Terraforming Cyberspace

During the 1940s, under the pseudonym of Will Stewart, Jack Williamson published a series of fictional stories describing a process for attaching atmospheres to planets in order to make them capable of sustaining life. ‘Terraforming,’ the term he coined for this activity was first picked up by other science fiction writers. Eventually, it captured the imagination of a small but zealous core of scientists, space advocacy groups, and segments of the public who began focusing on Mars as the most likely target for transformation and eventual colonization. The May 1991 issue of Life Magazine ran a cover story describing a 150-year plan for a Martian metamorphosis through orbiting solar reflectors that would melt polar water, surface factories that would produce needed gases in the atmosphere, and the ultimate planting of hearty plant species as the temperature approached the freezing point of water. Today many articles, books, and Web sites continue to develop the theme.