terraforming

British  

/ ˈtɛrəˌfɔːmɪŋ /

noun

1. planetary engineering designed to enhance the capacity of an extraterrestrial planetary environment to sustain life

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Etymology

Origin of terraforming

C20: from Latin terra earth + forming

Explanation

Terraforming is altering a planet or moon to make it habitable for humans. If you dream of living on Mars one day, you'll be cheering on any scientific advances in terraforming. Astronomer Carl Sagan is credited with the earliest terraforming concept, a 1961 theory about how scientists might change the atmosphere of Venus so that humans could live there safely. The enormous scientific and economic challenges to terraforming any known planets make this, as of now, a hypothetical idea. The word terraforming was coined in 1942 by science fiction writer Jack Williamson, from the Latin terra, "earth," and form, "shape or mold."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

terraforming

A new workshop summary, however, argues that recent advances mean terraforming should now be treated as a legitimate area of scientific research, even if any real attempt remains far in the future.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

For nearly two decades, the art form formerly known as television did nothing but grow, in wild and glorious abandon, as if it had been touched by a terraforming agent from “Doctor Who.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2024

"One idea is that CFCs could be useful in terraforming a planet to make it warmer — this idea has been suggested as a way for humans to terraform Mars," Misra said.

From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2022

The first level of terraforming is at 60 millibars, a factor of 10 from where we are now.

From New York Times ● Jan. 2, 2022

These and other considerations suggest that a time scale for a significant terraforming of Mars is probably hundreds to thousands of years.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan