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The case for Mars terraforming research

Nature Astronomy volume 9, pages 634–639 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Terraforming Mars has long captured the imagination but has received surprisingly little rigorous study. Progress in Mars science, climate science, launch capabilities and bioscience motivates a fresh look at Mars terraforming research. Since Sagan’s time, it has been understood that terraforming Mars would involve warming to enable oxygenic photosynthesis by engineered microbes, followed by slow oxygen build-up enabling more complex life. Before we can assess whether warming Mars is worthwhile, relative to the alternative of leaving Mars as a pristine wilderness, we must confront the practical requirements, cost and possible risks. Here we discuss what we know about Mars’s volatile inventories and soil composition, and possible approaches to warm Mars and increase atmospheric O2. New techniques have emerged that could raise Mars’s average global temperature by tens of degrees within a few decades. Research priorities include focusing on understanding fundamental physical, chemical and biological constraints that will shape any future decisions about Mars. Such research would drive advances in Mars exploration, bioscience and climate modelling.

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Fig. 1: Thresholds in making Mars suitable for life.
Fig. 2: Energy sources and sinks on Mars.
Fig. 3: Present-day extremophiles in Mars-like conditions.

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Acknowledgements

We thank The Astera Institute for their support of a workshop. We thank all of the workshop attendees for creating a vibrant brainstorming environment. We thank D. Zhou for the creation of Fig. 2. We thank P. Kemeny and M. Hecht for informal comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pioneer Research Labs, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Erika Alden DeBenedictis

  2. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Edwin S. Kite

  3. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Robin D. Wordsworth

  4. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA

    Nina L. Lanza

  5. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Charles S. Cockell

  6. Wyss Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Pamela A. Silver

  7. University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

    Ramses M. Ramirez

  8. SynBioBeta, Lafayette, CA, USA

    John Cumbers

  9. Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Hooman Mohseni

  10. Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Christopher E. Mason

  11. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Woodward W. Fischer

  12. NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, USA

    Christopher P. McKay

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  1. Erika Alden DeBenedictis
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E.S.K. and E.A.D. wrote the paper. All authors discussed the topics in the paper, contributed to the writing and commented on the evolving drafts.

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Correspondence to Erika Alden DeBenedictis.

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DeBenedictis, E.A., Kite, E.S., Wordsworth, R.D. et al. The case for Mars terraforming research. Nat Astron 9, 634–639 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02548-0

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