Colonizing Planets (part 4)

We've seen it done in many sci-fi movies, but is terra-forming really possible? Terra-forming is the process where we artificially generate the conditions necessary for life on a planet that did not initially have them. Researchers at NASA say it is possible, and they are already considering the process necessary to terra-form Mars. Gases, such as the chlorofluorocarbons that contribute to the ozone layer on earth, would be produced and this would trap the heat from the sun and raise the surface temperature. Factories would manufacture the chlorofluorocarbons from the air and soil, and these factories would require immense amounts of power to do so, so large nuclear power plants would have to be built to provide that power. If all this was achieved, the rising surface temperature would vaporize the CO2 in the south polar cap on Mars, which would introduce CO2 into the atmosphere, further increasing the warming and thus the complete melting of the polar ice cap. As a result, the water needed to sustain life would be present on Mars. The final step would be to plant trees to thrive on the CO2, which would provide the oxygen we need to survive in the red planet's atmosphere!