How close
are we?

Science fiction, checked against real tech
Every entry gets a “How close” score
Editorial estimates · scored 2026

FIG. 1: Generative cover, seeded from the story's slug.

Cover story · Terraforming · 9 min

Could we green a red planet? Start in the outback.

Sci-fi loves turning Mars blue. We look at what desert soil science and outback analogue sites suggest about how far off that really is, and you can try greening a red planet yourself.

Read the cover story →

Sample article

Also in this issue

Method · how we score

One number, five rings, dated estimates

How the “How close” score works, what the rings mean, how history and forecasts are drawn, and the sources behind each score.

Reviewed 19 Oct 2026, editorial estimates
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