshpere and is nothing like mars.
There is liquid water in the south pole.

My point was that the driest and coldest place on earth is still better for bacteria than Mars.

Originally Posted by Thunderbird

Even if you could you start out with some freaky genetically engineered little warm-blooded, mineral eating, oxgen releasing bacteria, which you cannot,

Not with current technology and not with that attitude, no.

Originally Posted by Thunderbird

giving the fact that the surface is constantly bombarded with radiation and cosmic rays it would more than likly die,

There exist bacteria on the control rods of nuclear reactors.

//edit

While I've heard this, I am unable to find a source for it. Bactera nevertheless can survive highly radioactive situations (more radioactive by far than Mars):
Bugs in the Reactor - TIME

and scientists are studying bacteria that manage well:
SpringerLink - Journal Article

//edit

Originally Posted by Thunderbird

or worse yet become a deadly pathogen rather than a teraforming agent.

Once again, if we overcome the problem of engineering bacteria that do our bidding on mars then it will be less of a problem to keep the little buggers from mutating into something harmful to us. The ladder takes less work and understanding.