Physics & Astronomy Colloquium – Dr. Guy Worthey
About the event
The Department of Physics and Astronomy invites all to a colloquium featuring Dr. Guy Worthey, Department of Physics at Washington State University. Dr. Worthey will present their talk, “Terraform the Moon with Undergraduate Physics”.
Abstract:
Mars has captured the limelight as regards the concept of “terraforming,” transforming an alien planet to support earthlike life. However, terraforming the moon might be a smarter option.
In this talk, I will use fundamental classical physics to assess the plausibility and timescale for terraforming the moon. Two basic ingredients are needed, air and water. Air can be extracted from the lunar regolith, but water must be imported from past the solar system frost line. Positing only solar power, the moon can be terraformed inside a century, and it will stay habitable for millions of years, even if it goes untended after the initial effort.