Geoforming Mars how could nature have made Mars more like Earth? : a treatise on some important factors involved in assessing the habitability potential of terrestrial planets that may aid us in our search for habitable terrestrial exoplanets

This book offers an exercise in theoretical planetology, presenting five different scenarios to assess the evolution of habitable conditions on Mars to assess planetary terraforming potential and to give insight into the ongoing search for habitable exoplanets. Four of the scenarios involve Martian satellite capture models, in which gravitational capture via tidal deformation and energy dissipation processes are measured to predict a pathway of biological evolution, while the fifth scenario analyzes the possible model that led to the Mars that we have today (i.e. with no life forms). In ten chapters, readers will learn how a Mars-like terrestrial planet can be transformed into a habitable planet, and what conditions must be assessed when searching for exoplanets in a star-centered orbit to support life. The book is intended for planetologists, and general enthusiasts of planetary evolution and our solar system. . Front Matter ....Pages i-xxv Introduction (Robert Malcuit)....Pages 1-25 The Origin of the Sun and the Early Evolution of the Solar System with Special Emphasis on Mars, Asteroids, and Meteorites (Robert Malcuit)....Pages 27-50 Models for the Origin of the Current Martian Satellites (Robert Malcuit)....Pages 51-74 A Prograde Gravitational Capture Model for a Sizeable Volcanoid Planetoid (or Asteroid) for Mars (Robert Malcuit)....Pages 75-104 A Retrograde Gravitational Capture Model for a Sizeable Satellite for Mars (Robert Malcuit)....Pages 105-136 A History of a Ruling Paradigm in the Earth and Planetary Sciences That Guided Research for Three Decades: The Giant Impact Model for the Origin of the Moon and the Earth-Moon System (Robert Malcuit)....Pages 137-199 A History of Satellite Capture Studies As Experienced by the Author: A Chronology of Events that Eventually led to a Somewhat Comprehensive Gravitational Satellite Capture Model (Robert Malcuit)....Pages 201-245 Comparative Analysis of the Gravitational Capture Potential for the Terrestrial Planets and Planet Neptune (Robert Malcuit)....Pages 247-327 Discussion of Some Real and/or Theoretical Effects of Captured Satellites on Both Terrestrial Planets and Gaseous Planets (Robert Malcuit)....Pages 329-358 A Discussion of Three Major Paradigms in the Earth and Planetary Sciences (Robert Malcuit)....Pages 359-388 Back Matter ....Pages 389-420 AThis book offers an exercise in theoretical planetology, presenting five different scenarios to assess the evolution of habitable conditions on Mars to assess planetary terraforming potential and to give insight into the ongoing search for habitable exoplanets. Four of the scenarios involve Martian satellite capture models, in which gravitational capture via tidal deformation and energy dissipation processes are measured to predict a pathway of biological evolution, while the fifth scenario analyzes the possible model that led to the Mars that we have today (i.e. with no life forms). In ten chapters, readers will learn how a Mars-like terrestrial planet can be transformed into a habitable planet, and what conditions must be assessed when searching for exoplanets in a star-centered orbit to support life. The book is intended for planetologists, and general enthusiasts of planetary evolution and our solar system