Hundreds of species die out every year, and one way to save them is to give endangered plants and animals a new home on the Red Planet. Only there will they be able to escape the pressures of a growing Earth population.
Earth's population has reached eight billion, and within the next century it could exceed 11 billion. To accommodate that many people would have to sacrifice many areas that now still serve as refuge for wild animals and plants, and this would inevitably lead to an enormous extinction of species.
One way to conserve biodiversity is to give our neighbors on the planet another place to live, perhaps in special reserves on Mars. Paul Lister Smith from the University of Bristol (UK) has suggested that such reserves be included in the concept of a future Martian colony: besides benefiting the conservation of terrestrial plant and animal species, they will help maintain the psychological health of the colonists.
Although the idea may seem absurd, it is not without justification. The length of the Martian day (sol) is not particularly different from Earth's, and there is enough frozen water under the surface of the dry Martian earth to solve the problem of irrigation. As for low temperatures, insufficient atmospheric pressure and harsh ultraviolet irradiation, all these problems are solved by special "greenhouses", which will create a closed Earth-type ecosystem.
It is not quite clear whether the weak magnetic field of Mars, other lunar cycles and absence of full-fledged change of seasons will affect terrestrial forms of life - unless the designers of reserves can simulate the change of temperature regime and light day length. In addition, the Red Planet gets half as much sunlight as Earth, so plants will grow slower there, unless, of course, they take only shade-tolerant species.
Designers of reserves will have to solve other problems, from soil fertility (it consists of the joint work of plants, microorganisms, fungi and small animals) to Martian dust storms (they will reduce the amount of light coming to the surface) and reduced gravity, which on Mars is only 38 percent of the Earth.
In general, Smith stressed, trying to fully replicate the terrestrial forest on Mars is unproductive. However, if at least some of the terrestrial species adapt, they can become the basis of a new ecosystem that will transform the appearance of the Red Planet.
Creating such an ecosystem may seem unethical, because many organisms will die, not being able to adapt to new conditions. But, according to the scientist, the hope for the survival of at least a few should already serve as a worthy justification for the construction of the first extraterrestrial reserve.
