This story originally featured on the MIT Press Reader. Exploration, habitation, and resource extraction all carry a risk of inflicting environmental damage in space, just as they do here on Earth.

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Advances in technology have reopened the debate over terraforming Mars, shifting it from an impossible dream to a long-term scientific and ethical question.

The concept of terraforming Mars — transforming the planet's climate to support life as we know it — has long belonged to the realm of science fiction. But a new study argues that it's time to take ...

It might be surprising to hear planetary scientist Nina Lanza use the word “disappointing” in the same sentence as “Mars.” After all, the Los Alamos National Laboratory researcher has dedicated her ...

A recently published paper opens an intriguing discussion: could Earth have been terraformed by advanced extraterrestrial beings? This bold hypothesis, while controversial, paves the way for fresh ...

My fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers, As the prospect of human settlements on Mars draws closer to reality than we could have realistically imagined pre-SpaceX, so does the concept of ...

Advances in synthetic biology, planetary engineering, and ultra-low-cost launch systems have dramatically altered how ...