Chris Barnes wrote:

I prefer to think of it as "practicing our terra-forming techniques in
preparation for colonizing Mars".

:-)


Which might take time, but it's not that hard. The "hard part" about
making Mars habitable is not giving it an atmosphere, but giving it a
magnetic field. It is the magnetic field that shields us from cosmic
radiation (alot more so than the atmosphere).


Boy, this is getting a long way from ponding, so I'll point out that such
terraforming is required before Mars could ever have ponds...

You're right, but the magnetic field wouldn't need to be as strong (and in
fact, it's better if it isn't) because not so much solar radiation arrives
at Mars. Plus, we probably want to start out by living in buried
communities.
--
derek