SPACE: Could we actually terraform Mars? Scientists are trying to find out.

Edwin Kite, an associate professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago, detailed the plan here at a Space Resources Roundtable, which was held from June 2 to June 5 on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines.

Kite’s talk showcased a mission concept prototype to validate aerosol dispersal to warm Mars’ atmosphere as a first step toward terraforming the Red Planet.

“Creating sustainable habitats and biospheres beyond Earth is an enormous scientific and technical challenge, but it’s one we’ll have to surmount if we’re going to extend life beyond Earth,” Kite told Space.com.

“We do not yet know enough to create a biosphere from scratch,” he added. “Applied astrobiology, like planetary science, requires contributions from many disciplines.”

Of course, the only way to know for sure is to try.