Terraforming a planet and building better worlds is not as easy as it seems. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The subject of ...

Editor's Note: In this weekly series, SPACE.com explores how technology drives space exploration and discovery. One day, humans could re-make a world in Earth's image. Engineering an inhospitable ...

This story originally featured on the MIT Press Reader. Exploration, habitation, and resource extraction all carry a risk of inflicting environmental damage in space, just as they do here on Earth.