terraforming
terraforming — 名詞
1. the activity of changing a planet's air, temperature, and surface so that it bec
地球化改造
將行星環境改造成類似地球的過程
the activity of changing a planet's air, temperature, and surface so that it becomes more like Earth and can support human life
Iris's doctoral research focuses on the basic chemistry needed for terraforming Mars.
Iris 的博士研究聚焦於火星地球化改造所需的基本化學知識。
focuses on [subject] needed for terraforming [target]
Emre explained that terraforming a planet would take hundreds of years with current technology.
Emre 解釋，以現有技術，要對一個行星進行地球化改造需要數百年。
explain + that-clause for hypothetical timescale
The novel shows a future where terraforming has turned the Moon's dry surface into farmland.
這本小說展現了一個未來，其中地球化改造已將月球的乾燥地表變成了農田。
Many scientists debate whether terraforming should begin before we fully understand a planet's own environment.
許多科學家在辯論，在我們充分了解某個行星本身的環境之前，是否應該開始進行地球化改造。
- planetary engineering
broader term that covers terraforming as well as other large-scale changes like building orbital mirrors or altering a planet's orbit
- worldbuilding
used in fiction and game design to describe creating an imaginary planet's environment; not a real scientific process
用法筆記
Terraforming is primarily found in science fiction and astrobiology writing. It is the noun form derived from the verb 'terraform', which was itself built from the Latin word 'terra' (earth) and the English verb 'form'. Unlike colonization (setting up human settlements), terraforming specifically means changing the environment itself to be Earth-like.