Mars once did have a relatively Earthlike environment early in its history, with a thicker atmosphere and abundant water that was lost over the course of hundreds of millions of years. The exact mechanism of this loss is still unclear, though several mechanisms have been proposed. The relatively low gravity of Mars likely contributed to the loss of lighter gases to space. The lack of plate tectonics on Mars is another likely factor, preventing the recycling of gases locked up in sediments back into the atmosphere. The lack of a magnetosphere surrounding Mars may have allowed the solar wind to contribute to eroding the atmosphere, although that effect is also active on Venus, but has not prevented that planet from having far greater atmospheric pressure than Earth. The lack of magnetic field and geologic activity may both be a result of Mars's smaller size allowing its interior to cool more quickly than Earth's, though the details of such processes are still not precisely clear. However, none of these processes are likely to be significant over the typical lifespan of most animal species, or even on the timescale of human civilization and the slow loss of atmosphere could possibly be counteracted with ongoing low-level artificial maintenance activities.

Terraforming Mars entails two major interlaced changes: building up the atmosphere and heating it. Since a thicker atmosphere of carbon dioxide and/or some other greenhouse gases will trap incoming solar radiation and the increased heat would in turn increase erosion and chemical activities on the surface, the resulting outgassing and evaporation will augment one another.

Since ammonia is a powerful greenhouse gas, and it is possible that nature has stockpiled large amounts of it in frozen form on asteroid sized objects orbiting in the outer solar system, it may be possible to move these and send them into Mars's atmosphere. Since ammonia is high in nitrogen (NH₃) it might also take care of the problem of needing a buffer gas in the atmosphere.

The need for a buffer gas is a challenge our atmospheric engineers must face. On Earth, nitrogen is the primary atmospheric component making up 77% of the atmosphere. Mars will require a similar buffer gas component, although not necessarily as much. Still, obtaining significant quantities of nitrogen, argon or some other comparatively inert gas will prove difficult, but not an insurmountable obstacle. Martian Express, Ltd. has begun the process of Comet Mining with the goal of obtaining the raw materials required to produce the atmosphere we desire.

Hydrogen importation could also be done for atmospheric and hydrospheric engineering. Depending on the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, importation and reaction of hydrogen would produce heat, water and graphite via the Bosch reaction. Adding water and heat to the environment will be key to making the dry, cold world suitable for Earth life. Alternatively, reacting hydrogen with the carbon dioxide atmosphere via the Sabatier₁ reaction would yield methane and water. The methane could be vented into the atmosphere where it would act to compound the greenhouse effect. Presumably, hydrogen could be obtained in bulk from the gas giants or refined from hydrogen-rich compounds in other outer solar system objects.

Simply thickening the Martian atmosphere will not make it habitable for Earth life unless it contains the proper mix of gases. Achieving a suitable mixture of buffer gas, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor and trace gases will entail either direct processing of the atmosphere or altering it by means of plant life and other organisms. Genetic engineering would allow such organisms to process the atmosphere more efficiently and survive in the otherwise hostile environment.

We are also in the process of creating an artificial Magnetosphere - The Magnetosphere deflects most of the hard particulate radiation from the solar wind. Without some form of radiation protection, anyone on Mars would have prolonged exposure to an unhealthy amount of radiation every time a serious solar eruption occurred. Martian Express, Ltd. has built and brought online four (4) large fusion power stations the the total combined output used to power large superconducting magnets. We believe the magnetic field generated will be strong enough to protect future inhabitants.

Heating of Mars

Martian Express, Ltd. plans to use super perfluorocarbons - artificially created super-greenhouse gases (SPFC) that have several advantages. First, they are super-greenhouse gases. A little bit does a lot of warming. Second, PFCs have a very long lifetime. This causes serious problems on Earth, but their longevity would be a positive factor on Mars. Third, they do not have any negative effects on living organisms.

Finally, unlike their chemical cousins, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), PFCs don't deplete ozone. Ozone in Earth's atmosphere provides protection against ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which is harmful to life. On Mars, building up an ozone layer in the atmosphere is a primary goal of Martian Express, Ltd. Terraformers. The sunlight that hits a planet's surface arrives primarily as visible and ultraviolet light. The planet absorbs this solar energy, and then re-radiates warming infrared energy back out into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere work as a global layer of insulation, trapping that infrared radiation and preventing it from escaping into space.

CO2 and water are good at trapping some of this infrared energy, but not all of it. On Earth, there's so much CO2 and water in the atmosphere that it doesn't matter if some infrared radiation escapes back into space. But on Mars, our Terraformers must trap every bit of heat they can. A carefully chosen combination of PFCs we believe, will do the job quite handily. Mars still contains water, frozen at the Poles and raising the temperature, we can begin melting this ice.