NationStates Jolt Archive


(Earth II) Terraform

Elephantum
22-06-2005, 04:32
The Council of the Nine Sultans of Elephantum have decided that, with proper international support, they would like to go about with terraforming the planet Venus, lowering the temperature to one suitable for life, and reducing the powerful storm clouds there. The plan, which will take 5 years before the terraforming process begins, is centered around the 3R0S space station, more commonly called Eros. A large number of weapons modules will be added, along with the other modules this requires (more power modules, for example, would need to be added). Once a suitable amount of nuclear weapons are placed there, the nuclear bombing of Venus will begin. Large amounts of nuclear detonations will cloud the atmosphere, lowering temperatures and hopefully ending the adverse weather conditions. After roughly 100 years, people would be able to explore Venus in protective suits. After the dust settles and the radiation decreases, which may take hundreds or thousands of years, people will be able to introduce agriculture to the planet, and a habitable atmoshpere will be created. Over time, it will be possible to breathe on Venus without special suits and equipment.

While waiting for the conditions to become suitable, scientists will be able to use the data from the nuclear blasts to create models and better understand the damage humanity would suffer if a nuclear war were to erupt on Earth itself.

The Elephanti Space Program, in conjunction with the Nine Sultans, would like to know what other countries think of the plan.
Elephantum
22-06-2005, 18:07
People, be concerned about this, or at least pretend please!
Layarteb
22-06-2005, 18:54
The Imperial Layartebian Space Agency does not hold this announcement with seriousness. The time it would take for such an act to be accomplished as well as the funds and sheer impossibility lead us to believe that this measure will never occur.
Elephantum
22-06-2005, 20:13
The biggest part of the expense, getting the station into situation, is already in place. Time is our only obstacle. The Council of the Sultans has approved up to 1 billion dollars for the program each year. Once the missiles are launched, they will provide at least 30 years of information and warnings about what a nuclear apocalypse could do on Earth. While the time it would take for the planet to become habitable appears large, it will at least become habitable, and provide a place for the people of the future to live, and Humanity will begin its spread
Liebermonk
24-06-2005, 09:14
OOC: Venus has already been done, this would require a VenusII, which I'm sure RPers would love [sarcasm]. Hmmn, I like the idea though, it would help infuse some more RP in the EarthII...

IC:

As the Liebermonk Space Station 3.A floated its way through space, a ring echoed its way through the halls and into the ears of the Astronauts. The long range sensors had detected a station in the vacinity of Venus.
"What the hell is that doing there?"
"Sir, I don't know. I'll contact the surface and see if they have any knowledge of it."
--20 minutes later--
"Well I'll be damned. Someone is actually going to terraform Venus. It will take forever, but the benefits of it could be amazing. I wonder what the Minister of Defense thinks of this. I wonder what the Queen thinks of this. Well this should prove interesting."

"They plan to do what?!" Queen Lerathen couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Is that even possible? I don't want to know about theories, is there a solid possibility that it may work?"
"My Queen," Defense Minister Madellin Page cut it. "According to the LSA, it is very likely to work. The only reason it hasn't been done before is becuase of the cost and time it would take. We once had plans to do the same thing, but Ex-President Doyle cut it down becuase it did not 'present any useful offensive support for our military.'"
"Can our military budget afford to help in any way?"
"Well, my Queen, we have had a tiny number of new recruits into our military forces, so with the increases in spending you have approved, we have found ourselves with money to waste. Perhaps we could spare some resources to help this project happen."
"Alright. Get in touch with Foreign Minister Salinas to see if anything can be worked out so that we can provide funds if needed. I would like to get involved with this project, so if they don't need funds, ask what they could use. Our scientist I'm sure would be thrilled to help on this project."
"Right away my Queen." Minister Page scurried out of the Royal Office to contact her LSA advisors and Minister Salinas.

The following message was sent to Elephantum:
"With great joy, the nation of Liebermonk would like to pledge its support for your project in any way we can. We would be able to provide resources and funds for this project. Also, we have many space-capable vehicles that can act as cargo ships or farries. Many of our scientists have studied the subject of terraforming Venus and would like to work on the station to provide their knowledge and insight as well. Please contact us and let us know what we may be able to do for this project to be a success."
Elephantum
24-06-2005, 20:51
It would be our pleasure to accept your support. The University of Manama, the main headquarters of our Space Program, and the 3R05 space station orbiting Venus will be available for Liebermonk(ian, an, ish?) scientists and spacecraft to use.

Rasheed al-Tamwil
Sultan of Jordan, Head of Elephanti Space Program
No endorse
24-06-2005, 21:04
Once a suitable amount of nuclear weapons are placed there, the nuclear bombing of Venus will begin. Large amounts of nuclear detonations will cloud the atmosphere, lowering temperatures and hopefully ending the adverse weather conditions. After roughly 100 years, people would be able to explore Venus in protective suits.

ooc: Large scale nuclear bombardent would make the ground pretty hot for a long time. If you're going to bombard the whole planet, then you'll need more than a hundred years till you can walk on it. Plus the dense and greenhouse gas-heavy atmosphere will keep most of the heat concentrated on the surface.

Also, the atmoshpere is what is increasing the heat in venus, what you need is something to make the atmosphere less dense so more heat can radiate into space.
::hopes that he remembered all that correctly::
Elephantum
24-06-2005, 21:08
We hope(d) to kick up enough dust and dirt to send it into a mild nuclear winter, if you can call such a thing mild, but not a long one. As for the atmoshpere, we've puched plenty of holes in Earth's already in RL, I'm sure we could do the same thing again
Hyperbia
27-06-2005, 11:13
Hyperbian scientists are greatly alarmed at your proposal.
Venus has already been the testing site of a high grade nuclear device in recent Earth II past and it appears to have little effect on its weather system.
The 'holes' in Earth II's atmosphere are the result of chlorine's catalytic effect on ozone (O-sub3), breaking it down into 'breathable' oxyygen (O-sub2). Venus's atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrochloric acid. It is also 90x denser that the Earth's. A 'nuclear winter' is a very unlikely event since about 80% of Venus's atmosphere are 'greenhouse gasses', which would not only prevent most of the current heat trapped in, but also all the excess heat created by the nuclear explosions.
The ammount of carbon dioxide needs to be decreased to allow the planet to cool, however the temperature is too hot to allow plants to survive so a chemical solution will have to be found. The best solution I can think of, at least time wise, will be to create giant pressure containers, that will collect the air like a vacum and condense it into a liquid, these containers would then be placed into orbit, we will need the materials later. Inside these containers will also be free hydronium ions, which will neutralise the hydrochloric acid. Repeat this process until the surface temp in about 1 atmosphere, then plants will be able to be inserted, thier water will have to be supplied by us until the a Hydrocycle is set up. Without animal life on the planet the plants will soon absorb most of the carbon dioxide, therefore we will slowly release it back into the atmosphere from the containers. Breaking the chemicals in these containers down into their base atoms we can them reassemble them into water and carbon, with chlorine and nitrogen left over. With that water we can create the oceans into which we dilute any excess oxygen the plants are producing and the remaining carbon dioxide. Now, Venus will recieve more solar radiation that Earth II, therefore we will have to keep greenhouse gasses to a minimum, light and dark temperate extremes will be greater, but by this time it should be habitable by animals and most importintally the sentient densens of Earth II.

If you would reconsider your proposal to bombard Venus with necular material, Hyperbian scientists and the remainder of our space program can devote the equivalent of 3 trillion USD to the development of aformentioned atmosophere condensers.
Elephantum
27-06-2005, 15:18
ooc-Whoa, you really know your stuff

In light of the information given to us by the Hyperbian scientists, the large scale bombing of Venus will be rejected by the Council of Sultans this morning. In the evening they will vote on following the Hyperbian course of action. The plan will call for 1.5 trillion Dollars (approximately 1 trillion Dinars) this year, reduced to 1 trillion dollars for subsequent years. Securely guarded facilities in Manama, protected by the Royal Guard, and in Madras, which houses roughly 20% of the military at any one time. Some Antartican facilities will be used as well. Hyperbian scientists, if consenting to a background check, will be granted entrance to these facilities to work with our scientists.

Rasheed al-Tamwil
Sultan of Jordan, Head of Elephanti Space Program
Elephantum
27-06-2005, 15:24
LATER

Proposal013945-Nuclear Bombardment of Venus
Voting-All Sultans
For-Qatar+the UAE (a rather bloodthirsty woman, she is)
Against-Arabia
Bahrain
Antartica
Jordan
Iraq
Kuwait
Upper India
Lower India
Result-REJECTED

Proposal014012-Hyperbian Terraforming plan
Voting-All Sultans
For-Arabia
Bahrain
Antartica
Jordan
Iraq
Lower India
Against-Kuwait
Upper India (both due to expense costs)
Result-PASSED
Hyperbia
27-06-2005, 16:16
Hyperbian internal affairs will transmit all information necessary for your background checks.

As part of our controlled evolution experiments we already have a structure capable of supporting a 90atms atmosphere so we can begin the construction of prototype air condensers.


It also appears that Venus has a lack of Hydrogen.
Three solutions present itself:
1. Harverst hydrogen from the earth, this, however would most likely irreperably damage the earth's ecosystems.
2. Harvest hydrogen from Mars's (or that moon of saturn that has water's) ice caps, supplimented with hydrogen from some of Earth's ice caps this would most likely create a very arid, but habitable Venus.
3. This is very costly but one of the atmospheric condensers could be subjected to a massive fission reaction, the resulting hydrogen, once de-radiated, could be used to hydrate Venus sufficiently.
Elephantum
29-06-2005, 16:12
OOC-Whoa are you a chemist/astronomist or something?

Ic-A message was sent to Hyperbian and Liebermonkish (not sure how you want your adjective form) scientists by Punjobobbi Koorapati, the head scientist of the project. She graduated top of her class at the University of Manama.

Thank you for helping us in our attempted terraforming of Venus. Due to information given to us by the Hyperbian scientists, the original plan, calling for large scale nuclear bombardment, has been cancelled. In order to create water on Venus, we have decided to subject one or more of the atmospheric condensers to a fission reaction. Elephantum uses nuclear reactors for much of its power, in an attempt to maximize fuel and power available for export. I am appealing to the Council of Sultans to add 500 billion dollars onto the 1.5 trillion dollars pledged.

Thank you for your help,

Ponjobbi Koorapati
Hyperbia
02-07-2005, 19:13
OOC- No, not any kind of scientist, just a well of random knowldge, with a knack for google.

It has been nearly an Earth II year and we have completed our 1/1000 scale prototype, which is still larger than a 747, but it has been shown to be capable of supporting an internal pressure of 30000 atms with an external pressure of 0 atms at temps rangeing from 6000 K ferenhite to near 0 K.

The full sized units will be unable to reach escapre velocity and will have to be constructed in orbit. We are uncertain about your space assets. We are however willing to entertain the idea of a jointly controlled orbital constructin yard
Liebermonk
05-07-2005, 11:45
A Liebermonkian scientist paced his office.
Dr. Carlos Cantu was going through every file, essay, or simulation he could find on terraforming venus. Hyperbia had an amazingly genius idea. The only problem was time and resources. He quickly began pulling up the reports on government expenses and specialty fundings. If Liebermonk could delay the construction of Space Station C.7, then it would be possible to diert funds from education, military, and commerce into the project. This could possibly total to 1.75 trillion USD. With Liebermonk's history of problems finding a suitable home, it wouldnt take much to convince the government to approve the movement.
When the bill was sent to Queen Lerathen for her approval, she had very few doubts on the project. Her optimism often led to hope in any project.
The toughest part was the vote in the Senate. 5 Senators meant that little was left to deliberation, but also that a decision was always made.
The senators of Hidalgo, Naura, Liechtenstien, and Ida supported the movement without much problem. They had all been affected from the occupation by The Athiests Reality, and wanted to get as far away from Earthly problems as possible. The Easter Islands senator had many reservations. Being a skepticist, Senator Ula voted down any scientific project that did not have pretense. 4 vs. 1 was a solid majority to allow the legislation to pass.

Liebermonk set up a research group with Dr. Cantu as the head. All the funds were left at their disposal. All that was left was to join up with the scientists from Hyperbia and Elephantum.
Hasteland
05-07-2005, 12:13
The reason Venus is so intensely hot is a combination of its massively dense atmosphere and its relatively close proximity to the sun as well as The intense geothermal energy produced by the core of Venus. Detonating nuclear weapons within the atmosphere of Venus in the hope of creating a thick cloud layer with which to cool the planet are flawed.
The atmosphere of Venus is already so thick that the addition of "clouds" would only add to the density of the atmosphere. This would in fact raise the temperature of the atmosphere around Venus. The climatic model which predicts a "nuclear winter" for the planet Earth cannot be applied to the planet Venus without taking into account the massive differential in the variables of the two worlds.
On planet Earth the detonation of nuclear weapons on a large scale would create a thick cloud layer which would obscure much of the suns radiation from the planets surface for many years and therefore reduce the Earths albedo for many years to come. This reduction in the Earths albedo is what would cause the Earth to cool. the term albedo simpoly refers to the amount of solar radiation the Earth absorbs/reflects back into space. The more radiation reflected back out by a thicker cloud layer then the lower the Earths atmospheric temperature.
If this model is applied to Venus we must take into account that Venus has a atmospherre which is several hundred times denser than the Earths and as such retains heat like a very warm blanket around the planet.
Any efefct on the atmosphere of Venus from a largen scale nuclear bombardment would be highly probable to actaully increase the atmospheric temperature.
Also due to Venus' closer proximity to the sun even if Venus was somehow stripped entirely of its dense atmosphere and left with an atmospher roughly as dense as that on earth the planet would still be too hot to support liquid water. The planet is so close to the sun that even at one atmospehere any wtaer on the planter would be present only in gaseous form. It would be impossible to conduct agriculture at such high temperatures.

The plantet Mars however is a different story...... :)
Hyperbia
11-07-2005, 17:50
OOC- Thank you interrupter jones.

IC- We have no problem with Libermok Scientists joining our effort, if Elephantum agrees. However, this process could take several centuries, if not a millenia to complete.
Elephantum
13-07-2005, 19:41
Lierbermonk pledged its support before you did, and was informed of the cost and duration of this project.
Hyperbia
14-07-2005, 04:05
Understood, we were unaware of this arangement, but we will throughly agree to it.